Australia attracts Latin Americans through Australian promotional event
A large Australian promotional event was held in Latin America attracted thousands of visitors in three countries and boost Australia’s profile in a region of 450m people.
The Australia Festival 2007 showcased Australia as a destination for study, business, tourism, fashion and youth culture at events held in Mexico, Peru and Argentina.
The festival increased awareness of Australia in a region in which it is not better known than in North America and European countries and help Australian businesses tap into markets experiencing better economic growth that offer access to millions of sophisticated consumers.
According to Austrade , the Latin American services market alone is now worth more than $30bn offering exciting export and business opportunities for Australia across a wide variety of industries.
Australian companies stand to benefit from the liberalisation of services industries in many Latin American markets creating new export and business opportunities in information services, cultural and entertainment services, financial and professional services, business and technical and travel services.
Australia needs to capitalise on its positive image in Latin America as a dynamic and youthful country and highlight its expertise in sectors such as professional, educational and business services.
The theme of this year’s festival, Australia es de Pelicula, meaning Australia is like a film or larger than life, is the fourth Australia festival to take place with events held in Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Lima between May 14-25.
The emphasis of the festival was on Australia’s youth lifestyle with educational institutions attending, the staging of fashion shows by brands such as Billabong and Rip Curl, tourism promotions and wine tasting taking place in each city during the festival.
An important aim of the festival was to bring Australian education providers and business representatives to the market to meet prospective students, their parents and local institutions to foster academic exchanges and recruit students who offer Australian universities more diversity and a greater ethnic mix.
The sponsors of the festival include Australian Education International (AEI), Tourism Australia, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR), Qantas and Billabong.
8-Jun-2007