Tourism Australia is revamping its award-winning Aussie Specialist Program (ASP), in a move aimed at giving travel sellers globally the knowledge and skills to better promote and sell Australia.

Details of the new-look program were unveiled at this year's Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE15) in Melbourne.

The relaunch follows an extensive review of the global online training program and includes a new digital platform as well as training resources which will be shared by Tourism Australia and all eight of its state and territory tourism partners.

Tourism Australia Managing Director John O'Sullivan said the changes were critical to the industry achieving its Tourism 2020 goals.

“Whilst our Aussie Specialist Program is still recognized as one of the world's leading destination training programs, it has now been in existence for 26 years and we feel could benefit from a bit of reshaping to keep us ahead of the competition,” he said.

Fundamental to the changes is a new digital platform, including a new website which features interactive training modules, itinerary suggestions, fact sheets, latest industry news updates, destination FAQs and an interactive map. The site works across all mobile devices.

As part of the ASP website relaunch, Tourism Australia's Premier Aussie Specialist program will be extended to all key markets. The program, which incorporates the very top sellers within the Aussie Specialist Program, was previously only available in four key markets.

Tourism Australia's Regional General Manager, The Americas, Jane Whitehead welcomed the new program.

“We are seeing the strongest interest in visiting Australia that we've ever seen in North America.  We've seen 9% percent growth in American visitors in the past year to a record 577,000 and 6 percent growth in Canadian visitors to 143,000.  And Australia keeps ranking top of lists of destinations North Americans most want to visit.”

“We're expecting strong further growth with several new flight routes set to launch in coming months, adding to the excellent flight options between North America and Australia.”

In addition to the new website, a team of Aussie Specialist trainers is being recruited to help provide face-to-face training in key markets for frontline travel sellers.

“We know that many Americans and Canadians rely on the expertise of travel professionals to help design and book their ideal Australian vacation and we want to make sure we're supporting these travel advisors so they have the knowledge and tools to deliver amazing experiences for their clients," she said.

A key principle behind the relaunch has been securing the support of all state and territory tourism bodies, enabling Australia to speak with “one voice” when promoting the country and its tourism product to the world.

The program will be available in 11 languages and rolled out progressively across all markets over  six months, starting August 2015.

“We strongly encourage travel advisors to join the program.  Achieving the entry-level qualification is quick – it takes just a couple of hours in total to complete the introductory modules – and free of charge.”

“By becoming a member, advisors gain access to bespoke training modules and sales resources, travel club offers, invitations to attend exclusive Australia events and regular communications with industry and product updates and training webinars.  It's really the best way for us to stay in touch and support their professional needs.”

About the Aussie Specialist Program (ASP):

The Aussie Specialist Program (ASP) is Tourism Australia's global training program, run in conjunction with Australia's State and Territory Tourism Organisations (STOs).

The ASP is designed to provide international travel sellers with the knowledge and skills to promote and sell Australia as a destination. It offers agents an online platform and training resources to learn about Australia, helping them to promote and sell the destination more effectively.

Currently there are 18,000 qualified Aussie Specialists worldwide.

Benefits of becoming an Aussie Specialist include access to bespoke training modules and sales resources, travel club offers, invitations to attend exclusive events and monthly e-newsletter updates.

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For further information contact:

Julie Earle-Levine, Tourism Australia on 917 673 3095; jearlelevine@tourism.australia.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/TourismAus