31 March 2009

Backpackers under the microscope

DARWIN - The youth travel industry of the future, backpacker employment trends and social media versus blogging are some of the topics to be explored next month at a national backpacker tourism conference in the Northern Territory.

The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) Symposium 2009 Backpacker conference will bring AustraliaÃ¢â¬â¢s backpacker industry operators and tourism product suppliers to Darwin on April 28-29.

Backpacker Tourism Advisory Panel chairman Peter Burke said that Darwin was an exciting venue for the backpacker conference as it was quickly becoming one of the hubs of the youth travel industry in Australia.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœWhilst the backpacker market has been described as resilient and seems to be performing well right now, with the bad news on jobs around the world it is unclear how long this may continue,Ã¢â¬~ Burke said.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœWith such an unclear picture of what may lie ahead, this yearÃ¢â¬â¢s Backpacker Conference in Darwin probably couldnÃ¢â¬â¢t have been timed better to provide a full update on how the sector is travelling.Ã¢â¬~

ATECÃ¢â¬â¢s Symposium 2009 conference will also feature a two-day inbound tourism conference and plenary session as well as a series of half-day breakouts focusing on the North Asian, South-east Asian and Western markets respectively.