AusLeisure

The 2018 Australian Regional Tourism Convention has attracted the highest number of attendees in five years, with 188 people registered for the event.

Taking place in the NSW Tweed region this week, the soaring attendee numbers for the 2018 convention reflects a nation-wide trend towards greater interest in growing Australia’s regional tourism sector.

In recent years, the industry has emphasised the importance of continued professional development and learning, with some 181 delegates attending from all levels of government, regional tourism organisations, tourism professionals and businesses.

More than 40 speakers have been leading sessions on hot topics for the industry, including how to increase regional dispersal of visitors out of capital cities and into regional areas, Indigenous tourism, agritourism, technological advancement and the future of visitor information centres in Australia.

Agritourism and the opportunities it brings to regional communities is high on the agenda with ART recently releasing Australia’s first National look at the state of and opportunities that agritourism brings to regional areas.

Commenting on the relevance of the Conference, ART Chair Simon McArthur “with drought-stricken farmers struggling and generational farms looking at closing, tourism provides a real opportunity for the industry to diversify and survive.

“For many, tourism provides the difference between being open or selling. The more farms that survive, the more regional communities survive. ART plays a critical role in driving real change for this important sector to grow and thrive in our communities.”

Click here for more information on the ART Convention in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.  

Images: Tweed Heads.

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