General News
29 July, 2025
Travel agents to say ‘hello’
A KEY travel agents conference is heading to Cairns next year.
Helloworld Travel (HLO) has announced that their 2026 owner manager conference (OMC) involving 500 delegates will be held in Cairns.
Partnering with Tourism and Events Queensland, the 2026 OMC will take place from Thursday, June 11 to Sunday, June 14, 2026.
HLO chief executive officer Andrew Burnes announced the destination to 500 delegates at the 2025 event in Vancouver.
“We are delighted to be taking our 2026 OMC to Cairns. As we all know, Queensland is a highly popular travel region for all of Australia, New Zealand and around the world, and we are very pleased to be supporting this region and tourism in the state,” he said.
“Personally, we have a strong connection with Cairns. Dating back to the late 1980s when we started AOT, then the Australian Outback Travel Company, as a safari company running tours out of Cairns to Cape York. We spent 10 years in Cairns setting up and growing the AOT business. Now, almost 40 years later we are heading back to where it all began.
“As always, we will put together an amazing program for the OMC and we know our agents will thoroughly enjoy Cairns and all it has to offer.”
Tourism and Events Queensland chief executive officer Craig Davidson said they were “thrilled to be welcoming Helloworld Travel owners and managers from Australia and New Zealand to Cairns in 2026”.
“Showcasing tourism in Tropical North Queensland, we will be inviting everyone to experience ‘That Holiday Feeling’ to keep Queensland top of mind when it comes to planning that next trip. Because no one does holidays quite like we do,” he said.
Convention centre general manager Janet Hamilton said they were “honoured to host the 2026 Helloworld Travel OMC at the Cairns Convention Centre”.
“As an internationally – recognised convention centre, uniquely positioned between two UNESCO World Heritage-listed sites, the centre provides an inspiring platform for collaboration and knowledge sharing – making Cairns the natural choice for this prestigious event,” she said.
It comes as the centre completes a busy few months and notches up $80 million in delegate spending in the last financial year.
Highlights included the Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Surgeons Conference, where over 750 specialists explored the latest in technology and innovation, the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, which welcomed more than 1500 delegates focusing on ‘future-proofing’ their profession and the well-known Cairns Crocodiles event, now in its fourth year, drawing over 2000 attendees.
Ahead the calendar remains strong, with major upcoming conferences including the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific, Developing Northern Australia, the Australian Catholic Education Conference 2025, and the 50th ASAV Annual Conference.
