Queensland tempts Kiwis across the ditch for the Best Holiday in the World
Posted by editor (editor) on Feb 11 2010
2010 >>

A $400,000 international tourism marketing campaign encouraging Kiwis’ to cross “The Ditch” to find their Best Holiday in the World in Queensland kicks off this week, Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor announced.

Last year Tourism Queensland launched the highly successful Hey Hey this is Queensland campaign domestically.

“Today, for the first time, we are taking those images off-shore with a $400,000 international tourism marketing campaign encouraging Kiwis’ to cross “The Ditch” to find their Best Holiday in the World in Queensland,’’ he said.

The major international TV, radio, print, online and outdoor campaign is a joint initiative of Tourism Queensland in partnership with Jetstar to tempt New Zealanders with a range of diverse Queensland holiday experiences.

“The campaign tagline Find yourself the best holiday in the world is an open invitation for Kiwis to rediscover Queensland or visit parts of the state they’ve never been before,” Mr Lawlor said.

“Kiwis already love our Queensland climate, beaches, activities and experiences and are our largest international market.

“More than 400,000 Kiwis visited Queensland in the year ending September 2009 and spent approximately $537 million on trips to the state.”

“Jetstar is the perfect campaign partner, currently operating 16 flights from New Zealand to Queensland each week, which equates to approximately 2,800 seats and potential visitors to Queensland.”

Tourism Queensland CEO Anthony Hayes said the campaign would advertise images of Queensland as a whole, with deals through Jetstar primarily focused on southern Queensland as the main international gateway from New Zealand.

New Zealanders will then be able to easily transfer to other destinations throughout the state.

“Almost a million New Zealanders would be exposed to the campaign several times during the four week campaign period,” Mr Hayes said.

“The Find yourself the best holiday in the world campaign will feature prominently on New Zealand’s National Television channels TV2, TV3, C4, Sky and MTV with ad placements in a variety of newspapers such as the NZ Herald, Christchurch Press, Waikato Times as well as radio, online and outdoor advertising.

“International tourism is a key economic driver for Queensland and tactical marketing campaigns such as this aim to increase the visibility and presence of Queensland destinations and products in key international markets.

“This is by far one of the most aggressive international marketing campaigns we’ve undertaken in New Zealand and is about offering Kiwi travellers an affordable experience that is fun, exciting and unique.”

New Zealand has been identified as a market with good growth potential as part of the Tourism Action Plan to 2012.

The plan guides Queensland’s tourism strategy with the aim of driving more visitors from around the world to Queensland.

“Given the challenging year the tourism industry has just experienced, targeting our close neighbours such as New Zealand is becoming increasingly important.”

The campaign begins on Tuesday 9 February and runs through until 8 March.

Last changed: Feb 11 2010 at 10:27 AM