Tourism Australia has unveiled a new A$10 million campaign in South and Southeast Asia challenging perceptions and stereotypes of what Australia offers the region’s travellers as a tourism destination.
‘UnDiscover Australia’ is specifically targeting high value travellers in India, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia by showcasing unusual, unfamiliar and unexpected attractions and experiences.
The campaign is the latest chapter in Tourism Australia’s evolving ‘There’s Nothing Like Australia ‘campaign.
Speaking to B&T on the campaign, Tourism Australia CMO Lisa Ronson said:“Our new ‘UnDiscover Australia’ campaign aligns with our strategy of fewer, bigger bolder and more impactful marketing campaigns, and really compliments the work we’ve done in the US earlier this year with the launch of our Dundee campaign.
“This time shining a spotlight on our key south-east Asian markets.”
“Advocacy is a key to how we tell the story of Australia to the rest of the world and will be a crucial part of this campaign, with a number of friends of Australia who resonate in the region – like Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra and cricket icon Harsha Bhogle – working with us to showcase Australia to their fans and followers.”
The campaign was launched in Indonesia today (1 September 2018) by Australia’s new Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Simon Birmingham.
It is the first time the South and Southeast Asia region has been targeted as part of a single, coordinated tourism promotion.
The region’s proximity, emerging middle class, improving aviation capacity and increasingly competitive air fares present enormous tourism opportunities for Australian tourism.
Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan said the new campaign aimed to bust some of the popular myths about Australia held by travellers in the region.
“Fashion-ability plays a big part in destination choice, particularly amongst travellers in Asia,” he said.
“One of the challenges we constantly face is that people from this region feel they know everything about us. This campaign will shine a spotlight on some of our undiscovered and hidden holiday gems, showing there’s much more to Australia than just our well-known icons.
“The iconic Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is great for sunset or a selfie, but what about the immersive Field of Light installation you can wander through after dark.
“Yes, you can watch a game of cricket at the magnificent Adelaide Oval, but are people aware that they can also do an amazing rooftop climb offering 360 views of the city? It’s surprise and delight experiences such as these that we will be seeking to highlight through this campaign.”
O’Sullivan added the strong aviation component of the campaign would also seek to dispel some of the myths around time and distance by highlighting the short and affordable flight time to Perth, which made Australia an appealing weekend destination for travellers from the region.
‘UnDiscover’ Australia will initially run for four months with potential to be extended to additional markets in the future.
Last year, travellers from India, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia accounted for more than 1.3 million international arrivals and injected more than A$5 billion into the Australian economy.
Find out more about each of these South and South East Asia markets here.
