Opal Award Winners for best Australian tourism products and marketing initiatives undertaken in North America

More than 170 North and South American travel agents specialising in the Australian market visited Melbourne for Corroboree 2011: The Americas Aussie Specialist Convention.

The agents visited Melbournefrom 28 October to 1 November, with many of them first time visitors to the country.

Representing the Minister for Tourism and Major Events Louise Asher, Member for Southern Metropolitan, Georgie Crozier said Melbourne hosting this year’s Corroboree offered a great opportunity to showcase Victoria’s many attractions for the North American market, the fourth largest source of visitors to Victoria.

Corroboree is held annually in Australia as part of Tourism Australia’s ‘Aussie Specialist’ program; a network of dedicated international retail travel agents focused on Australia. Tourism Victoria won the right to host the North American event for the first time in Melbourne.

Corroboree 2011 brings qualified ‘Aussie Specialist’ retail travel agents from the Americas to Australia to meet with more than 90 leading local tourism operators and take part in a range of product and training events and activities.

The convention also includes the Opal Awards Gala dinner to recognise the achievements of ‘Aussie Specialist’ travel agents and their industry partners.

“Victoria received 165,000 overnight visitors from North America in the year ending June 2011 and arrivals from this market are expected to reach 210,000 in 2020,” Ms Crozier said.

“Holding the Corroboree in Melbourne also showcases our strength as Australia’s most sophisticated leisure destination, home to major sporting and cultural events with world-class convention and exhibition capabilities.”