VisitBritain Sets Stage for Five-Day Australian Trade Mission in September

Friday, August 30, 2024

From September 9th to 13th, VisitBritain will host a comprehensive five-day trade mission across Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. This event will bring together numerous UK-based travel and tourism suppliers, ranging from hotels and sightseeing operators to retailers and destination management organizations, with Australia’s premier travel buyers.

The mission includes personalized business meetings, providing Australian buyers a unique opportunity to engage directly with UK suppliers. These sessions are designed to facilitate the discovery of new products, innovations, and collaborative opportunities within the travel sector.

VisitBritain Chairman Nick de Bois CBE said:

“I am delighted to be leading VisitBritain’s first trade mission to Australia in nearly a decade, a timely and valuable opportunity to harness the strong growth we’re seeing from this incredibly important inbound visitor market, forecast to be worth a record £1.7 billion to our economy this year. 

“This mission marks a major milestone for us to reconnect with the travel trade across Australia. Building product knowledge also broadens itineraries so visitors explore more of our nations and regions, with that spending going into local economies. 

“The friendship and connections between our countries already run deep. The size of our delegation shows the enthusiasm from British tourism suppliers to do business with Australia and to hear first-hand from buyers on the motivations and trends driving outbound travel.” 

In addition to business dealings, the event features several networking opportunities and training sessions aimed at Australia’s travel advisors, enhancing their ability to transform interest in UK travel into actual bookings.

Furthermore, VisitBritain will introduce its new, substantial ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ campaign, set to launch in major markets by early 2025, including Australia. This initiative focuses on capitalizing on the appeal of screen tourism to boost visitor numbers. Recent studies indicate that 86% of Australians interested in visiting the UK are eager to explore locations featured in film and television, enhancing the campaign’s relevance.

Current data from VisitBritain projects a record-breaking £1.7 billion expenditure by Australians visiting the UK this year, with the number of visitors reaching an all-time high of 1.2 million in 2023—a 10% increase from 2019.