Returning free festival EverNow kicks off tonight
EverNow: A Festival During Kambarang kicks off this evening in Perth/Boorloo, in a visually spectacular celebration of Noongar culture. This year, a new addition From the Light Flow: Bena Koorliny, will light up Burswood Park from 3–6 October with a dazzling display of light, fire and projections. Song Circle will return with music, dance and light at Burswood Park from 3–6 October, and Boorna Waanginy: The Trees Speak, will again bring the towering trees of Kings Park and Botanic Garden to life from 4–7 October. Read more here.

Headline and above image credit: Jarrad Seng

Perth gears up to host World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit
Next week, the World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit will take place in Perth, bringing together international leaders in government, tourism and trade, alongside investors and media to explore aviation and infrastructure investment opportunities in WA and to discuss global tourism topics. Hosted from 8-10 October at Crown Perth, the event is a once-in-a-lifetime platform for WA to demonstrate its economic ambition and showcase WA’s thriving tourism industry to WTTC members, which include business leaders from some of the world’s biggest companies. Operators can register for on-demand access to the Global Summit including conference presentations and learning sessions. Read more here.

Events added to Pair’d Margaret River Region program
Even more tantalising events and elements have been announced for the inaugural Pair’d Margaret River Region, Western Australia’s new homegrown wine and food event. New highlights include additional music talent, a wine quiz at South West Wine Shop, a gourmet dinner at Amelia Park Cellar Door and Restaurant, and a Closing Party set to take over the main street of Margaret River town. New ticket types and VIP packages are also now available for Margaret’s Beach Club. The Tourism WA owned event will run from 14–17 November 2024 and will feature events to suit all tastes and budgets.
Read more here.

Submit your special deals for the Western Australia Dream Sale
There is still time to join Tourism WA’s $3.5 million ‘Western Australia Dream Sale’, a high-impact marketing blitz targeted to east coast travellers, launching later this month. The sale invites interstate travellers to step into a dream deal through a variety of compelling offers, promoted through a tactical consumer campaign. WA tourism businesses are reminded to upload their own special deals and have them featured within the sale. The best deals submitted by tomorrow, 4 October, are eligible to be included in the paid media creative assets, including full page press advertisements, radio advertising, digital and social media. Read more here. 

Drive the Dream 1.0 shortlisted for award and 2.0 garners media attention 
The first Drive the Dream short film, featuring Daniel Ricciardo and his best mate Blake embarking on a road trip from Perth/Boorloo to Exmouth/Warnangoora along the Coral Coast Highway, has been shortlisted as a finalist for ‘Best Video Campaign’ in the 2024 B&T Awards to be held in Sydney next month. Meanwhile, the Mail Online in the UK and Australia has showcased the new iteration of the campaign, which features Daniel’s latest road trip from Perth to the South West, across four different locations on their website. The Tourism WA UK team secured the exclusive MailOnline story as well as several other high-profile pieces, including one in Autosport and Motorsport. Read more here.

Image: Drive the Dream 2.0 - Australia's South West

Cape to Cape confirmed for another three years
A new three-year funding deal was announced this week for one of the Asia Pacific’s largest and longest-running mountain bike (MTB) races. The four-day Cape to Cape MTB race is a multi-day endurance event that covers approximately 200km across diverse terrain, including coastal trails, national parks, forest, farmlands, mountain bike parks, and bushland. Catering to all levels of experience and ability, the popularity of the event has significantly grown and now attracts up to 1,300 riders annually. This year, elite riders will compete for $25,000 in prize money. Read more here. 

Image credit: Tim Bardsley-Smith

Join Tourism WA’s Domestic Spotlight event
Join Tourism WA and a panel of industry leaders for an update on the interstate market including latest insights, trends and upcoming activity. Panel speakers will include Webjet Chief Executive Officer, Katrina Barry; Helloworld Travel General Manager of Marketing, Melissa Warren; and representatives from Tourism WA’s East Coast Trade Office including The Walshe Group Executive Chairman Jacqui Walshe and Trade Account Manager Christine Poole. The event is being held at Pan Pacific Perth on Thursday, 7 November from 8:30am to 11:00am. RSVP your attendance in-person or online here by Friday, 1 November. 

