Holiday Here This Year

Australians urged to book a holiday at home to drive tourism boost

Two of Australia's most iconic homegrown personalities, Hamish Blake and Zoe Foster-Blake, are helping to inspire travellers to book their next domestic holiday as part of Tourism Australia's latest campaign launched today.

The latest iteration of Tourism Australia's Holiday Here This Year campaign, which was first launched in January, aims to get Australians travelling safely across the country to provide a much-needed boost to tourism businesses and operators.

Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison said that with domestic restrictions lifting and consumer confidence improving, now was the perfect time to inspire those Australians who are able to, to plan and book their next holiday.

"Our Holiday Here This Year campaign is all about galvanizing Australians to support their fellow Australians by booking a holiday wherever they can around the country," Ms Harrison said.

"With the peak summer travel period just around the corner, it is crucial that we continue to remind people of all the incredible destinations and tourism experiences that are right on their doorstep waiting to be explored.

"This will be just the first of a series of initiatives that we will be implementing over the coming months to continue to drive as much domestic demand as possible, particularly to those regions and operators that are typically popular with international visitors.

"Our goal is to try and get Australians travelling differently by using the Holiday Here This Year campaign platform to urge them to start ticking off their holiday bucket list or heading interstate for a trip of a lifetime, and in turn provide a much need boost especially to those areas most affected by the bushfires and COVID-19.

"We're also excited to be welcoming Hamish and Zoe to our Friends of Australia program to help us tell our story by sharing their love of travel and providing plenty of holiday inspiration to Australians of all ages."

The campaign follows the launch of a teaser video voiced by Hamish Blake across Tourism Australia's social and digital channels, which takes viewers on a journey across some of Australia's most breathtaking landscapes and reminds them of the undeniably unique aspects of our country.

Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said this campaign was about getting more Australians on planes and spending in our cities or tourism regions.

"Tourism employs one in 13 Australians and is the backbone of so many businesses across Australia, but the industry has been hard hit by the COVID-19 crisis," Minister Birmingham said.

"With interstate travel now possible to many parts of Australia, there isn't a better opportunity than right now for Aussies to book a plane ticket, head to an interstate destination and help save a tourism business or the job of a fellow Australian.

"We are urging Australians to support our airlines and airports, tour operators, hire car companies and accommodation providers, while also giving people the chance to enjoy some of the incredible experiences our country has to offer.

"With our international borders expected to remain closed for the foreseeable future and the summer holidays only a couple of months away, this is a shout out to all Australians who are in a position to do so, to try something new and consider booking a holiday to a destination within Australia they have never been to before.

"Whether it be a surf lesson in Byron Bay, a wine tasting experience in the Adelaide Hills, a boat trip out to the Great Barrier Reef or a guided walking tour in the Top End, Australia has so many unique and wonderful tourism experiences."

Hamish and Zoe said that they were excited help the country bounce back after a tough year by inspiring Australians to get travelling.

"It does feel special to be able to help promote our country because we love travelling, we love adventure, and we love Australia. So we can't really think of anything that's a better fit," Hamish and Zoe said.

"We know everybody feels like a holiday right now so it's not exactly a tough sell, but hopefully we can help to convince those people who were putting one off or had planned something overseas, to book a holiday here. Not only will they create incredible memories, they'll be helping the tourism sector right across the country to bounce back."

Avish Gordhan, Executive Creative Director of M&C Saatchi said, "After all that's happened this year, Aussies deserve a holiday.  Even if you can't get out and see the country right now, it's a great time to start planning all the things you could do when the world gets a bit more normal.

"We couldn't think of anyone more fitting than Australia's favourite couple Hamish & Zoe to encourage Aussies to think about getting out there again, enjoying the wonderful experiences in our backyard, and, importantly, helping the tourism industry and the country recover in the process." 

The campaign will be rolled out across a range of channels including print, social media, search, radio and outdoor advertising and will be supported by a domestic media hosting program, campaign content across Tourism Australia's social media and digital channels, and amplified through industry and content partnerships. Activity will be executed in phases across the states to reflect local travel restrictions.

Tourism Australia is also continuing to provide consumers with the practical resources and inspiration they need to book a holiday and travel safely around Australia, with tailored content, itineraries, and industry offers on Australia.com.

This includes a new online Australian COVID travel portal available at https://www.australia.com/en/facts-and-planning/useful-tips/coronavirus-travel-safety.html that brings together key safety information, travel restrictions and guidelines from across the country.

More information on the Holiday Here This Year campaign can be found at www.australia.com/holidayhere