Tourism Australia launches $40m marketing blitz from Times Square to Piccadilly Circus

With Australia due to open its international borders to the outside world on 21 February, Tourism Australia is launching a global campaign to entice tourists back down under.

The $40 million campaign Don’t Go Small. Go Australia will be rolled out across the UK and US this week to lure holidaymakers who have been unable to travel to Australia since it closed its borders to the outside world in March 2020.

London’s Piccadilly Circus and New York’s Time Square will feature tactical public relations outdoor promotion blitzes. A television ad campaign will be broadcast in Los Angeles before the Winter Olympics schedule begins on Monday and just after the Superbowl.

Advertisements during the Superbowl are renowned as the most expensive spots in broadcasting, with the average 30-second clip set to cost $US6.5m in 2022. More than 100 million people are set to tune for the sporting extravaganza.

Iconic destinations featured in the campaign will include famous tourist sites like the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Sydney Harbour and Melbourne’s laneways.

 “The world has been waiting two years to get Down Under for a holiday, and our latest ad campaign will remind them of what they’ve been missing,” Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said.

“After COVID-19, the world is looking forward to taking a holiday, and we want that holiday to be in Australia.

“This new campaign is just the first step in a long-term strategy to restart tourism to Australia, with further investment in tourism marketing campaigns internationally to come in the second half of the year.”

The wider Come and Say G’Day - Don’t Go Small. Go Australia campaign will run across TV, print, digital and social channels in key markets, including Germany, France, Italy, Canada, and the USA and UK.

An existing Come and Say G’Day - Australia is Yours to Explore, which launched in Singapore ahead of its reopening last November, will continue to be rolled out in markets in Asia such as India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Greater China as travel reopens.

Tourism Australia chief marketing officer Susan Coghill said the international campaign is about inspiring tourists to book a holiday to Australia and fill their itinerary with all that is on offer Down Under.

“The new campaign shows travellers what they’ve been missing in Australia – the vast landscapes, our world-famous icons and the epic adventures,” Coghill said.

We are inviting travellers across the world to think big, and say G’Day to the holiday they’ve been waiting for.

“We have chosen locations and activities to reflect the wide diversity of tourism experiences Australia has to offer. We also considered the popular destinations and cities which have been impacted the most by the pandemic and put them in the spotlight.”

Tourists will need to ensure they are fully vaccinated, hold a valid Australian visa, complete an Australian Travel Declaration and present a negative RAT within 24 hours of departure of a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure. Fully vaccinated visa holders can enter all states and territories quarantine-free from 21 February 2022, except for Western Australia.