Last week at its New York City Penthouse, SmartFlyer hosted representatives from Tourism Western Australia and eight other businesses for a “Masterclass” on the destination. Attended by a couple dozen advisors and agency members in-person and even more virtually, the “Masterclass on Western Australia” introduced advisors to the destination’s highlights and businesses—as well as the best ways to get there from the U.S. East and West Coasts.

“Our intention is to provide a strong foundation on what we see as a new frontier for North American travellers,” said Hailey Petersen, Communications Manager for SmartFlyer. “This session also serves as a precursor to the SmartFlyer-exclusive FAM with the tourism board and attending partners at the onset of 2026.”

Mel Johnson, Senior Markets Manager for Tourism Western Australia, speaking to attendees, said it was the largest group the DMO has brought to the States in the last 10 years. “The U.S. is a priority market for Western Australia, so these events are incredibly important to showcase our destination and connect our tourism businesses with travel advisors,” she said. “And SmartFlyer is the perfect partner, given the kinds of travelers Western Australia is looking to attract—those with a desire to go beyond the expected and consider different, emerging destinations.”

Why Western Australia?

Kayla Douglas, Director of Content for SmartFlyer, said, “We’re endlessly curious about destinations that fly under the radar. And while countries like Italy and France will remain perennial favourites, our clients equally turn to their SmartFlyer advisors for recommendations for where to go when they’ve ‘done it all.’”

Douglas also noted that one of the luxury travel agency’s top forecasted trends for 2026 is “transformational travel.” She added: “For us, this means being able to take our clients to places that make them feel in touch with nature, and, in turn, fully present.” Western Australia—and its available experiences like swimming with whale sharks in the Ningaloo Reef and helicoptering over the “otherworldly landscape” of the Bungle Bungles—fits that bill, according to Douglas.

Building on that, Johnson told LATTE that Western Australia shouldn’t only be an option for people who have already been to the country. “A lot of North Americans see Western Australia as a destination for their second or third time to Australia after visiting the more well-known Aussie icons, so it’s been Australia best-kept secret,” she said. “However, Western Australia can be a first-time trip with Perth [being] the gateway into Australia.”

Johnson explained that Western Australia has strong air connections with Europe and Southeast Asia, meaning it makes for a good “dual-destination trip.” Another misconception, she said, “is that Australia is a ‘once-in-a-lifetime-trip,’ but, typically, after travellers have visited, they see they’re just scratched the surface.”

A Blueprint for Future Events

Beyond the introduction of Western Australia to its advisors, the event served as a potential turning point for what these “Masterclass”-type events could look like at the SmartFlyer Penthouse.

“While we’ve been fortunate to welcome many different global hotel brands, this was our first Penthouse event we organized in collaboration with a tourism board,” explained Douglas. “Everything we do at SmartFlyer is holistic, so, this one combined community-building with destination education ahead of our exclusive FAM in May, when our team will have the chance to see scout some of the highlights in Western Australia.”