Program available now
Be part of the much-anticipated 2026 ART Convention to be held at Saltwater, Busselton, WA. Meet and engage with fellow colleagues and hear from industry professionals over a jam-packed program.
*Program subject to change
DAY ONE: Tuesday 20 October 2026
| Time | Session + details |
| 5.30pm – 8.00pm |
Welcome Reception Shelter Brewery |
DAY TWO: Wednesday 21 October 2026
Venue: Saltwater Busselton
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8.00am |
Registrations Open |
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8.30am |
Welcome Address from Master of Ceremonies Regional Leadership – The True Test of your Metal Regional tourism leadership has evolved dramatically, moving from what was once viewed as a ‘cottage industry’ to a sophisticated and highly professional sector driving economic growth, employment, infrastructure and investment across Australia. With greater government and private investment has come increased accountability, requiring regional leaders to navigate complexity, build strong connections with industry and community, and think strategically about the future. This opening address will explore what contemporary regional leadership looks like, why the expectations have never been higher, and the importance of looking beyond local boundaries to challenge the status quo, think big and consider regional tourism through a national and global lens. |
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9.00am |
Welcome Address by ART |
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9.15am |
The Future of Tourism Robin Mack, Managing Director, Tourism Australia |
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9.30am |
Office of the Visitor Economy (Austrade) Address |
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10.00am – 10.30am |
MORNING TEA |
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10.30am |
AI Just Stole Your Google Search Traffic. What Are You Going to Do About It? Hannah Statham, Media Mortar AI hasn’t just disrupted search, it has completely rewritten the rules. The only problem is most of us in RTO, LTO, and LGA land are still playing by the old ones. As AI-powered tools and answer engines replace traditional search journeys, brands are losing visibility in places they once dominated. Traffic is no longer guaranteed by ranking first on Google. The way people discover, evaluate, and choose has fundamentally shifted. The new reality is this – AI doesn’t rank your page. It selects your answer. And if you don’t adjust to this new reality, your destination risks being completely invisible to potential visitors. In 2026, the destination that provides the best answer to a query wins, often before the user ever visits a website. This keynote unpacks what that change really means for you. We’ll explore how consumer behaviour is evolving from keyword searches to conversational prompts, and why being “findable” now depends on how well your content can be interpreted by AI systems. It’s no longer about clicks. It’s about being chosen. Join Hannah Statham and learn how to stand out to the bots through human-centred and written content. |
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11.00am |
The ART Social Impact Project |
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11.10am |
Panel 1 – Tourism for Good Tourism can do more than attract visitors and drive economic growth, it can strengthen communities, protect culture and the environment, and improve the places people call home. This session will explore how tourism is being used as a force for good and how we can better understand and communicate its social impact. Facilitator: Professor Sarah Gardiner, Director, Griffith Institute for Tourism, Griffith Business School, Griffith University Cameron Tynan, Executive Manager – Property Development & Planning, Reflections Holidays Lauren Caverley, Senior Communications and Sustainability Manager, Tourism Australia |
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12.00pm |
Panel 2 – Dispersing the Opportunity: Attracting Visitors into Regional Australia |
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12.50pm |
LUNCH |
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Concurrent Sessions 1 |
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1.50pm |
Agritourism – Bringing your community on board What were we thinking?! Case studies from communities around the world on the intended and unintended consequences of agritourism. Festivals loved by the Locals. How AHOY Management put the community first at Taste Great Southern / Pair’d and Cabin Fever Kate Shilling – Tourism Australia Early insights on social and economic impact of agritourism from Australia’s first National Farm Tourism Survey.
