With the number of overseas visitors to Australia expected to double over the next decade, it was no surprise to see around 48 new exhibitors at the Australian Tourism Exchange in Sydney last month.
Growth areas included food and wine tourism, cruising, indigenous product and train travel, but soft adventure and ecotourism were still two of the fastest-growing products.
Australian Tourist Commission group director, consumer marketing, Catriona Fraser said: “There is greater depth and variety than in previous years and the emergence of a distinct style of Australian product offering physical challenge or contact with the Australian people.”
Examples of adventure product in New South Wales included the BridgeClimb in Sydney, which has now become one of the most popular attractions in the capital.
Escorted by trained climb leaders, visitors can make their way over the steel arches to the summit 130 metres above sea level, day or night.
Other new soft adventure product in the capital includes the Aussie Duck, a 50-seat custom-built amphibious craft which takes visitors on an integrated land and harbour tour, driving through Sydney’s streets before plunging into the harbour.
Queensland continues to expand its rainforest and reef activities with new exhibitors such as Barrier Reef and Rainforest Explorers offering an extensive range of rainforest safaris, trekking and ecotours in minibuses.
Rather than running tours in the renowned Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation, visited by over 600,000 people a year, managing director Oliver Schreiber said he chose to operate tours in the Wooroonooran National Park which receives less than 100,000 tourists.
“The area is neglected from a tourist point of view,” he said. Tours range from easy to difficult, the most extreme being climbing Queensland’s highest mountain Mt Bartle Frere.
Visitors can also opt for a tour in an ex-army Hummer vehicle with Eco Escape, which features day trips around the spectacular rainforest behind Cairns taking in 1,000 year old tree giants, swimming in rock pools, lessons in boomerang throwing and driving across rivers.
In Cairns, adrenaline addicts can also experience new adventure packages operated by AJ Hackett. The adventure company has built a new platform on top of its 44-metre jump tower in the rainforest. The platform is equipped with a waterslide, a high-diver’s springboard and a launch ramp for bikes.
The company’s new Triple Challenge incorporates bungy, skydiving and rafting, while a new attraction – a giant Tarzan swing in the rainforest – will be added in August.
Indeed, the desire to fly through the air seems to be a common attraction throughout many of the states with a number of new exhibitors such as Go Wild Ballooning, based in Victoria, offering a range of hot air balloon safaris.
Meanwhile, adventure tourism continues to be a major focus for the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
NTTC UK director Carolyn Brown said: “Adventure tourism is very big for us. The NTTC and WA are joining forces to launch an adventure workshop in the Northern Territory. It is expected to attract around 30 sellers, 60 buyers worldwide from the US, Europe and UK.”