Destination Canada swept into Sydney last week, unveiling its new global brand platform, ‘Canada, naturally’, to Australian media at elegant Hinchcliff House, as part of the three-day Focus Canada Australia 2025 program.

The media event featured a brand address by Destination Canada’s Managing Director for Australia, Julie King – panels moderated by journalist and broadcaster Edwina Bartholomew, and a keynote presentation by filmmaker and adventurer Dianne Whelan, sponsored by Adventure World.

Dianne Whelan spent six years traversing the world’s longest trail – the Trans Canada Trail, while documenting her journey. The result is her acclaimed film 500 Days in the Wild. At today’s event, guests were inspired by her stories of resilience and the deep connections she forged with Canada’s landscapes, communities, and cultures, highlighting the transformational power of travel, a theme at the heart of Destination Canada’s brand platform, Canada, naturally.

Naturally introducing Canada, Julie King highlighted the brand’s relevance in today’s world, where travellers increasingly seek authenticity over artificial experiences.

“In a world increasingly shaped by AI, travellers are seeking experiences that are real, not fake, genuine and truly authentic. That’s exactly what Canada does best. In Canada, travel sustains cultures, protects nature, supports livelihoods, and creates opportunities. From Indigenous-owned experiences to family-run businesses, in small towns and big cities alike. For travellers, it’s equally enriching, offering the chance to reconnect with themselves, with others, and with the world. That is the foundation of Canada, naturally.”

The Sydney media showcase capped off a week of Focus Canada 2025 activity, staged with a record 28 Canadian partners – more than double the number in 2023. Over three days, partners connected with 335 travel trade professionals and 50 media representatives through high-profile events.

Highlights included a travel agent event at the InterContinental Sydney with 200 agents attending the brand launch and keynote by filmmaker Dianne Whelan; B2B workshops and an industry cocktail reception on Thursday evening; and Friday’s media showcase at Hinchcliff House.

Panels and discussions throughout the program highlighted the brand pillars of Open Spaces, Open Hearts, and Open Minds, while also calling on the Australian trade and media to support the shared priorities of growing off-season travel, encouraging longer journeys, boosting regional dispersal, and showcasing authentic Indigenous and community-led tourism.

The launch also spotlighted Destination Canada’s new podcast, Into the Hearts of Canada, with four episodes now live and six more on the way, featuring inspirational and influential voices from across Canada’s tourism industry.

“Partnership has always been at the heart of Canada’s success in Australia. Together with our valued trade and media partners, we are bringing Canada to life for Australians, not just as a destination, but as a transformative experience.” continued Julie King. www.keepexploring.com.au

Destination Canada believes that tourism enhances the wealth and well-being of Canadians and enriches the lives of visitors. It seeks to influence supply and build demand to benefit locals, communities and visitors through leading research, alignment with public and private sectors, and marketing Canada nationally and abroad.

Knowing that diversity is Canada’s greatest asset, Destination Canada promotes Canada as a premier four-season leisure and business tourism destination in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In addition, Destination Canada’s Business Events team leverages in-depth global market analysis to target international clusters aligned with Canada’s priority economic sectors.

Destination Canada is a Crown corporation wholly owned by the Government of Canada.

 

Edited by Peter Needham

 

BIO:

With more than 35 years in travel journalism, Peter Needham has filed stories from Fleet Street to Fiji and almost everywhere. As Managing Editor (Australasia) for Global Travel Media, he shapes the site’s industry coverage while continuing to write with the flair and authority honed over decades. Since turning freelance in 1993, Peter’s byline has graced mastheads ranging from the Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Financial Review to Readers Digest and Qantas’ inflight magazines. He edited Inside Tourism for seven years, contributed a long-running “Travel Tales” column to Vacations & Travel, and even penned copy for Tourism Australia ahead of the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Peter has travelled widely, a Reuters, Guardian, and AAP veteran, from South American backpacking trails to a Saudi Arabian military hospital, collecting stories as only a true newspaperman can.

 

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