It’ll be almost two decades since Brisbane held the event when it returns to the destination next year, with the city last hosting the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) in 2007.
The event, organised by federal agency Tourism Australia, will be held at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
“With Queensland gearing up to host the Olympics in 2032, it’s terrific to see ATE returning to Brisbane next year connecting international buyers and local businesses to take advantage of the green and gold decade,” said Australia’s tourism and trade minister, Don Farrell.
“Queensland is home to some of the most beautiful and authentic Australian experiences and will be an excellent host for ATE in 2025.”
Queensland has hosted the event several times – in addition to three previous iterations in Brisbane, both the Gold Coast and Cairns have been home to the event in the past.
“ATE is our industry’s marquee event and we can’t wait to welcome hundreds of international buyers and sellers to Brisbane once again, with the city thriving in new tourism infrastructure and opportunities,” said Queensland’s tourism minister, Michael Healy.
“Queensland always puts on a great show for ATE and we know when we are the host, demand is high for our incredible familiarisation and event program.
“We’ve previously helped Tourism Australia reach one of their highest delegation numbers in the event’s history and we look forward to reaching new heights in 2025.”
When the Gold Coast hosted the event in 2023, 100 per cent satisfaction across both buyers and sellers was revealed by the post-event survey.
CEO of Brisbane Economic Development Agency Anthony Ryan said it was Brisbane’s moment for the spotlight.
“Lonely Planet, The New York Times, TIME Magazine and travel guide publisher Frommer’s, have all recently named Brisbane among the globe’s top destinations, and now having Brisbane chosen as the host city of ATE 2025 is another coup for our ever-evolving and beautiful city,” he said.
“This is Brisbane’s time. Hosting ATE will provide an invaluable platform for Brisbane to shine on the world stage, with tourism operators nationwide able to connect and conduct business with international buyers from around the world in our city.”
The announcement of Brisbane as the host destination was made at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on the final day of ATE 2024 in Melbourne, which drew a record number of buyers and sellers.
“Melbourne has once again done a great job hosting ATE and we look forward to taking this great event back to Queensland which is home to so many tourism operators and experiences,” said Tourism Australia’s managing director, Phillipa Harrison.
“By the time ATE returns to Brisbane next year we expect that the Australian tourism industry would have surpassed the 2019 numbers we have been using as a benchmark and will once again be firmly focused on the future.”