WA on sale with Flight Centre
Tourism WA has partnered with Flight Centre on a tactical campaign to drive interstate visitors to Western Australia. The two-week sale is live until Wednesday, 16 October and is promoting a range of aspirational multi-region packages across the state including road trips and extended touring. The campaign is being promoted across Australian Traveller, Pinterest and paid social, as well as Flight Centre’s owned channels including in-store point of sale, e-newsletters, website, app, and organic social. Australian travel consultants have also received WA destination training in the lead-up. Read more here. 

Image credit: Osprey Creative

WA accommodation featured in Good Weekend magazine
Perth’s refurbished Pan Pacific Hotel, Hidden Cabins in the Ferguson Valley, and Ampersand Estate near Pemberton have all featured in ‘Good Weekend’s’ annual 52 Weekends Away. The special edition supplement is published in the Sydney Morning Herald, Melbourne’s The Saturday Age and syndicated online to an audience of over 1.2 million. The coverage is a review on each of the accommodation offerings and is the result of a Tourism WA supported famil. Read the story here. 

Image credit: Hidden Cabins

Esperance Launches ‘In Your Element’ tourism brand
The Shire of Esperance, in partnership with Australia’s Golden Outback, has launched a new sustainability focused tourism brand ‘Esperance. In Your Element’. The tourism brand invites travellers to immerse themselves in the wild elements of the region throughout every season. The rebrand aims to attract high value travellers; balance out seasonal visitor numbers; spotlight local produce, art, history and culture; drive regional dispersal; and educate visitors on travelling responsibly. The Esperance Promise also recently launched, encouraging sustainable and respectful travel. Upcoming workshops are scheduled on how to leverage the brand to benefit tourism businesses, customer experiences, and visitor journeys. Read more here.

Join the FACET Heritage Tourism Workshop
Join the Forum Advocating Cultural and Eco Tourism (FACET) and the Heritage Council of Western Australia at a Heritage Tourism Workshop on Friday 1 November, at His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. The event will showcase outstanding examples of heritage tourism, events and interpretation, and includes a sundowner networking function. This workshop will feature award-winning heritage projects and individuals from the 2023 WA Heritage Awards, and will showcase best practice heritage conservation, adaptation and reactivation, tourism and interpretation of heritage sites and places. The workshops will also demonstrate how sharing our heritage can generate positive economic and social impacts. Read more here.

Attend Meet the Buyer 2024
Hospitality businesses looking to form new supplier relationships could benefit from Meet the Buyer, WA’s biggest showcase of WA food and beverage businesses. Held at Crown Perth on Tuesday, 22 October, the event is set to attract 600 visitors, including buyers, importers, chefs, and sommeliers, to discover unique products that have been grown, farmed, fished, processed, prepared and served in Western Australia. As the state’s premier food industry trade show, Meet the Buyer connects WA producers, food business owners and decision makers with industry buyers. Read more here.

Image credit: Meet the Buyer

Upcoming China Market workshops
Tourism Council WA will hold two workshops to help local tourism businesses attract and service Chinese visitors, with results showing in the year ending June 2024, 75,000 Chinese tourists visited WA. The China Ready workshop will prepare operators to service the growing Chinese market by understanding the importance of cross-cultural training and how to meet, greet and serve Chinese customers. The Marketing to the Chinese Traveller workshop will help you understand the China market, teach you to use Chinese social media, help you learn how to work with China-approved Inbound Tour Operators and use suitable payment systems. Read more here.  

Image credit: TCWA

Upcoming TCWA workshops and events 
Learn about the latest marketing information, research, and trends relevant to your tourism business by attending Tourism Council WA’s upcoming workshops in Denham, Exmouth, and Coral Bay in October and November. There is also an opportunity to hear from Tourism Council WA CEO Evan Hall on Thursday, 10 October to hear the latest information from the WA tourism industry, including the business activity in your region and sector, occupancy rates and price fluctuation. This webinar will cover key topics for tourism businesses to plan their operations. Read more about Tourism Council WA’s events and workshops here.

Image credit: TCWA