| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 01/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 39 |
| Copyright: Other |
Tourism NSWto plug new look Sydney
Report by JOANNE O’CONNOR
THE host of this year’s Australian Tourism Exchange, Tourism New South Wales, will use the event as an opportunity to showcase the revamped city of Sydney as it gears up to stage the Olympic Games in September.The tourist board sees the annual trade show as the last opportunity for the UKtravel trade to witness the changes that have taken place in the city before Olympic fever takes hold. This year will also be the last time that Sydney hosts ATEfor at least four years.
Tourism NSWregional director Europe Stuart Rigg said: “Delegates are going to see Sydney looking fantastic and get to experience some of the pre-Olympic buzz. The whole city has had a facelift and has changed enormously since last year.”
Among new facilities that visiting trade buyers will get to see are the Sydney Visitor Centre at the airport, which will offer arrivals advice and a booking service for accommodation, attractions and tours; the fast rail link between the airport and the city centre, which takes just 14 mins; and the Eastern Distributor – a new road from the airport to the city which has eased traffic congestion and cut driving time to just 15 mins.
Delegates will be given a half-day tour to visit several of the new hotels which have opened and also the Fox Studios – a movie-themed visitor attraction and leisure complex which opened at the end of 1999.
There will also be opportunities for buyers to visit the Olympic Village at Homebush.
Atotal of 240 suppliers from the state will be attending ATE,including 20 first-time exhibitors. New product on show this year will include a backpackers’ travel centre offering accommodation and advice in the Sydney suburb of Glebe; and the Dockside function and convention centre in Sydney’s Darling Harbour.