10 July 2008

Melbourne secures Grand Prix for another five years

Melbourne will host the Australian Grand Prix until at least 2015 after securing a new contract with Formula One Management.  Premier John Brumby said that retaining the Grand Prix is important to Victoria’s ongoing growth and prosperity. 

“The Grand Prix has been an outstanding event for Victoria over a long period of time and has helped put Melbourne on a global stage, “he said.  “Our year round calendar of sporting and cultural events draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to our wonderful city every year.”

Major events are a significant tourism drawcard, generating an estimated $1 billion annually to the Victorian economy, or $3.3 million each day.  Major events also provide excellent branding for Melbourne, with footage of the city being shown to a massive television audience worldwide.  The race will be held at 5pm next year and an agreement has been reached to not use any artificial lighting for the term of the contract.

Tourism and Major Events Minister Tim Holding said securing the Grand Prix was great news for tourism operators across the State. “Hosting the Grand Prix in Melbourne provides significant economic and tourism benefits for the whole State,” Mr Holding said.

“Importantly, many people who come to Melbourne for a major event also travel to regional Victoria to try our great food and wine, to see the Great Ocean Road or to bushwalk through Victoria’s High Country.”

In 2008, more than 300,000 people attended the four-day event and saw Lewis Hamilton win, the return of the V8 Supercars and a two-hour concert rock concert from KISS at the conclusion of the race.

New chapter for the Board of Tourism Victoria

A new chapter is about to begin at Tourism Victoria with the appointment of Dr Janine Kirk AM as the new Tourism Victoria Chair. 

Dr Kirk will replace Mr John Morse AM when he steps down at the end of July, after serving seven years as Chairman of Tourism Victoria.

Janine Kirk, who was first appointed to the Board in October 2007, brings considerable knowledge and experience of the corporate sector, particularly in regard to the promotion of Melbourne and in business events.

Dr Kirk currently works for Ernst & Young as a Partner and was previously Chief Executive of the Committee for Melbourne, for 12 years, and Chairman of the Melbourne Convention and Visitors Bureau, for seven years. 

Another new appointment to Tourism Victoria Board is Janelle Boynton of Boynton Feathertop Winery in Porepunkah.  Through her important proactive work as a member of the Victorian Food and Wine Tourism Council and North East Valleys Food and Wine, Janelle has shown her ongoing commitment to the tourism industry.
 
Janelle brings extensive experience to the position as she has been instrumental in working with the local community and the tourism sector to grow tourism in Victoria’s High Country region. 

Bee Ho Teow and Gregory Sword have also been re-appointed. 

For further information visit Ministerial releases  

Hywood to guide Australia’s National Strategy

Tourism Victoria Chief Executive Gregory Hywood has been appointed to the Steering Committee which will guide the development of Australia's National Long-Term Tourism Strategy.

The committee will be chaired by Margaret Jackson AC and other members include Christopher Brown, Kayleen Collins, Saul Eslake, Matt Hingerty, Karen Jacobs, Jeff Kennett AC and Jenny Lambert.

The Steering Committee brings together a broad knowledge of business and tourism and its members have a track record of achievement, energy, enthusiasm, and creativity.

Members have been chosen on the basis of their expertise, ideas, and their capacity to contribute to the development of a solid long-term vision for this important sector.

Throughout the next year, this Committee will channel ideas from industry and the work with the inter-departmental committee to deliver some exciting options for future governments to explore and consider.

Further information

$150,000 injection for Mildura tourism

Mildura Country Music Festival recently received an $112,500 funding boost from the State Government. Australia’s largest independent country music attracts approximately 13,000 people each year, with a significant number of visitors from Melbourne, interstate and overseas.  The festival appeals to country music lovers Australia wide and includes the most influential country music awards for independent artists in the country.  The free event is in its 22nd year and this year will be held from 26 September to 5 October.  

The 2008 Mildura Jazz, Food and Wine Festival also received $20,000 in funding from the government.  This year’s festival will see a wonderful combination of contemporary and traditional jazz in magnificent Mildura surrounds.  The festival, which is being held from 31 October to 2 November 2008,  sees jazz held in a variety of locations including bars, restaurants, churches and riverside venues.  

