Wollongong is taking part in AIME 2010 with two new hotels, an innovative mobile Visitor Information Centre and a range of international-ready products showcasing the Gong as a premier meetings and incentive destination.
Popular for events: Wollongong
Despite the global economic crisis visitor arrivals grew during 2009 and the team at Tourism Wollongong introduced a range of exciting initiatives aimed at helping visitors to better enjoy their Sydney South Coast experience.
These included:
-The opening of the $11 million Southern Gateway Centre, a new state-of-the-art visitor information complex that also includes a restaurant and high-tech Jumbulla Aboriginal Discovery Centre to provide an insight into the original inhabitants of the Illawarra,
-The MyGong van, which tours the region providing interactive visitor information at events or wherever crowds gather up and down the coast, and
-A Social Media Engagement Program harnessing the amazing reach of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to get the word out about tourism experiences along the region’s main touring route, Grand Pacific Drive.
Two soon-to-open hotels – the 167-room Chifley Wollongong on the city’s seafront and 45-unit Quality Suites Pioneer Sands near the University of Wollongong – will bring to eight the number of international brand hotels in the immediate area.
Tourism Wollongong general manager Greg Binskin said that by trading on its natural beauty and easy access to Sydney and the national capital, Canberra, Wollongong was becoming a hot lifestyle destination and popular choice for business and sporting events.
“Suddenly everyone wants to visit the Gong, thanks largely to the magnetic pull of Australia’s newest driving route, Grand Pacific Drive, for road trippers and holidaymakers alike,” Binskin said.
“Running 140km from the Royal National Park to Wollongong and beyond, Grand Pacific Drive and its benchmark Sea Cliff Bridge offers an amazing way to view and sample one of the most beautiful and dramatic coastal stretches in Australia.”
Around Wollongong you can skydive onto the beach, catch a Harley Davidson ride into the hinterland, paraglide off the escarpment or just kick back in a range of fantastic beachside cafes and seafood restaurants.
Wollongong is also a growing choice for the business events market, with the range of new hotels, tours and activities giving conference and incentive visitors some compelling conference and incentives itineraries as well as a great place to stay and talk business.
Easily explored on foot, Wollongong features an extensive beachside cycleway, fabulous shopping facilities, a choice of 17 patrolled beaches, panoramic views of the city from Mt Keira Lookout and an historic traipse into the region’s mining past at Mt Kembla village.
AIME delegates are invited to visit Booth 0418 on the Sydney stand to meet the Tourism Wollongong team and learn more about the Gong – or seek out business events information by emailing conferences@wollongong.nsw.gov.au or calling (02) 4228 0300.
Tourism Wollongong, Chifley Wollongong, Quality Suites Pioneer Sands, Grand Pacific Drive, Southern Gateway Centre
