Australia Day, January 26th is the first event on the Australian hotel promotional calendar and is a day to celebrate the best of Australian culture; whether it’s our food, wine, arts, fashion or commercial endeavour. Australia Day is much more than sausage sizzles, pavlova, lamingtons and beer. A week long Australian event could be themed to include;

Australia Day Black Tie dinner
The highlight of any Australia Day festival is a Black Tie dinner where the authentic cuisine of Australia would be a showcase of food and beverages prepared to exacting standards by Australian celebrity chefs from Dining Downunder ™. The menu would feature native Australian ingredients such as yakajirri, wattleseed, paperbark and alpine pepper, presented in a modern, contemporary style. As part of the offering, the entertainment could include Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal performers (singers, comedians, story-tellers etc).

Australian Cooking Classes
Australian native herbs and spices require particular cooking techniques to achieve optimal results on the plate. So while you have Australian celebrity chefs in town cooking at your Australia Day Black Tie dinner why not include cooking classes for your guests or corporate clients. In terms of boosting revenues, the price of the cooking classes could include a three course lunch with the celebrity chefs; an autographed copy of their cookbook and a take home pack of authentic Australian seasonings.

Australian Mini Trade Fair
If your function rooms and event space are not yet booked during the last week of January, then it’s worth considering a mini Australian trade fair as part of your Australia Day festivities. The mini trade fair could be run in conjunction with Austrade to showcase and profile the best of Australian products and services. A trade fair would generate revenue for the hotel in terms of function hire and room nights as well as food and beverage while also potentially offsetting some catering supplies as well.

Australian Art Exhibition
An Australian art exhibition could include Aboriginal paintings, contemporary art, pottery or Australian landscape photography. Artwork sold during the exhibition would generate commissions for the hotel. There could even be the opportunity to have an artist host the event with potential book sales on Australian art broadening the revenue base as well.

Australian wine tastings
Australian wines are among the world’s best and many people are still unaware of the unique flavours and styles currently being produced in Australia. As part of any Australia Day festivities why not invite a wine maker from an Australian winery to present their perspective of Australian wine. A wine and food matching course as part of the event could even be extended to include some selected or specialty beers or non-alcoholic beverages.

Aboriginal dance and digeridoo (yidaki) performance
As part of Australia Day festivities, an Aboriginal dance troop or yidaki performer could give guests an insight into the oldest living culture in the world. Yidaki workshops, story-telling, dance classes and interpretive explanations can open up the world of traditional Aboriginal culture to delight both patrons and expat Australians.

Australian Fashion Event
In recent years, Australia has been gaining worldwide acclaim with its fashion from high end Australian fashion labels such as Collette Dinnigan, Elle Macphersen, Kylie Minougue through to brands such as Billabong, Mambo and No Fear. During the Australia Day festivities, a fashion parade would generate plenty of interest for trend setters. Selected fashion brands could be available in the hotel boutique for added revenue generation.

Australian Sporting Event
Australians are well known for their passion for sport; from the Wallabies Rugby team to Olympic atheletes or the Australian Cricket team. There might be opportunities to host or complement an international sporting event during your Australia Day festivities.

Australian Film Festival
To complement the Australian theme of your hotel or just the event, an in-house TV channel could continuously play Australian films. These films could include The Castle, Oyster Farmer, Lantana, Rabbit Proof Fence or The Dish. Your mini Australian Film Festival could even be hosted by an Australian Actor.

Other approaches
If your hotel is located outside of Australia, contact the Australian Embassy or Consulate in your country to have them be involved in your Australia Day event. There may even be the possibility that your festivities are included in the official Australia Day program in your country.

Another point of contact should be your local Austrade office who may arrange for sponsorship of the event by Australian businesses wishing to gain publicity or market presence.

For Australian venues, simply contact the Australia Day Council to have your event included in the official Australia Day Program in your state.

I've done Australia Day events right around the world and can co-ordinate your entire program for Australia Day.
For more information contact me.