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Posted by editor (editor) on Apr 02 2009
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The Gold Coast is set to be in the Asian tourism spotlight when Tourism Queensland brings one of the largest groups of Asia travel executives to Queensland this week, Tourism Minister and Member for Southport Peter Lawlor said today.

Mr Lawlor said Queensland on Stage Asia 2009 would bring 91 of the most senior Asian travel industry to the state for five days in the first week of April, with their time divided between the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.

“Tourism Queensland’s international offices have hand-picked influential travel trade representatives from Korea, India, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong and Japan to present first-hand what the Gold Coast has to offer,” Mr Lawlor said.

“More than 685,000 visitors from these Asian markets visited Queensland in 2008, supporting 9500 Queensland jobs and injecting almost $1.4 billion to the Queensland economy.

“Several Asian markets such as India and Malaysia have grown significantly in recent years and in the past 12 months have increased 14 and 41 percent respectively.”

Mr Lawlor said the VIP travel trade representatives had a comprehensive four day itinerary which included a workshop with Gold Coast tourism operators and a series of familiarisations visiting south-east Queensland attractions.

“Queensland on Stage provides an opportunity for representatives from the Queensland tourism industry to develop and establish relationships with key decision-makers from the Asian market,” he said.

“Asia is one of Queensland’s most lucrative international markets for tourism and events such as Queensland on Stage Asia will help to increase Asian visitors to the region.

“When these top travel agents and buyers return home, they will be inspired to further promote and market Queensland as a destination of choice.”

Mr Lawlor said international tourism was a key economic driver for Queensland and during challenging economic times, it was crucial to continue with activities such as Queensland on Stage Asia which increased the visibility and presence of Queensland destinations and products in international markets.

“We are committed to generating interest from international markets and will do everything possible to maximise the benefits for Queensland,” he said.

“Events like this would not be possible without the support of Gold Coast Tourism and collaborative efforts of the local tourism industry in the regions involved.”

Last changed: Oct 06 2009 at 2:03 PM