ATIA Sells Out the Third Beyond Borders
The Australian Travel Industry Association sold out the third Beyond Borders Travel Summit. About 480 attendees registered for the single day on Friday 9 October 2026 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Registrations opened at 8 a.m. The programme ran from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Level 1 meeting rooms. The convention centre entrance sits between Pan Pacific Melbourne and DFO South Wharf.
Tickets cost A$220 for ATIA members and A$495 for non-members, both including GST. The ticket covered the full-day programme and the cocktail function that followed.
Travel Daily reported the room as nearly 500 attendees. ATIA's own release and the trade outlet Karryon both state about 480 registered.
Long on the Sell-Out
ATIA chief executive Dean Long reads the sell-out as demand for a working session. “It always takes a number of years to grow and I think the fact that nearly 500 attendees are coming is testament to there being a desire for people to want to think differently,” he said.
Long said attendees spend the day on questions about their own business models and the role their operations play in the wider travel ecosystem. He also ruled out chasing scale.
“We will never be a multi-thousand person event, that’s not what we aspire to be, but we want the people who want to drive the future of the industry in the room thinking about how to make it better,” he said.
The ACCC Session
Two Australian Competition and Consumer Commission executives, David Cranston and Tony Hilton, covered airfares, delays, cancellations, new airline entry, codeshares and Western Sydney International Airport. Long then held a fireside discussion with them on the aviation outlook.
Long said no regulator had spoken at a conference that year about how the market works. “When thinking about the biggest issues for people in the industry, let’s get the independent umpire in to talk about those issues so people can make better informed decisions about their businesses,” he said.
The Programme
ATIA builds the day around consumer sentiment, regulatory change, consumer protection and aviation developments. The opening session, The Industry Outlook: What’s Next for 2027, paired ATIA chair Christian Hunter with Long.
Long moderated a leaders' panel on traveller expectations, distribution, technology and talent. The panel carried Helloworld Travel executive director Cinzia Burnes, Flight Centre Travel Group global leisure chief executive James Kavanagh, CATO chair Sean Martin of G Adventures and ATMC chair David Goldman of Goldman Travel.
A policy outlook session brought Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond, Travel Agents’ Association of New Zealand chief executive Julie White and Airlines for Australia and New Zealand chief executive Stephen Beckett together. A News Corp and Growth Distillery keynote examined where Australians travel, what they spend and who they book with. ATIA director of CATO and education Mira Yates moderated a touring and wholesale panel.
Practical sessions ran alongside. ATIA director of compliance and membership Nina Hedges led a masterclass on turning complaints into better business. Birds Eye View Consulting managing director Nicole O’Sullivan covered non-credit-card payment options after new surcharging rules took effect on 1 October. Accredited members received a closed session on ATIA’s aviation advocacy.
Sponsors and the Awards Weekend
Helloworld Travel, American Express and Allianz Partners were major sponsors. Virgin Australia hosted the Virgin Australia Lounge as domestic airline partner. The Intrepid Foundation invited attendees to back one of three charity initiatives.
The summit opened the association’s awards weekend. The Viking NTIA Finalist Celebration followed that evening at Aerial Melbourne. The National Travel Industry Awards gala ran on Saturday 10 October at the Palladium at Crown Melbourne, and ATIA reports that event sold out as well.