TravMedia celebrated its eighth annual International Media Marketplace Australia welcoming 450 industry professionals to the ICC Sydney.

More than 450 media and PR industry representatives attended TravMedia's International Media Marketplace (IMM) Australia on Friday, February 28, 2020. Now in its eighth year, IMM is officially Australia's largest media event connecting domestic and international travel brands with Australia and New Zealand's top-tier editors, journalists, freelancers and influencers.

IMM Australia connected 190 media attendees with 186 PR representatives from 139 domestic and international travel brands in the Gallery Exhibition Hall of the International Convention Centre Sydney. Collectively, attendees participated in 7,458 pre-scheduled, one-on-one appointments – plus 4.5 hours of networking- which took place across multiple branded break-out activations.

Broken Hill and Central Darling hosted IMM's morning and afternoon tea showcasing their new “It's Out There” campaign.  The pop-up activation featured Bells Milk Bar, Broken Hill complete with milkshakes, lolly bar and drag queens, giving all IMM attendees a taste of what's 'out there' in Outback NSW. In addition, Destination NSW showcased their new “Now's The Time to Love NSW” tourism recovery campaign to inspire all attendees to join the #LoveNSW movement.

More than 450 guests sat down to lunch with speakers from United Airlines, Tourism and Events Queensland and Broken Hill and Central Darling. Tommy Lindblad, Marketing Manager of United Airlines, highlighted United's home city of Chicago.

Michael Branagh, Group Executive – Global Marketing at Tourism and Events Queensland, addressed all IMM attendees on the importance of domestic travel this year including a visit to the reef, 2020 as the Year of Indigenous Tourism and the future of Queensland's capital city.  Brisbane is booming with new hotels, airport upgrades and the potential of an Olympic Games.

IMM attendees were able to relax and indulge in locally sourced New Zealand coffee presented in the sponsored Tourism New Zealand media zone, which showcased the 'land of the long white cloud'. Regions included Destination Rotorua, Tourism Nelson, Tourism Bay of Plenty, Hamilton and Waikato, Visit Dunedin and more. New Zealand exhibitors showcased their destinations amongst local flora and fauna to market their unique propositions to all media in attendance.

The day wrapped up with a short walk to the IMM official cocktail function sponsored by the Hyatt Regency Sydney. Hyatt Regency Sydney's chefs prepared several culinary stations for guests to network and mingle with fellow attendees while admiring sweeping views of Darling Harbour. Attendees were welcomed by Matthew Talbot, Director of Sales & Marketing at the Hyatt Regency Sydney, to celebrate the success of the day and indulge in the delectable spread.

Nick Wayland, CEO and Founder of TravMedia, said, "The success of our eighth annual IMM Australia event would not have been possible without the record media and industry in attendance and the incredible support of our sponsors Hyatt Regency Sydney, Tourism New Zealand, Broken Hill and Central Darling, United Airlines, Tourism and Events Queensland, G Adventures and our hotel partners Accor, Four Seasons Sydney and Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach.”

Media in attendance included top national travel editors, freelancers and digital influencers from outlets including Fairfax Media, Traveller, News Corp, Escape, NZ Herald, The Australian, Australian Traveller, International Traveller, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Luxury Travel magazine, Australian Women's Weekly, Higher View Inflight Magazine, Vacations & Travel, Signature Luxury Travel & Style, Holidays with Kids, get lost magazine, Bound Round, Jetstar Magazine, Voyeur, Qantas Magazine, SilverKris, Sky Business, AFR Magazine, Financial Review Life & Leisure, Flight Centre, Senior Traveller, The Senior Newspaper, Robb Report and many more.

