Tourism Australia welcomes New Zealanders back to its shores in first international campaign in over a year via M&C Saatchi, Sydney

New Zealanders are being invited to take advantage of exclusive travel access to Australia and enjoy all of the experiences and destinations that have long made Australia such a highly sought-after destination among international travellers in Tourism Australia’s first international campaign in more than a year, developed by M&C Saatchi, Sydney.

With two-way, quarantine-free travel between the two countries to commence from Sunday 18 April 2021, Tourism Australia is kicking off its campaign to remind New Zealanders of all the incredible experiences that await them across the Tasman.

Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison said that she hoped New Zealanders would make the most of the two-way travel bubble and enjoy being the first international travellers back to Australia: “As one of our closest neighbours and largest inbound markets, we have long held strong tourism ties with New Zealand, so we are really excited to be exclusively welcoming our friends from across the Tasman back to Australia.

“Australia has long been the most popular outbound travel destination for New Zealanders, who spent $2.6 billion on their travels here in 2019. 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.

“After a year of almost no international travel, there is a real opportunity for us to capture pent up demand by encouraging the 1.7 million New Zealand travellers who normally travel to other destinations overseas to instead choose Australia for their next holiday.

“That is why we’re calling on New Zealanders to take the opportunity to relax, reconnect with loved ones, and discover – or perhaps rediscover – some of the lesser-known parts of Australia that make us such an incredible holiday destination.

“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.”

Minister for trade, tourism and investment Dan Tehan said New Zealanders would be itching to visit Australia following confirmation they would not have to complete two week’s quarantine on their return home from April 19: “Australia has long been the most popular international destination for New Zealand tourists, attracting 40 per cent of outbound leisure travellers in 2019, and when you look at the wonderful and diverse tourism offering in Australia you can understand why Kiwis love to visit.

“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.

“The advertising campaign that starts today will highlight Australia’s food and wine, nature, wildlife and more unique experiences.

“We want to attract as many Kiwis as possible to holiday in Australia this year to support our local tourism jobs and businesses.”

The new A$3 million ‘Be the First’ campaign will kick off in New Zealand from today and is scheduled to run until June 2021 across TV, out-of-home, online, print and radio, and will be supported by a range of PR and partner activities.

All marketing activity will be amplified via partnerships with airlines, the State and Territory Tourism Organisations and key distribution partners who will provide tactical offers aimed at stimulating travel to Australia from New Zealand.

More information on the campaign can be found at www.australia.com/en-nz

Concurrently Tourism Australia is also continuing its ‘Holiday Here This Year’ campaign activities to encourage Australians to continue to get out and explore their own backyard. The latest iteration , developed by CHE Proximity, supports the thousands of discounted flights that went on sale from Thursday last week (1 April) as part of the Australian Government’s Tourism Aviation Network Support (TANS) initiative.

‘Be the First’ NZ campaign:

Creative Agency: M&C Saatchi, Sydney
Chief Creative Officer: Cam Blackley
Executive Creative Directors: Avish Gordhan, Mandie van der Merwe
Associate Creative Directors: Rosita Rawnsley-Mason, David Govier
Copywriter: Rubini Gun
Art Director: Matt Corcoran/Sam Rowlands
Design Director: Sim Cherry
Senior TV Producer: Ros Payne
Group Head: Vanessa Boueyres
Senior Account Director: Will Woods
Account Manager: Sean O’Shea
Project Manager: Tess Mion

Media: UM
Digital: Digitas
PR: OPR

‘Great Deals’ campaign film:
Creative: CHE Proximity
Chief Executive Officer – Justin Hind
Chief Strategy Officer – David Halter
Executive Creative Director – Cam Hoelter
Director, Brand – Nick Andrews
Senior Art Director – Cass Jam
Senior Art Director- Fee Millist
Copywriter – Ernie Ciaschetti

Media: UM

Digital: Digitas

PR: OPR