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Accessible Tourism as a Regional Capability: moving from Project to Process Ryan Smith, Founder and CEO, The Access Agency Accessible tourism is often delivered through short-term projects, yet visitors do not see LGA boundaries and rarely distinguish between public and private spaces. They experience the destination as a whole. This presentation explores how local governments, regional tourism organisations and businesses can work together to embed accessibility into everyday destination management. By treating accessibility as an ongoing process rather than a series of projects, regions can provide more comprehensive visitor information, strengthen destination capability, recognise economic benefit and create more seamless travel experiences for everyone. |
Visitor Information Centres Further details to follow |
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2.40pm |
CONCURRENT SESSION CHANGE OVER |
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Concurrent Sessions 2 |
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2.50pm |
Agritourism – Farmstay Focus Tim Brady – Head of Heyscape Third speaker TBC
Different ways agritourism operators collaborate to offer unique accommodation and on-farm experiences. |
RTOs Brain Trust – The Room is the Panel An honest, interactive conversation where RTO leaders share what’s working and what needs attention. RTO leaders across the country are solving the same problems, mostly in isolation. This session flips that. A short panel kicks off the conversation, then the mic comes to you. Share a challenge or opportunity or a win you’re proud of. Hear how others have made an impact and tackled issues, and swap what’s actually working. Built for a room full of people who want to discuss, listen and learn about important topics amongst their peers. |
Experience by design: creating tourism people love and AI recommends What makes a tourism experience genuinely memorable, commercially strong and easy for AI to recommend? Liz Ward from Tourism Tribe explores how operators can move beyond selling products to deliberately designing experiences around the right customers, their values and what they truly want from travel. Drawing on Tourism Tribe’s work with destinations across Australia, this session explores the intersection of customer insight, AI and contemporary experience development, and how these elements can be practically applied by tourism businesses and DMOs to improve experience quality, strengthen businesses and create more compelling reasons to visit. |
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3.40pm |
AFTERNOON TEA |
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3.50pm |
ART Ambassador and Ask ART Session Facilitator: Lori Modde, Lorick Management |
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5.00pm |
Day 2 Wrap up |
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5.15pm |
ART AGM Saltwater Busselton |
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DAY THREE: Thursday 22 October 2026
Venue: Saltwater Busselton
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8.30am |
Panel 3 – Crisis management and leadership through economic uncertainty Facilitator: Felicia Mariani Danial Rochford, CEO, Tourism Central Australia Holly Wyatt, Regional Tourism Manager, Fleurieu Peninsula Tourism More speakers announced soon |
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9.20am |
Research, Insights and Data In a world with more data than ever, this session will focus on the ‘so what’ and ‘now what’ – translating complex information into practical insights that help organisations make better decisions and take action. |
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10.10am |
MORNING TEA |
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10.40am |
Leadership in Regional Tourism Communities: How Collaboration Creates Thriving Destinations Sveva Falletto, Executive Director Nature-based Tourism, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), Western Australia This presentation explores how stakeholders including local, regional and state governments, commercial tourism operators, Traditional Owners and community organisations can work together to create thriving tourism destinations that deliver lasting economic, environmental, cultural and social benefits for regions. Drawing on Western Australian case studies, Sveva Falletto will demonstrate how tourism projects can act as catalysts for broader regional transformation. Beyond delivering tourism infrastructure, these projects showcase how a shared vision and collective leadership can strengthen communities, enhance visitor experiences and support long-term destination stewardship. The presentation highlights the evolving role of the WA Parks and Wildlife Service as both a land manager and an enabling partner, bringing stakeholders together to balance conservation outcomes with sustainable visitor access. It will also examine the growing importance of the change towards regenerative tourism principles, ensuring tourism contributes positively to local communities, supports conservation goals and enables meaningful involvement of Traditional Owners. |
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Concurrent Sessions 3 |
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11.10am |
Building the right tourism partnerships – cultural way and corporate way Tracey Diddams, TRC Tourism and Rayleen Brown, Kungkas Can Cook This session delves into how Aboriginal people and tourism partners can build meaningful, sustainable collaborations by balancing cultural way priorities with corporate requirements. It examines what genuine partnership looks like—where risks and responsibilities are shared, and cultural authority, community benefit and traditional protocols are foundational rather than add-ons. Drawing on real-world Aboriginal tourism examples and lived experience, the session explores common partnership models across the visitor economy and the roles various partners play in areas such as product development, operations, marketing and compliance. Key contrasts between cultural way (protecting Country, language, Lore, Aboriginal-led roles, and ecosystem stewardship) and corporate way (legal agreements, governance, profitability and network access) are highlighted, demonstrating how respectful engagement can strengthen trust and deliver mutual benefits. |
Tourism in the Council Chamber: How Do We Get Tourism Taken Seriously? Tourism delivers far more than visitor numbers, marketing campaigns and events. But within Local Government, its true value isn’t always understood or recognised. This candid panel discussion will explore how Tourism Managers can better demonstrate tourism’s economic, social and strategic contribution to Councillors, executives and colleagues, while building stronger internal support and influence. From competing priorities and tight budgets to breaking down silos and finding the language that resonates in the Council Chamber, our panellists will share their experiences and practical insights. If you’ve ever found yourself having to justify why tourism matters, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.
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Turning climate leadership into regional tourism value This presentation shares the first insights from Ecotourism Australia’s forthcoming Climate Leadership research, supported through the Boundless Earth EPIC Grant Program. It challenges the idea that climate action is simply about managing risk, showing instead how climate leadership can strengthen destinations, grow regional economies and create competitive advantage. The session introduces a practical framework that brings together emissions reduction, climate adaptation, nature protection, cultural stewardship, social impact and credible sustainability into a clear tourism value proposition. It also highlights a new Sustainable Tourism Reputation Index, giving destinations a practical way to understand how sustainability influences reputation, visitor choice and global competitiveness.
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12.05pm |
LUNCH |
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1.00pm |
Panel 4 – The Future of DMPs Facilitator: Carolyn Childs How is destination management planning evolving to meet an age of heightened uncertainty? ART will continue its thought leadership in regional and remote destination management planning, sharing knowledge, looking at trends and hearing from some of the changemakers in this space. |
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1.50pm |
Leadership Keynote Address Todd Babiak, CEO, Brand Gold Coast |
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2.40pm |
Regional Success Stories – Showcase Hear from successful tourism operators as we showcase Australia’s South West. |
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3.30pm |
Convention Wrap Up |
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5.30pm – 9pm |
ART Convention Dinner Origins Market |
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