Tourism Australia has begun rolling out a new activation as part of its ‘Holiday Here This Year’ campaign that has essentially turned the country into a gift shop for domestic travel experiences.
‘Holiday Gifting’ is all about inspiring those Aussies who can afford it to give the gift of travel this holiday season to help support tourism operators and communities across the country during what is typically their busiest period.
Over the 2019/20 holiday period (December and January), Australians took 16.4 million domestic overnight leisure trips, spending a total of $12.8 billion, according to Tourism Research Australia.
This represents 18 per cent of total overnight leisure trips for the year and 20 per cent of leisure expenditure.
Tourism also supports one in 13 jobs in Australia, with domestic tourism alone a $100 billion industry accounting for about two-thirds of the visitor economy.
The activation features every state and territory, and is being rolled out across a range of channels including radio, outdoor advertising, social media and digital, with assets also being made available to the tourism industry to use in their own marketing initiatives.
Tourism Australia chief marketing officer Susan Coghill said the holiday season is typically a time of year when many marketers look to tap into consumer sentiment with gifting ideas.
“Given the unusual circumstances of this year, where so many people have had to put travel plans on hold, we know that travel is the number one thing people want to do as they reconnect with family and friends in different parts of the country,” she said.
“So, we really want to tap into the idea that, instead of giving loved ones the usual gifts of socks or scented candles, we are urging people to consider giving the gift of travel this is a holiday season – and, in turn, give inspiration to create lasting memories through travel.”
