Tourism Australia holds successful Dreamtime 2006 on Gold Coast

The show was conducted by TA's Business Events department and brought 110 international hosted qualified buyers to meet with 62 Australia suppliers, and also to experience some of what Australia has to offer meetings and incentive groups. The two-day trade show included buyers from Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, China and Malaysia. Howard Choy, president, Dreamwalkers Incentives in South Korea, was one of the hosted buyers. He said: "Australia is a good option for my groups because it is seen as being very safe and also flexible in terms of cost." Delegates approved of the preplanned meeting schedule. Prior to the event, Tourism Australia had matched up buyers and sellers by using questionnaires to assess the needs of both parties. Some buyers were concerned with the lack of suppliers from certain parts of Australia. However most were pleased with the range and quality on offer. Delegates also participated in events including a cocktail function at Q1, the Gold Coast's tallest building, visiting the Gold Coast's theme parks including DreamWorld and Sea World, and spending a day at the Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove Resort. Post-event familiarisation trips included Melbourne and the Whitsunday Islands. The Gold Coast was voted the second most-popular resort destination in Asia Pacific in the 2006 CEI Asia Pacific Annual Industry Survey.