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Tourism Australia has launched a new $3 million campaign to encourage New Zealanders to take advantage of the trans-Tasman bubble.
The ‘Be the First’ adverts will run until June across TV, online, print, radio and on outdoor billboards.
It comes after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed on Tuesday that quarantine-free travel between the two countries would launch on 19 April.
The campaign will focus on Australia’s food and wine, nature and wildlife. Tourism Australia estimated that in 2019, 1.4 million visitors from New Zealand spent $1.6 billion across the Tasman – or an average of $1,255 per visitor.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said Australia has long been the most popular international destination for Kiwis, attracting 40 per cent of outbound leisure travellers.
“Right now, Australia is the only international destination for New Zealanders so we are taking advantage of that opportunity to reach 3.1 million New Zealanders who normally travel overseas each year and remind them how great it is to holiday in Australia,” he said.
Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison said, “While the travel bubble won’t fill the void of all lost international business, it will provide an important boost to our industry by helping to drive demand to some of those areas that need it most.
“Quarantine free travel between our two countries is also an exciting and important step in rebuilding international tourism to Australia, and will also provide a framework for the resumption of inbound travel from other key international markets in time.”
It comes after the organisation in February launched a $5 million, week-long advertising campaign to encourage people to book domestic holidays.
The previous instalment of the Holiday Here This Year campaign was voiced by Hamish Blake and ran during TV ad breaks and across print, online and on outdoor billboards.
It followed the 2020 budget announcement that Tourism Australia would receive $230 million in funding to focus on holiday at home marketing.
PM Ardern said this week the decision to launch quarantine-free travel was made because the risk of transmission was low and the Queensland outbreak had been contained.
However, the new arrangement will allow New Zealand to pause or suspend the bubble if any outbreaks occur in Australia.
“For instance, if a case is found that is quite clearly linked to a border worker in a quarantine facility and is well contained, you’ll likely see travel continue in the same way as you could see life continue if that happened here in Australia,” PM Ardern said.
“If, however, a case was found that was not clearly linked to the border, and a state responded by a short lockdown to identify more information, we’d likely pause flights from that state in the same way we would stop travel into and out of a region in New Zealand as if it was going into a full lockdown.
“And if we saw multiple cases of unknown origin, we would likely suspend flights for a set period of time.”
Last month, Australia paved the way for the trans-Tasman bubble by amending its Biosecurity Act, which gives it the legal right to ask all returning residents to quarantine for 14 days.
