20 December 2007
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The Latest News - Important Upcoming Events - Excellent Marketing Opportunities - Behind the Scenes |
FROM THE CEO'S DESK
I wish you and your families and friends a relaxing and enjoyable time with those you love this Christmas, as these precious times are certainly life enhancing. I look forward to continuing our challenging but fulfilling roles in marketing our destination to the world and managing the ever growing number of issues which our maturing tourism industry must address.
I look forward to seeing you back in 2008 refreshed, reinvigorated and hopefully not in need of too much refinancing……but it is Christmas time after all.
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Rob Giason Chief Executive Officer |
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THE LATEST NEWS
NEW BOARD MEMBERS
TTNQ Chairman Stephen Olle welcomed two new members to the TTNQ Board this week with the appointment of Michael Coe and Richard Blanchette. They replace Lloyd Smith and Mark Evans both of whom officially stepped down from their positions on the Board at the December meeting. Michael is the General Manager of Mantra Treetops Resort & Spa in Port Douglas and Chair of Port Douglas and Daintree Tourism. Richard is the Resort Manager for Port Hinchinbrook Resort & Cruises. Both Michael and Richard are appointed Directors to fill Casual vacancies created by the departure of Lloyd Mark. Stephen also thanked Mark Evans for his 10 years on the TTNQ Board and Lloyd Smith for his two terms over a period of 10 years and for the dedicated service both gave during this time. The Board also wishes Lloyd well in his retirement.
NVS IVS
Both the International Visitor Survey (IVS) and the National Visitor Survey (NVS ) for Year Ending September 2007 released earlier this month had some good news for the region with the highlights including an increase in the length of stay for international visitors, strong growth from China and Korea, an increase in domestic holiday visitor numbers, holiday visitor nights and expenditure. TTNQ’s IVS and NVS Summaries will be posted on www.tropicalaustralia.com.au/corporate in the near future.
BES AUDITED RESULTS
The results of the Business Events Survey (BES) have now been audited, showing that Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef region continued to achieve strong growth in this sector, attracting a total of 923 meetings for the year July 2006 to June 2007, an increase of 84 per cent. A total of 70,387 delegates attended these events, up 82 per cent on the previous year and the number of delegate days increased by 64 per cent to 269,152.
PRIME OPPORTUNITY TO PROMOTE BUSINESS TOURISM
CRCB’s Angela Uhlig recently attended PRIME, the Pacific Region's premier meetings industry "Business Exchange" where she had appointments with 28 key decision making meeting & incentive and association planners from the North American market, as well as networking opportunities with over 50 highly qualified buyers. From the appointments at least five hot sales leads for the region were identified.
JETSTAR FAMIL
TTNQ recently worked with our partners in Japan, Jetstar and Tourism Queensland to bring two groups of Japanese travel agents from Osaka and Nagoya here to experience the destination first hand. The agent’s time here included the opportunity to experience Port Douglas, the Great Barrier Reef and various other Tropical North Queensland attractions as well as a range of accommodation. One group is pictured here with Paolo Gambino of Cairns Colonial Club Resort, TTNQ’s Harry Niihori and TQ’s Junji Seto.
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AIRPORT AMBASSADORS
The Ambassador’s got the Silly Season started with the loud bang of a Christmas cracker being pulled at “IL COLOSSEO”, the venue chosen by Cairns Port Authority for our Ambassadors’ Christmas Party. What a lavish affair it was! Delicious Italian food with wines to match, gifts, surprises, lucky draws, unexpected costumes, some very good jokes, some incredibly bad ones… a lot of fun was had by all. Not only did the Ambassadors get a chance to interact with each other, but we also got to meet the key figures within TTNQ and CPA who had the vision for this entire venture. On behalf of the whole team, our most heartfelt thanks to all people concerned who made that memorable evening possible.
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NEW NAME, NEW LOOK FOR VIC
The Cairns and Tropical North Visitor Information Centre is the new name of the region’s official Visitor Information Centre at TTNQ 51 The Esplanade. New signage is in place and the staff and volunteers are keen to help our visitors over the Christmas period, when the centre will operate everyday from this Friday 21 – Monday 31 December 2007 from 10am - 6pm, except for Christmas Day when it is closed and will also be closed on New Years Day. Normal trading hours recommence 2 January 2008 (8.30am - 6.30pm).
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NEW VIC TEAM MEMBER WELCOMED
Former Visitor Information Centre volunteer Kitty Barron has been appointed to the Centre’s staff as Centre Assistant, replacing Renee Wilcox who has now completed her studies at JCU and is working. TTNQ welcomes Kitty to the team and wishes Renee all the best for the future.
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TTNQ OFFICE HOURS
The TTNQ office will be closed for the Christmas holiday season from Friday 21 December to Wednesday 2 January.
NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR WENDY HALL AWARD
Nominations are now open for the prestigious Tourism Queensland Wendy Hall Award. Here is your chance to nominate a Tourism Queensland employee, team or department who you think have made a significant contribution to the Queensland tourism industry. Nominations are due by COB Monday, 14 January 2008. For more information, go to http://www.tq.com.au/tqcorp_06/about-tq/awards-for-excellence/awards-for-excellence_home.cfm or contact Kearin Armstrong, Tel +617 3535 5524.
IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS
DATE CLAIMER - TTNQ NETWORKING FUNCTION 21 FEB 08
The first TTNQ Member’s Networking Function for 2008 will be held on the evening of Thursday 21 February to coincide with a visit by Tourism Queensland representatives here to provide market briefings to industry.
NEW PRODUCT WORKSHOP IN THE AMERICAS
27 – 28 MARCH 2008 LOS ANGELES
This is the perfect opportunity for TNQ Products that are ready for the International Market, but have not yet been included in any wholesale brochures in the Americas as yet. If you are interested in attending please contact shana.pereira@tq.com.au as soon as possible, as spaces are very limited. For further information please click here.
BEHIND THE SCENES
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Sharyn and Rob attended ATEC Meeting Place during which Rob gave a presentation on the Planet Safe Partnership program.
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The Domestic and Membership TAG meetings were held as well as the first Aviation TAG meeting.
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Rob participated in the Australian Association of Convention Bureaux meeting.
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Harry attended a meeting with Harry is currently for meetings with wholesalers regarding the upcoming January – March holiday season activity as well as that for the remainder of the 2008 season through to September.
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Lisa has been assisting the producers of the JTB Japanese Guide Book during their 10 day visit to the region as well as coordinating the various Japanese famil groups here during December and into the New Year.
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All the region’s official Visitor Information Centres will undertake Great Tropical Drive training over the next few weeks.
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Niaomi has been visiting various members and conducting site visits.
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Rob and Val attended the Cairns Tourism Association’s Kamsler Awards.
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Most of the team are busy with follow ups and finalising as much work as possible before taking a brief break over Christmas.
SEEN IN THE MEDIA
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The Great Tropical Drive gained a front page mention in a leading German newspaper, Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger - Page1, Page2, Page 3
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The Cairns Amateurs were the topic of this Adelaide Advertiser article which also covered The Lakes Cairns Resort & Spa.
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Susan Kurosawa enjoyed the indulgence experiences available at Cairns International Hotel and Sea Temple Resort & Spa Port Douglas and recounted them in a Weekend Australian feature story.
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If you have a good news story or have achieved a recent success please send your information to Helen Laird.
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While every effort is made to ensure the information in this newsletter is accurate, Tourism Tropical North Queensland disclaims all responsibility and liability (including without limitation, liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages and costs incurred as a result of the information being inaccurate or incomplete in anyway, and for any reason.