Tourism Australia hosts cooking party for tour ops, airlines & advisors, shares updates

Familiar faces from leading tour operators and the travel trade donned blue aprons and said “G'day” to an Australian-inspired meal Wednesday (March 12) at Toronto’s Cirillo's Academy, where Tourism Australia hosted a DIY dinner and destination update.

Organized by VoX International, Australia's rep in Canada, the kitchen party, where participants prepared aspects of their meal at designated stations, celebrated the spirit of Australia with food, wine and Aussie mateship.

The main course? A black garlic, mint and rosemary crusted Australian beef with sautéed mushrooms, Warringal spinach and gratin potatoes (which was delish).

Australia’s secret sauce 

Speaking to PAX, Chris Allison, vice-president of Tourism Australia in The Americas, in town for a sales mission, said the culinary angle was chosen for the event because food and beverage is “a big driver” for Canadians when they consider travel to a destination.

But Australia’s culinary scene isn’t necessarily the first thing Canadians think about when planning their Aussie escape, Allison said.

In fact, on the tourism board’s list of “destinations drivers,” food and wine ranks at number 15, way below other attractors, such as safety and security, wildlife, beaches, marine activities, coastlines and accommodation choices.

“However, once people return from Australia, food and wine shoots up to number three or four,” said Allison.

It’s an expected surprise as travellers discover Australian wines (“Which are up and coming on the world stage,” Allison said) and the country’s fresh produce.

“We have so many different influences in Australia,” Allison said. “There are lots of Indigenous and Asian influences in our cuisine. The flavours are really interesting and different.”

What makes Australia’s food scene unique are local ingredients, like wattleseeds, he said.  

These are edible seeds from any of 120 species of Australian acacia that were traditionally used as food by Aboriginal communities.

Allison’s favourite local dish? “Our seafood,” he said. “Our barbecues are very seafood forward. It’ll be shrimp, salmon…and it’s very fresh.”

Tour operators unite 

Spotted last night was a who’s who crowd of tour operators, including Goway (which has been selling Australia for 55 years), 5Continents, Kensington Tours, TTC Tour Brands and Air Canada Vacations (ACV), which launched tour packages to the Land Down Under just last year.

ACV's new packages are a welcome addition to Australia’s tourism landscape, said Allison.

“Air Canada Vacations have a really strong customer base,” he said. “It's fantastic to see brands, like ACV, understand the opportunity Australia can provide in broadening their offer and providing more relevancy to their customers.”

The introduction of ACV’s packages will introduce customers that “we might not have had access to before,” said Allison.

“It’s all about bringing newcomers,” he said.

Lots of lift

On the lift front, airline capacity connecting Canada with Australia is at 100 per cent of 2019’s levels, Allison said.

Air Canada and Qantas offer non-stop flights to Australia out of Vancouver (YVR) – Air Canada, to Sydney and Brisbane; Qantas, to Sydney.

What hasn’t returned from 2019 is Air Canada’s Vancouver-Melbourne route, which is on hiatus, for now, amid fleet constraints.

But what has increased, in recent years, are the number of indirect options to Australia that are now available to Canadians.

Fiji Airways, for example, now flies direct from Vancouver to Nadi (NAN), where gateways to Australia (and New Zealand) await. The airline has a free stopover program.

Air New Zealand also offers great connectivity to Australia via Auckland. “There’s heaps of choice,” Allison said. 

VFR rebound

The Aussie updates come on the heels of Canadians returning to Australia in droves after the loosening of COVID-era travel restrictions.

At one point, Australia’s Canadian visitation numbers were trending higher than the United States (the two countries are on par now, Allison shared).

“It’s looking very strong,” Allison said, noting that Australia saw 160,000 Canadian visitors in 2024, representing a five per cent increase over 2023.

Australia’s global visitation is currently at 86 per cent of 2019 levels, he said. India is Australia’s fast-growing market, while China is still recovering.  

Australia is currently seeing a “big rebound” in the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) segment, Allison said.

“At the moment, in Canada, that’s actually stronger for us compared to vacations, which speaks to the cultural ties between Canada and Australia,” he said. “There are lots of expats.”

Indigenous experiences

Looking ahead, Tourism Australia will be leaning into its Indigenous heritage when it comes to conversations with potential visitors from Canada.

“I think there’s a common appreciation for our Indigenous cultures,” Allison said. “Australia has the oldest living and continuous Indigenous culture in the world. It's over 65,000 years old. People don't necessarily acknowledge it, or always understand it, but we know when guests come and meet with local Indigenous people, and hear their stories, they return with a much more enriched holiday.”

The tourism board has a program, called Discover Aboriginal Experiences, that offers fully-vetted, ready and commissionable experiences, led by Aboriginal guides, through tour operators and DMCs.

Impact of U.S. tariffs

With more Canadians cancelling their U.S. travel plans in protest of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, is Australia expecting a boost in visitation numbers this year?

“I think any destination can expect some of that business,” Allison said. “We’re just going to continue reminding consumers who are considering a trip to Australia to consider it now, and remind them of all the great reasons why they should visit. That is our strategy, regardless of what's happening in the world at the moment.”

Coincidentally, Tourism Australia has several activations launching in Canada, over the next quarter, which will “continue to elevate our brand,” Allison said.

This includes a CBC series that will run nationally in April, co-op activity with Air Canada in May, and the airing of two 48-minute episodes about Queensland and Tasmania for the Quebec TV program Partir autrement entre amis, bringing Australia closer to French-speaking audiences.

Tips for the trade

For travel advisors, the Aussie Specialist Program remains the best way to upskill, attract more clients and sell higher-level vacations.

The platform includes a new asset hub, market insights, itinerary-building ideas, partnership toolkits, product updates, Aussie specialist training and more.

Australia Marketplace North America, meanwhile, will take place from Sept. 15-17, 2025, at the Torrance Marriott Redondo Beach in Los Angeles.

The event is an opportunity for travel professionals to build business relationships with more than 100 representatives from the Australian tourism industry.

It includes two days of pre-schedule appointments between buyers and sellers, as well as evening networking events. Applications open May 20. For more info, click here.  

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