Shows Australia: TIM MCGRAW AND FAITH HILL AUSTRALIAN TOUR - MARCH 2012

Country music's reigning king and queen, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill will tour Australia for the first time together next March, promoters Rob Potts Entertainment Edge and Chugg Entertainment announced today.

The Tim McGraw & Faith Hill / Australia 2012 tour will be the first time the country music superstars have toured together outside of North America, will be Hill’s first time touring Australia and will include them performing separately and together.

Shows Australia: TIM MCGRAW AND FAITH HILL AUSTRALIAN TOUR - MARCH 2012

Obama on the Way to Australia

All travel eyes will be on Australia later this year as US President Barack Obama plans a visit down under.

Arriving on 16 November for a two day stay, the White House announced this week that the trip would be make to mark the 60 year anniversary of the Australian and US alliance, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

While details of the President’s itinerary will be revealed closer to his arrival, the visit could offer some much needed relief to Australian tourism operators as the strong Aussie dollar continues to play a hand at deterring tourism.

Australia saw a 0.5 percent drop in tourism from its strongest market New Zealand in July this year compared to the same month last year as well as a 7.2 percent fall from US holiday-makers, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

However, the power of the public figure on travel was made evident earlier this year after his visit to Ireland.

A short visit in May this year saw Ireland’s visitor arrivals increase by up to 15 percent between April and June compared to the corresponding period last year, Joe News reported.

Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons said the rise was a result of recent visits from a number of big names.

“The month of May of this year was particularly positive for tourism, with the two historic visits of Queen Elizabeth II and President Obama and the Uefa Europa League final in Dublin,” Mr Gibbons said.

(Source: etravelblackboard.com)

Queensland Tourism News: Queensland Secures Right to Host World's Young Cricket Stars

Queensland will host the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012 for the first time ever in an event which will see the best young cricket talent in the world playing in Brisbane, on the Sunshine Coast and in Townsville next year, Premier Anna Bligh announced today.

Securing the event, through a partnership with Events Queensland, Cricket Australia and Queensland Cricket, represents a major milestone for cricket in Queensland - and it's only the second time in the event's 24-year history it's been held in Australia.

Queensland Tourism News: Queensland Secures Right to Host World's Young Cricket Stars

Queensland Tourism News: Chinese vote Queensland Number One Green Tourism Destination

Queensland has been voted the ‘Green Tourism Destination of the Year’ by more than 4.2 million readers of China’s Travel Weekly tourism trade publication, said Minister for Tourism, Manufacturing and Small Business Jan Jarratt today.

The announcement was made at the 2011 China Travel & Meetings Industry Awards in Beijing overnight. Ms Jarratt said the award was a massive coup for Queensland.

Queensland Tourism News: Chinese vote Queensland Number One Green Tourism Destination

It's "Game On" as Million Dollar Memo Companies Converge in Queensland for AUD$1 million Challenge

Twenty finalists from 11 countries and regions have converged on Queensland to battle it out for AUD$1 million in Queensland incentive travel experiences in the Million Dollar Memo campaign.

Minister for Tourism, Manufacturing and Small Business Jan Jarratt said it was "game on" for the first day of competition on the Gold Coast.

"Over the next eight days finalists will be under the microscope of our expert panel as they go head-to-head in a series of challenges set in some of our most stunning incentive destinations including the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Whitsundays and Tropical North Queensland," Ms Jarratt said.

"Only one company can win, but at the end of this incredible experience we want all entrants to go back to their home countries and tell everyone in their business circles that Queensland is the best destination for companies to reward staff.

"This is an amazing prize and understandably the stakes are high, so we expect competition to be fierce over the next week as companies vie for the ultimate AUD$1 million in Queensland incentive travel experiences."

Tourism Queensland CEO Anthony Hayes said the incentive travel market was a lucrative area, with incentive travellers spending more than $300 million per year in Queensland.

"The Million Dollar Memo campaign aims to grow this figure by backing up Tourism Queensland's five-year incentive strategy," he said.