Participating exhibitors in attendance included 50 Degrees North, Accor, Adaaran Resorts, Alterra Mountain Company, Aquaduck, Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED), Aurora Expeditions, Australia's South West, Australian Society of Travel Writers, Australian Wildlife Journeys, Austrian National Tourist Office, Bali Zoo, Brand USA, Brisbane Marketing, Broken Hill City Council, Calgary Stampede, Chimu Adventures, Choose Chicago, Colorado Tourism Office, Crystalbrook Collection, Cultural Attractions of Australia, Delaware North Australia Parks & Resorts, Denihan Hospitality Group, Destination British Columbia, Destination Canada, Destination Gippsland, Destination Gold Coast, Destination Great Lake Taupō, Destination Kiama, Destination New South Wales, Destination New South Wales, Destination Queenstown, Destination Rotorua, Discover Aboriginal Experiences - Tourism Australia, Discover Ipswich, Discovery Parks, Dubai Tourism, Enterprise Dunedin, Featherdale Wildlife Park, Federal Group, Four Seasons Sydney, Fraser Hospitality Australia, G Adventures, GLOBUS family of brands, Great Walks of Australia, Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, Hawaii Tourism Oceania, Hideaway, Cabarita Beach, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Hoshino Resorts, Hurtigruten Australia, Hyatt Regency Sydney, Whitegrass Ocean Resort & Spa Tanna Vanuatu, InsideJapan Tours, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Intrepid Travel, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, Jordan Tourism Board, Kingfisher Bay Resort Group, Fraser Island, Lancemore Hotels, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, Luxury Lodges of Australia Ltd, Macao Tourism Office, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, McLaren Vale Grape Wine & Tourism Association, Memphis Tourism, Merlin Entertainments Group, Minor Hotels, Monaco Government Tourist Bureau, Nelson Regional Development Agency, Nesuto Apartment Hotels, New Caledonia Tourism, New York State, Next Story Group, Nirjhara, No Roads Expeditions, Northern Escape Collection, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, Oita Prefectural Tourism Association, Okinawa Tourism, On the Go Tours, Opera Australia, Ovolo Hotels Australia, PHLCVB, Ponant, QT Hotels and Resorts, Rocky Mountaineer Canada, San Francisco Travel, Scenic, Scoot, Shangri-La Hotel, South African Tourism, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Stayz (AU) & Bookabach (NZ) - Vrbo Brands, The Langham, Sydney, The Mulia, Mulia Resort & Villas - Nusa Dua, Bali, The Siam, The Tweed Tourism Co, Thredbo, Tobu Railway, Tokyo Tourism, Tourism and Events Queensland, Tourism Australia, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Tourism Bay of Plenty, Tourism Central Otago (Division of Central Otago District Council), Tourism Ireland, Tourism New Zealand, Tourism Noosa, Tourism Northern Territory, Tourism Tasmania, Tourism Tropical North Queensland, Tourism Vancouver, Tourism Western Australia, Tourism Whistler, Travel Manitoba, Travel Nevada, Travel Texas, Trip.com Group, Turtle Island, Fiji, Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia, Viking Cruises, Vinpearl Travel Australia, Visit California, Visit Denver, Visit Flanders, Visit Seattle, Visit Sunshine Coast, VisitBritain, VisitCanberra, Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, WellingtonNZ, Wendy Wu Tours, World of Hyatt, World Resorts of Distinction, Wotsay, Yarra Ranges Tourism, YHA Australia

Due to the overwhelming success of this year's event, “TravMedia's IMM Australia will return to Sydney in February 2021. Based on the positive feedback, we anticipate a terrific turnout once again,” said Nick Wayland.  

TravMedia's IMM is the leading industry event for travel and tourism brands to meet the media. Upcoming 2020 International Media Marketplace events include IMM Germany in Berlin on 3 March, IMM UK on 9 and 10 March and IMM Paris on 11 March.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, TravMedia is recognised as the travel industry's only global media network. Founded by Nick Wayland, TravMedia is now established in nine countries, serviced by twelve offices, and connects over 45,000 travel professionals including 25,000 editors, journalists and influencers in all corners of the world. 

For more information and to register for IMM 2021 events visit www.travmedia.com/imm or email immaus@travmedia.com. To arrange an interview or additional information about IMM Australia 2020, please contact Blake Riddington at blake.riddington@travmedia.com.

Registration for IMM Australia 2021 will open August 2020.

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