Sure, its management may not always be grabbing the most favourable of headlines but a new report says Qantas does more for local tourism than any other brand or entity – private or government.
A report by Deloitte Access Economics – admittedly commissioned by the airline itself – says Qantas managed to contribute $21 billion to the Australian economy in the last financial year, almost half of which came directly from the tourists themselves.
It found that one of every nine-dollars spent in tourism in Australia came from a Qantas passenger and that helped support nearly 10 per cent of all tourism jobs in the country.
The report is more good news for the national airline – who, admittedly doesn’t always get good media coverage because of alleged cost-cutting and a fractious relationship with unions – and follows its return to the list of ‘top 10 airlines in the world‘ released in June this year.
In late 2014, the airline released its new ‘feels like home’ campaign’ by Lawrence Creative Strategy.
The Deloitte report found that NSW was the biggest benefactor of Qantas, unsurprisingly as its jet base is headquartered in Sydney. Qantas employs almost 25,000 people in NSW and injects $4.2 billion into the state’s economy.
In Victoria, Qantas helped to generate $2.675 billion for its economy, followed by Queensland ($2.5 billion) and Western Australia ($1.1 billion).
Qantas group executive, government and internal affairs, Andrew Parker, said of the report’s findings: “Qantas invests more in marketing Australia as a destination than any other company. We’re not promoting a hub, we’re promoting a country.”
The report also shows that Qantas customers warm to nationalist Aussie message and it is expected it will market the fact against arch-rival (and internationally-owned) Virgin.
