News in Brief: Wednesday April 9

News in Brief: Wednesday April 9
By admin


Outrigger Hotels and Resorts has appointed a Sydney-based regional director of sales and marketing to focus on the outbound Australia and New Zealand markets for all the group’s properties.

Andrew Gee, director of sales and marketing for Outrigger on the Lagoon in Fiji, has been appointed to the role. He will report to Asia Pacific vice president sales and marketing Mark Simmons and vice president sales and marketing for Guam and Hawaii, John Limper.

In a further move, Karen Marvell has been named director of sales and marketing for Castaway Island and Outrigger on the Lagoon, Fiji, also based in Sydney. She was previously head of sales and marketing for Castaway.

Marvell will also report to Simmons and Outrigger on the Lagoon general manager Peter Hopgood.

 

Sunshine Coast tourism chief executive Simon Ambrose has spoken of his ambition to attract more Chinese and Korean travellers to the region although he stressed that growth will not happen overnight.

While the Sunshine Coast has built a "reasonably strong following" in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, Ambrose said there was "great potential" in both China and Korea.

His comments came after an expo in Sydney where more than 20 tour operators from the Sunshine Coast and Fraser Coast showcased their product to the trade, including Asian inbound specialists.

Engaging with the Asian inbound sector remains one of the region's key strategies, Ambrose said.

"Our teams have done a lot of work in these markets and this is the first showcase in Australia where we have specifically targeted Asian inbound operators," he said. "While we don't expect dramatic growth overnight, we do expect it to be substantial over the longer term."

 

Inland NSW has been awarded funding of $800,000 over two years for the development of new technology to improve the online experience for potential visitors.

The funding, to be matched by partners organisations, will help solve the "diverse and fragmented" way the region currently promotes itself online, Inland NSW chief executive Graham Perry said.

"As part of our objective of doubling overnight visitor expenditure to the Inland region by 2020, one of our key strategies needs to be improving the online experience people have when researching and booking our destinations," he said.

The windfall will also fund regional marketing campaigns.

 

 

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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