Prepare for recovery: TA

TOURISM Australia (TA) today unveiled a new global broadcast advertisement which aims to reassure international audiences that “despite the bushfires and current coronavirus outbreak, Australia is still a great destination to visit”.

Appropriately dubbed There’s Still Nothing Like Australia, the campaign was described as an interim marketing response to the current situation by Tourism Australia MD, Phillipa Harrison at the 2020 Destination Australia conference in Adelaide.

She said the new collateral would allow Australia to maintain an international marketing presence in an appropriate way, and remain front of mind when people consider booking their next international holiday.

Details of the campaign rollout are unclear at this stage due to sensitivities around COVID-19, and there is no current plan to run the ads in markets where travel bans are in place.

But “we need to be ready for the recovery,” Harrison said.

Simon Birmingham, Federal Tourism Minister, also spoke at the conference, telling delegates the government was standing alongside the industry.

The Minister provided details of the support package unveiled today by PM Scott Morrison.

As well as payments for business and households, a $1 billion relief and recovery support fund will target the sectors most impacted by coronavirus, with further details expected to be unveiled in the coming days so Australia can enjoy “as much of a surge back to success as possible,” he said.

The new TA TVC can be seen at traveldaily.com.au/videos.

MEANWHILE Phillipa Harrison spoke about whether the planned upcoming Australian Tourism Exchange conference would go ahead, promising to “make a call early” regarding whether it would proceed, to help the industry plan.