Tourism and Major Events Minister Tim Holding said this funding will help market and advertise these events to local and interstate visitors and encourage more people to visit this great part of Victoria. 

For more information on the Mildura Country Music Festival visit  http://www.milduracountrymusic.com.au

For more information on the Mildura Jazz, Food and Wine Festival visit
http://www.mrimf.com.au/jazz/

New Chief Executive for Destination Melbourne

Destination Melbourne has welcomed new Chief Executive Chris Buckingham. 

The former General Manager of Destination Gippsland will work together with industry and government to help promote Melbourne as one of Australia’s premier tourism destinations. 

Destination Melbourne is a part of a strategic marketing partnership between Tourism Victoria, City of Melbourne, Victorian Major Events company and the Melbourne Convention and Tourism Bureau. 

Scott Chapman, Chairperson of Destination Melbourne said the team are delighted to have Chris on board. 

“Chris has the proven ability to forge partnerships with industry and government,” he said. “His track record in Gippsland speaks for itself.”

For further information on the work of Destination Melbourne visit
http://www.destinationmelbourne.com.au/

Support grows for Melbourne Convention Centre

National support for the new Melbourne Convention Centre continues to go from strength to strength with a predicted 97 conventions expected to inject more than $515 million into the Victorian economy. 

Projections indicate the centre will bring more than 120,000 business delegates to the convention centre precinct. Already 25 major international conventions are booked for the new centre which will see 58,000 international business travellers visit the city, pouring a massive $371 million into Victoria’s economy. 

Opening in 2009, the new centre is confirmed as one of the world’s ‘greenest’ buildings after being awarded a ‘6 Star Green Star’ environmental rating – the first in the world for a convention centre. 

When fully integrated with the existing Melbourne Exhibition Centre, the new Convention Centre will be the most advanced exhibition and convention space in the southern hemisphere with innovative environmental design and operational features. 

The new centre is the centrepiece of the developing South Wharf area that will complete the link between Federation Square, Southbank and Docklands. 

To view the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s (MCEC) on-line interactive guide and take a virtual tour log on to www.mcec.com.au

New national accreditation program

Over the past 18 months Better Business Tourism Accreditation Program Victoria has been working in conjunction with other states and territories to form a truly national online tourism accreditation program.

The Australian Tourism Accreditation Program (ATAP) is a nationwide project, which aims to give tourism operators across Australia the ability to apply for 'Australian Tourism Accreditation' online.

Every operator is looking for a way to achieve a competitive edge and accreditation is one way to do this. Tourism accreditation is a fantastic business asset and with the launch of our new national online Australian Tourism Accreditation Program (ATAP), there has never been a better time to jump on board.
The Australian Tourism Accreditation Program is a business development program that is based on Quality Assurance principles. It has been developed by aligning the six state and territory based tourism accreditation programs.

The Program addresses many of the issues that are covered in the development of a business plan but focuses on those key elements that are part of the day-to-day function of any tourism operation.

For further information visit http://www.atap.net.au

Goodbye Tourism Victoria, hello Dubai  

International marketing manager Ian McDougal farewelled Tourism Victoria last month to take up a position as commercial manager of Emirates Holidays in Dubai. 

Ian was a long standing colleague of Tourism Victoria having held various positions with the organisation across the past 13 years. 

Tourism Victoria Chief Executive Greg Hywood said Ian’s exceptional performance over many years had been instrumental to Tourism Victoria. 

“His knowledge of the industry, his passion for tourism and this state and his great implementation and people skills have been crucially important to Tourism Victoria,” he said. 

General manager of international marketing Melanie de Souza echoed Hywood’s sentiments.  “He brought to the job in-depth knowledge of key tourism markets gained through overseas postings with Tourism Australia in Asia and New Zealand,” she said.  I salute Ian’s immense contribution in growing tourism to the state.”

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Industry News is produced by Tourism Victoria’s Corporate and Destination Communications team. Telephone 03 9653 9830.