Tourism Australia sets benchmark for experiential destination marketing

More than 90 international event planners have converged in Brisbane this week for Tourism Australia’s signature destination incentive showcase, Dreamtime.

Leading the way forward for experiential destination marketing, Dreamtime invites event planners and corporate buyers to 'experience' Australia as a meetings and events destination—and this year's event marks the largest in Dreamtime's 25-year history, attracting 94 international buyers from key markets across Southeast Asia, India, China, Japan, Korea, the U.S. and U.K.

The biannual event kicked off on Monday with an official opening ceremony at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, followed by scheduled business sessions with 89 Australian sellers. 

Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan said Dreamtime is the perfect opportunity to enhance the understanding of Australia’s business event capabilities with incentive planners and key decision makers.

“We are excited to be bring Dreamtime to Brisbane for 2017 to give international delegates a first-hand understanding of why there truly is nothing like Australia for business events,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“Dreamtime is the perfect platform to show incentive planners from around the world all that Brisbane has to offer for organisations who are seeking to encourage and reward high performance within their teams with the ultimate goal of achieving better business outcomes.”

Following a two-day destination showcase and a series of networking events in the Queensland capital, buyers will now travel to a number of different cities across the country to discover additional incentive product and destination experiences.

Brisbane was selected to host Dreamtime 2017 at a time of major investment in infrastructure, hotel builds, new incentive products and experiences. The showcase is set to expand on the city’s strong track record of hosting major international events, including the G20 Brisbane Summit, the World Science Festival Brisbane, and most recently the Rugby League World Cup 2017.

“Brisbane is a progressive, growing, and globally connected city; we are quite literally Australia’s front door to the rest of the world,” said Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Graham Quirk.

“Dreamtime 2017 is an opportunity for us to demonstrate to our international guests that Brisbane is a unique city that offers creative and fun incentive experiences.”