‘We’re seeing strong demand for luxury Australia right now,’ says Dunedin based Janine Mallon of Zest4Travel. ‘A lot of people are building their holidays around visiting friends and relatives but they are wanting to do something special as a holiday as well. Often budget is not a factor.
‘From my perspective, availability is the major concern so I have to work hard to make sure I can organise what will really meet my clients’ expectations.’Mallon says a number of clients booking Australia have been to Europe and are likely to head back there in the future.
‘Right now, it is just easier to stay close to home. It is just easier and there is less stress involved, but they are still looking forward to their holiday.’
She says in terms of time frame the booking patterns right now are either very close or further down the track. ‘The booking pattern six to nine months down the track are slow at the moment but of course that could change any time.’
Mallon is a first-time visitor to ATE and says she is looking forward to making and developing connections with suppliers and growing the possibilities of what they can do together. She is making the most of her trans-Tasman trip, joining a famil on the Grand Pacific train journey from Adelaide to Perth later in the week. She also did a site inspection of The Ghan on Sunday.
‘I have had a couple fo famils to South Australia in the last two years and it has changed the way I sell South Australia. I am sure this will help too.’
Gemma Brown of Flight Centre is at her second ATE. ‘People are definitely looking closer to home, we’re seeing that already and we’re expecting Australia to continue to perform well. I am here to continue building relationships with suppliers.’
Chris Allison, vice president The Americas and New Zealand with Tourism Australia says there is a significant and ongoing opportunity for the New Zealand travel trade to sell Australia.
‘With the broader economic volatility right now people may not want to travel as far or for as a long a time as they may have in the past – but they still want to travel. Australia is open for business and ready to welcome New Zealand travellers.’
This year’s ATE has 18 delegates from New Zealand.
Stacey Kerr South Australian Tourism Commission; flanked Daniel Wright and Chris Allison, both Tourism Australia at the NZ buyer welcome drinks
Kristy Wei, Flight Centre; Chris Toumpas, Adelaide Oval; Emma Robertson, GO Holidays
Gerard Murphy, Bon Voyage Cruises and Travel; Ben Swanson, Oval Hotel; Laura raine, Alison Beer, both Visit Canberra
