C’mon cuzzie, come on over

Tourism bosses lure Kiwis to Coast in campaign

GOLD Coast tourism has launched its first overseas campaign in a year – using Kiwis to sell the city to New Zealand.

The multimillion dollar ‘New Zealand: We can’t wait to see you’ campaign will begin appearing on TV and in cinemas from Sunday to build anticipation of overseas travel resuming.

New Destination Gold Coast CEO Patricia O’Callaghan said New Zealand was a key market for the city and its returning tourists would play a critical role in rebuilding the $6bn-a-year industry.

“Kiwis have a strong affinity with the Gold Coast and preCOVID, we were the second most popular Australian holiday destination for New Zealand travellers, after Sydney,” she said. “With the region home to a large Kiwi population of some 50,000 people, we cannot wait to reunite families, friends and to welcome more visitors back to Australia’s favourite playground.

“Our aim is to keep the Gold Coast front-of-mind while both countries eagerly await a more definitive date for trans-Tasman quarantine-free travel.”

More than 212,000 Kiwis visited the Gold Coast in 2019, injecting $241m into the city’s economy.

Ms O’Callaghan said there was a strong build-up of demand for visitors to travel to the Gold Coast.

“Once travellers can move more freely, we anticipate the Gold Coast will be a highly sought-after destination for families and those eager to get away,” she said, but added: “Long-haul international travel is expected to be largely off the cards for the remainder of the year.”

It will be Destination Gold Coast’s first major campaign since it was forced to suspend all marketing efforts in March 2020 when the pandemic forced the closure of international borders.

While widespread international travel is not expected to resume until at least 2022, a limited New Zealand travel bubble has already brought large numbers of Kiwis into the country.

The campaign features heartfelt messages from Gold Coast-based New Zealanders to friends and family from some of the city’s most picturesque locations including Burleigh Pavilion, Tallebudgera and the beach.

NZ-born Gold Coast Titans players Kevin Proctor and Patrick Herbert also appear.

Ms O’Callaghan said the campaign was based on a similar series of ads it ran in mid-2020 ahead of Australia’s internal borders reopening.

The campaign launch comes just a week after Ms O’Callaghan took the reins at Destination Gold Coast.

She has said increasing the number of flights into the city and securing new attractions are among her key aims during her tenure.