$600,000 international tourism marketing campaign is underway to encourage Kiwis to discover the
diverse range of experiences available on the Gold Coast and beyond. The two-week television, print
and online campaign was a joint initiative of Tourism Queensland in partnership with Gold Coast
Tourism and Flight Centre. Tourism Queensland coordinated the partnership to promote the Gold Coast
and provide opportunities for visitors to rediscover more than just the traditional Gold Coast beach
lifestyle but also the diverse range of hinterland and beyond the coast experiences available for visitors.
One of the campaign’s main objectives is to entice New Zealand travellers to the Gold Coast to
incorporate and package more experiences into their visit. This is by far one of the most aggressive
tourism marketing campaigns that we have undertaken in New Zealand this year. The campaign will
feature prominently on New Zealand television channels 1 and 2, newspapers, websites including
stuff.co.nz and nzherald.co.nz as well as 130 Flight Centre outlets across the country.
With a downturn in international travel due to the current global economic crisis, we are focusing
our attention on markets such as New Zealand which are short-haul markets and likely to drive growth
for Queensland tourism in the short term. Increasing awareness of Queensland experiences and
generating confidence and understanding about what Queensland has to offer is our aim. We want to
offer Kiwi travellers to Queensland affordable experiences in Queensland that position the Gold Coast
as fun, very natural, very active and very diverse. International tourism is a key economic driver for
Queensland and during challenging economic times such as these it was crucial to continue hard-hitting
tactical campaigns which increased the visibility and presence of Queensland destinations and products
in international markets. More than 211,000 visitors from New Zealand visited the Gold Coast in 2008,
supporting 2,500 Queensland jobs and injecting almost $580 million into the Queensland economy. This
is just another example of the Bligh government working to protect and deliver new tourism jobs for
Queensland.
