Thought provoking insight and ideas exchange will be top of the agenda at the Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference (AITC) in 2018.

Supported by Visit Victoria, the annual AITC event will be held in Lorne, regional Victoria, and include four days of trade and media education activities, workshops and industry insights with the focus of examining current and future travel trends.

The theme for this year’s conference is  ‘Entrepreneurship – from little things big things grow’ and will aim to inspire and excite key industry representatives and business owners.

AITC 2018 will address key issues that impact Aboriginal Tourism in Australia and highlight opportunities for development of culturally authentic Aboriginal tourism product. It will focus on training and employment opportunities that deliver positive social and economic impacts back to communities.

Victoria’s Aboriginal Tourism industry will be a key feature of the conference with a large number of domestic and international delegates expected to attend.

The conference is hosted by the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council (WAITOC) and gives Aboriginal tourism operators across the nation to share stories and promote their businesses.

Visit Victoria Chief Executive Officer Peter Bingeman said that supporting the development of Victoria’s Aboriginal tourism offering is a key priority for the organisation.

“Supporting Aboriginal tourism in Victoria is central to telling the story of Victoria’s diverse history, growing the state’s tourism assets and supporting local communities through the creation of jobs and training opportunities.”

“Aboriginal Victoria is distinctive in the context of Indigenous Australia, as the impact of colonisation created a different heritage, history and culture – one that is both traditional and contemporary, and both urban and rural.”

CEO of WAITOC Robert Taylor said “WAITOC has delivered the Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference for the past 18 years all over Australia and looks forward to delivering the 9th conference for the first time in Victoria.”

“Working closely with Visit Victoria, Outback Academy, Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation and the Victorian State Government to make this one of the most successful Australian Indigenous Tourism Conferences since its inception 18 years ago”

Jamie Lowe, Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation CEO stated that “this is a significant opportunity for Aboriginal tourism operators across the nation to share and promote their businesses while spending time at one of the most iconic tourism destinations in Australia situated on the country of the Eastern Maar Peoples.”

“The Great Ocean Road represents significant prospects for the Aboriginal tourism industry and for the Eastern Maar Peoples.”

“We are excited to be part of this event and look forward to working with WAITOC, the Victorian State Government, Outback Academy and other partners to ensure guests on Eastern Maar country have an outstanding experience.”

AITC 2018 will take place from 30 October to 2 November 2018 at the Mantra in Lorne. For more information and to register visit www.aitc.org.au.

In 2017 Visit Victoria welcomed Business Development Manager of Aboriginal Tourism John Huggins.

Huggins’ role at Visit Victoria is supported through Tharamba Bugheen: Victorian Aboriginal Business Strategy, which is being implemented by Small Business Victoria.

Developing capacity, marketing and promoting the Victorian Aboriginal tourism sector is a key part of Visit Victoria’s strategic focus.

Huggins hopes training, business support and mentoring will help new and emerging Aboriginal tourism operators become competitive and internationally-ready.

Visit Victoria has played a vital part in delivering economic success to Victoria, ensuring the tourism and major events sector is sustained and that the industry’s role as a major employer, particularly of young people, continues.

Visit Victoria’s aim is to become Australia’s number one visitor destination and generate $36.5 billion in visitor spend by 2025, supporting more than 320,000 jobs.