"Ultimately our aim is to position Queensland as the top incentive destination in the Asia Pacific region."

The campaign message has already reached an audience of around five million people, with marketing activity undertaken by the companies involved estimated at a media value of AUD$6 million.

Mr Hayes said the online campaign had captured the imagination of companies worldwide, with hundreds of hopefuls entering to try to win the AUD$1 million prize.

"To continue this momentum, an international media contingent of more than 30 is also in Queensland to follow the Million Dollar Memo finalists during the campaign," Mr Hayes said.

"They will broadcast their experiences and images of Queensland to a global audience of millions.

"Word of mouth is one of the best forms of promotion and for the next week the 20 entrants involved in Million Dollar Memo will act as Queensland ambassadors, broadcasting their experiences through all their business and personal networks.

"This will be amazing publicity for Queensland."

The Final 20 included three chosen by popular vote which were ASUS Design Centre (Taiwan), XinMedia (Taiwan), Yahoo! Taiwan (Taiwan) and 17 chosen by Tourism Queensland, including ADR Group of Companies (Indonesia), Base Architecture (Queensland, Australia), Beijing Huayuan Int'l Travel (China), Boomerang Reisen GmbH (Germany), COM2US Corp (Korea), Datamatics (India), DéLonghi (New South Wales, Australia), Hong Leong Assurance Berhad (Malaysia), Lend Lease (Queensland, Australia), Mary Kay Cosmetics (Victoria, Australia), Peoplebank (New South Wales, Australia), Procter & Gamble (Taiwan), Reading Room (United Kingdom), Samsung Card (Korea), Sparkloft Media (United States), Vero Insurance NZ Ltd (New Zealand), Wood Group Integrity Management (Western Australia, Australia).

The Million Dollar Memo campaign is proudly supported by Virgin Australia, Etihad Airways, Gold Coast Convention Bureau, Business Events Sunshine Coast, Tourism Whitsundays Convention Bureau and Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef. Mackay Convention Bureau, Townsville Convention Bureau, Brisbane Marketing Convention Bureau are also supporting partners.

To follow Tourism Queensland's Million Dollar Memo campaign, learn more about the finalists and grab images of Queensland visit - www.milliondollarmemo.com

(Source: Travmedia.com August 2011)

Tiger returns to Brisbane - Brisbane Tourism News

Tiger Airways will resume flights between Melbourne and Brisbane today, almost seven weeks after the carrier was forced to suspend flights due to safety concerns.

The low-cost carrier was grounded early last month by the Civil Aviation Authority of Australia (CASA) after it was considered a flying hazard.

Six weeks of negotiation and safety adjustments, the carrier received its Air Operator’s Certificate early last week and announced that it would roll out its services over time and that for the moment only flights between Sydney and Melbourne would return to the sky.

However, earlier this week the carrier said it would resume services between Brisbane and Melbourne, commencing with a daily return afternoon flight that will take off today.

The carrier added that it will pick up the number of flights between Melbourne and Brisbane from 23 August, with two daily return services.

“Brisbane has always been a popular Tiger destination so it makes sense that the Sunshine State is the next cab off the rank following the welcome resumption of our Melbourne - Sydney services last week,” Tiger Airways head of marketing Vanessa Regan said.

Achieving solid bookings since its return last week and 100 percent departure and arrival performances, Mr Regan added that the carrier’s long term goal was focused on safety and punctuality.

“With safety underpinning the operation at all times, a key long term goal for Tiger Airways is to become the most popular and punctual airline operating in Australia,” Ms Regan said.

“Combined with our great value fares we believe that we have an offering many Australians will continue to embrace.”

(Source: eTravelblackboard, August 2011)

Shows Australia: Taylor Swift Will Return to Australia in 2012

Taylor Swift has extended her Speak Now world tour, adding six dates in Australia and New Zealand in 2012. In less than a year, the globetrotting superstar will have visited nearly 20 countries spanning four continents since the hugely successful tour's official kick-off in Singapore in February.

Shows Australia: Taylor Swift Will Return to Australia in 2012