Destination Tweed has set its sights on luring the international market, with more than 20 travel agents from as far afield as the UK and South America touring the region in recent weeks.
“The agents’ feed-back has been extremely encouraging,” said Destination Tweed CEO, Bill Tatchell.
“They love the dramatic landscape and scenery of the caldera and are impressed by the variety of activities available here.
“Most of them are reasonably familiar with the Gold Coast and Byron Bay, so our focus is on leveraging that awareness and presenting the Tweed as a touring destination where travellers can detour on a multi-day self-drive itinerary as they travel between the two.
“The agents we have been talking to generally specialise in Australia as a destination and some of their clients have been here several times. As such, these agents are looking for something different and ‘new’ to recommend and the Tweed is really ticking that box for them.”
The visiting travel agent groups have included a dozen Aussie Specialists from the United Kingdom, a team of agents from Indonesia, France, South Korea and South America who focus on the youth market and a group from New Zealand.
“For each group, we select a range of appropriate products for them to experience first-hand,” said Mr Tatchell.
“For instance, we took the youth market agents to Fingal and Kingscliff where Tim Jack Adams from Watersports Guru had them out on Cudgen Creek, stand-up paddleboarding and kayak fishing.
“With other groups, we have presented sample touring itineraries, out through the Valley to Chillingham, Tyalgum, Mt Warning and Mavis’ Kitchen.
“We’ve also been able to showcase our major attractions such as Tropical Fruit World and crab-catching cruises on the Tweed River.
“The New Zealand group, particularly, have clients who travel each year to the Gold Coast and stay for relatively long periods, so those agents will be recommending that their clients turn right and head to the Tweed next they land at Gold Coast Airport.”
