Tourism Australia has recruited international movie director Baz Luhrmann for promotion but tourism experts say the industry needs more than a flashy campaign to ensure long-term interest in the country, Caden Pearson reports.
Tourism Australia, the Australian Government authority tasked with the job of promoting Australia to international tourists, has joined forces with world-renowned movie director Baz Luhrmann to produce a special promotional campaign utilising themes from his upcoming period epic film Australia.
Australia, starring Australian Hollywood heavyweights Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, is due to premier worldwide mid-November.
The two campaign cinema/TV spots produced by Mr Luhrmann will run in all Tourism Australia’s major markets around the world from October 2008 until mid 2009.
Accompanying the cinematic ads are 11 different print versions produced by leading international creative agency DDB Worldwide and shot in every Australian state and territory.
“Baz Luhrmann has created some unforgettable images of the experiences this country can offer to international visitors and the storytelling element of the TV ads in particular is very strong,” said Australia’s Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) Executive Director Olivia Wirth.
However, while the $40 million campaign will give valuable exposure in key international markets, Ms Wirth said much more needs to be done.
“Australia has perhaps fallen a little bit behind on the supply-side of tourism; we need to improve the product we are offering international tourists so that it lives up to visitors’ expectations once they get here,” she told The Epoch Times.
The Federal Government and the tourism industry need to ensure Australia’s tourism attractions, experiences and infrastructure can deliver on the rich promise of the big campaign, she explained.
According to Ms Wirth, the Federal Government is currently working with industry to produce a national tourism strategy to address some of the internal issues facing Australian tourism. Among these are the development of new tourist attractions, experiences and accommodations, labour and skills shortages, aviation access around the country and climate change concerns.
Although the weaker Australian dollar might help stimulate inbound tourism – and encourage Australians to holiday at home again – the overriding factor influencing travel decisions over the next six months to a year will be the economic crisis, says Ms Wirth.
The global financial crisis may cause Australia’s tourism industry to suffer, with less visitors from key affected markets, such as the US and the UK. This is why it’s essential to offer international visitors an experience they can’t get anywhere else, Ms Wirth believes, as well as value for money at a time of tight credit and huge pressure on household budgets. According to Tourism Australia figures, there was no overall growth in the number of international visitors to Australia in 2007–08, though visitor expenditure increased by 8 per cent. The number of holiday visitors to Australia in 2008 was also down 4.7 per cent compared with the previous financial year, continuing a trend of flat or negative growth since the Sydney Olympics.
Ms Wirth says it is important to appeal to Australia’s fastest-growing tourism markets in Asia, which are closer to Australia and more insulated from the current economic conditions than Europe or North America.
China and India are set to drive Australian tourism over the next 10 years.
Tourism Australia hopes this campaign will ensure Australia reaches its forecast growth rate of 3.2 per cent in international arrivals in 2009.
“In the meantime, we believe that the new campaign will go a long way to making sure Australia is top of mind, as and when the global economy and travel industry emerges from the current crisis,” Ms Wirth said.
