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Web In Travel’s first outing in Australia on June 21 in Sydney is getting strong local support and check out the views from Shangri-La Hotel where it will be held – photo was taken yesterday.
Tourism Australia is the founding partner of the one-day WIT Australia themed “Marketing to the new traveller in Asia”. Industry organizations, Australia Tourism Export Council (ATEC), and HSMAI Asia Pacific, have also lent their support.
And Travel Massive’s team in Sydney will team up with WIT to organise The Unofficial WIT Party on the evening of June 21 at Altitude, the bar at the top of the Shangri-La Hotel. (pictured below)
Travel Massive is a global initiative to connect people in the travel industry locally, bringing together travel bloggers, brands, startups and socially engaged travelers.
“We are extremely encouraged by the welcome we are getting in Australia,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder and producer of Web In Travel. “And I know our speakers are looking forward to travelling to Sydney not only to play tourists – a couple have packed their golf bags – but also to share their knowledge of their own markets.” 
At a time when the strong Australian dollar is working against domestic and inbound tourism, markets in Asia are holding strong, thanks to robust economies, improved accessibility and a desire by travellers to visit Australia. The Tourism Forecast 2011, released just this week, clearly points to Asia as the future market of growth for Australia's inbound tourism.
Said the executive summary of the report produced by the Tourism Forecasting Committee, “Asia is expected to continue to lead the growth in inbound arrivals to Australia in the short and longer term. For 2011, there has been an upward revision for arrivals from China (from 21.9% to 25.8%) and Indonesia (from 6.8% to 13.1%), as aviation capacity continues to increase.
“Arrivals from most other Asian countries are forecast to grow in line with previous expectations, or at a slightly increased pace. A notable exception is Japan, where arrivals have been downgraded substantially (from 401,000 to 293,000), due to the recent natural disaster.”
The programme features a mix of Asia-based speakers and leading names from Australia’s tourism industry. Markets to be covered include China, Japan, India, Indonesia as well as the rest of South-east Asia and trends to be addressed include social media, mobile, travel reviews and group buying, all the hot button topics in today’s online travel landscape.
Helping to organise the event on the ground is Elizabeth Rich (left) from Agenda Pty Ltd, an expert in the business events sector. “Connecting to the Asian market is paramount to the future success of our sector. E- marketing to potential delegates from this region is the key to boost numbers.”
“Melbourne’s convention bureau hasn’t wasted any time targeting the Asian market with its clever online strategies. MCVB’s CEO Sandra Chipchase will expand on these strategies at WIT Australia.
“It is increasingly evident that the smart business events money is on Asia. The rapidly rising professional and business classes in Asia mean more business travel and more conferencing. These neighbours have the wherewithal and the budget to head to Australia – they just need the connection and the offer. The WIT conference examines the best ways to make that connection.”
Registrations for the conference have opened and the early bird rate of A$588.50 will apply till June 14.
