We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples and the Traditional Custodians of Ngunnawal Country, the land on which we meet today. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and also recognise any other people or families with connection to the ACT and Region.
Alicia Payne MP, Federal Member for Canberra, with an update on the findings of the Joint Standing Committee Inquiry into the National Capital
Federal Member for Canberra Alicia Payne spoke about the growing momentum and confidence surrounding Canberra’s future, highlighting the important role tourism and hospitality professionals continue to play in shaping the city’s national and international reputation. Canberra is increasingly being recognised as a vibrant, attractive and culturally rich destination.
A major focus of the presentation was the Federal Government’s commitment to Canberra’s future visitor infrastructure, particularly the proposed new convention centre and aquatic centre project, supported through a joint $200 million investment with the ACT Government. Ms Payne reinforced the significance of the development for securing larger conferences, events and business tourism opportunities, while acknowledging the sector’s frustration around delays and the need to progress the project as quickly as possible.
"We’ve waited too long to have a convention centre befitting the nation’s capital."
Ms Payne also highlighted the importance of improving visitor connectivity across Canberra, particularly access to national attractions and cultural institutions. Following recent light rail announcements, she voiced her continued support for a hop-on hop-off style tourism bus or cultural loop service, positioning it as a practical initiative that could improve visitor movement, encourage longer stays and help visitors better engage with Canberra’s attractions.
Discussion also touched on the future of Canberra Stadium and the Bruce precinct, with Ms Payne acknowledging the broader tourism value of improved sporting, entertainment and hospitality infrastructure.
Ms Payne also acknowledged the ongoing interest in the Federal Government’s formal response to the inquiry into fostering the significance of Canberra, noting that several recommendations were already being actively progressed. She reiterated her support for practical visitor infrastructure initiatives, including improved connections to Canberra’s national attractions through a proposed cultural loop or hop-on hop-off style tourism bus service.
Karen Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Destination NSW, on their 2026 plans and activities and the relationship with Visit Canberra and the ACT
Karen highlighted the growing importance of collaboration between Canberra and regional New South Wales, encouraging industry and government to continue working together to grow visitation, strengthen experiences and encourage visitors to stay longer and explore more of the region.
Speaking about the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2035, she outlined the ambitious goal of growing annual visitor expenditure to $91 billion by 2035, with 48% of visitor expenditure expected to come from regional New South Wales. Destinations including the Southern Tablelands, Southern Highlands, Snowy Mountains and South Coast were identified as key drivers of future growth, supported by strong food and wine, nature, heritage and immersive regional experiences.
Karen also reinforced the value of cross-border tourism collaboration, encouraging the use of Canberra as an ideal base for exploring surrounding New South Wales regions. She highlighted a recent partnership between Destination NSW, VisitCanberra and Australian Tourism Export Council to deliver a New South Wales and ACT trade event focused on strengthening inbound tourism opportunities and connections with trade and distribution partners.
“We are looking beyond the borders of our state at how we can actually make the strategy come alive.”
Events were identified as another major opportunity for regional growth, with the 2026–27 Regional Event Fund delivering $1.5 million in seed funding to events across NSW. Previous recipients in the Canberra Region have included Murrumbateman Field Day and Snowy Mountains Multisport Festival.
Karen also acknowledged the challenging environment currently facing tourism businesses, including workforce pressures, fuel supply concerns and broader global uncertainty, reinforcing the importance of strong partnerships, shared data and industry collaboration to help destinations remain competitive and resilient.
Lucio Ribeiro, Chief AI and Innovation Officer, TBWA - The Disruption Company, on the growing influence of AI on the tourism and hospitality sectors
The way people research and plan travel is rapidly shifting. Lucio shared that 8 in 10 global travellers already use AI tools for travel, while around 50% now prefer speaking to a chatbot. Within Australia, 30% of travellers report having already used AI tools to unlock travel deals, scout destinations and find activities. Tourism businesses need to be discoverable to AI systems and large language models to maintain visibility and influence future visitor decisions.
A key message throughout the session was that tourism operators do not need to become AI experts to remain competitive. Instead, Lucio encouraged industry to focus on understanding the fundamentals, experimenting with tools and building confidence in how AI is influencing customer behaviour, visibility and online discovery.
“Tourism businesses now need to market not only to people, but increasingly to AI systems and large language models.”
Lucio also explored how AI is reshaping the traditional visitor journey, with travellers increasingly moving away from jumping between websites and platforms towards personalised, AI-led recommendations delivered through a single interface. He spoke about the growing importance of GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation), positioning it as the next evolution of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and encouraging tourism businesses to consider how they appear not only in search engines, but also in AI-generated recommendations and conversations.
While acknowledging the pace of change can feel overwhelming, Lucio reinforced that tourism businesses still hold a major advantage through human connection, trust and experience delivery.
At the same time, he encouraged operators to start engaging with AI now rather than waiting for the technology to “settle”, noting that AI literacy, experimentation and visibility in AI-driven search are quickly becoming essential to remaining discoverable, competitive and relevant in the future visitor economy.
Jonathan Kobus, Executive Branch Manager, VisitCanberra, with an update on the fuel situation in the ACT
Jonathan provided a short market update, acknowledging the ongoing cost of living pressures and uncertainty currently impacting tourism businesses across Canberra and the region.
He reinforced the importance of continuing to drive demand through winter, while highlighting the value of collaboration, reliable data and regular industry feedback to help shape future campaign activity and visitor economy planning.
Key updates for industry:
- VisitCanberra and the ACT Government continue to work closely with state, territory and federal governments to monitor fuel supply and broader cost of living impacts affecting travel demand.
- Proximity to Sydney and the diversity of experiences across the Canberra Region continue to position the destination strongly during challenging market conditions.
- Canberra’s diverse visitor economy, spanning leisure, business events, government travel and education tourism, remains a key strength as market conditions shift.
- Reliable tourism data and direct industry feedback are becoming increasingly important in shaping campaign activity and responding to changing market conditions.
- Events will remain a major focus across winter, with VisitCanberra continuing to support and promote events that drive visitation and overnight spend.
Dr David Marshall, Chair of the Leaders Forum highlighted:
The next forum will be held on Tuesday 9 June, which is also when the ACT Budget is to be released, speakers will include Andrew Barr MLA, ACT Chief Minister and Simon Westaway, Chief Executive Office, Australian Airports Association
Upcoming forum dates and recaps of all previous forums are available on our website.