Goway brings Australia travel partners north

Goway Travel welcomed 36 Australia travel partners to Toronto last night, during a mix and mingle event ahead of the tour operator’s first-ever Australia Corroboree taking place tonight.

Shirley Rourke, Goway’s senior general manager for the Pacific Region, told PAX that the all-day event at the Ontario Science Centre will combine training for travel agents followed by a consumer show in the evening. More than 40 agents and 250 consumers are expected to attend, Rourke said, adding that suppliers in attendance represent a wide range of Australia’s tourism draws.

“(These suppliers represent) a lot of offerings where people can get out and truly experience the country,” Rourke said. “There’s several wildlife tours, small group touring, even learning to surf in Bondi Beach it’s a whole mix of everything people want to do in Australia.”

Rourke added that Goway’s 2016 bookings continued to climb from previous years, citing demand for the destination in combination with increased airlift (including a new Vancouver-Brisbane flight from Air Canada) and a subsequent drop in airfare costs.

“It’s only gotten stronger; we’re seeing a lot of forward bookings,” Rourke said. “It’s a destination people want to visit and Australia is one of the few destinations where airfares have dropped in price.”