Vanuatu Tourism Office (VTO) brought a fun-filled and successful Australian travel trade roadshow to a close on Thursday 11 May. The week-long tour kicked off with a bang in Sydney on Monday, followed by a mid-week soiree in Brisbane, which saw Melbourne host the finale Thursday evening. VTO, along with 22 local operators, welcomed over 400 agents to the educational evenings, which showcased the destination’s latest and greatest offerings through interactive games and networking opportunities.
Following on from the success of previous roadshows, this year’s tour was designed to provide a platform for face-to-face introductions, enabling agents to discover new products and increase their destination knowledge, along with the opportunity to score themselves some fantastic prizes, including a major prize giveaway.
LATTE attended the Sydney event, held at Hyatt Regency Sydney, and praised the fun, interactive quiz format of the evening. Guests also enjoyed a two-course meal, featuring lamb and delicious individual pavlovas.
Vanuatu Tourism Office’s CEO, Adela Issachar Aru, said these industry events are crucial to driving interest from the Australian market and ultimately continuing to increase visitor figures year on year.
“Australian visitation in 2017 was up an 17.33% on 2016 figures, which is fantastic to see, and there has been a united effort by operators on the ground and the industry in Australia to grow these figures. In 2018 we are forecasting visitation to Vanuatu to be up 20% on 2017 and with increased direct flights from Sydney and Brisbane via Air Vanuatu from June, along with a number of exciting new products and destination events, we’re certainly on track to make this happen.” said Ms Issachar Aru.
Looking forward, VTO will now begin gearing up for its annual Tok Tok event which will be held in Port Vila between 27 and 31 August, 2018. This will offer wholesalers and travel industry buyers the opportunity to meet with local suppliers, exchange ideas and learn about upcoming opportunities in Vanuatu, as well as experience some highlights of this South Pacific destination firsthand.
