This was published 8 years ago
Local Queensland tourism operators the focus of $90m ad campaign
By Drew Creighton
Queensland tourism operators and businesses have been backed as major stars in in a three-year, $90 million advertising campaign to be shown across the world.
The new campaign, while featuring Queensland's coastline, has shifted the focus inland to the terrestrial wonders of the state.
The likes of Chris Hemsworth and K-Pop star Rain have been ditched in favour of an authentic feel given by local operators.
Bram Collins from Undara Experience is one of the operators featured with the volcanoes and underground lava tubes on his tour featuring prominently in the advertising series.
Bram Collins a tour operator for the Undara Experiences features in the advertisement to be shown to the world.Credit: Tourism and Events Queensland
Places like his are the new gem added to the crown of what is Queensland, Mr Collins said.
"Queensland is this incredible state with so many great experiences, if you could imagine our state as a mosaic and every little tile is one of these stories that make up this amazing picture," Mr Collins said.
"Over the years we've had the icons of Queensland always up there front and centre and we experience people everyday who say how come we don't know about this.
"By showing the growing icons, the emerging icons, it's a bit like showing the jewels in a crown, we've always looked at the major jewels, but it's all of the little ones as well that add the real value to it."
The ad campaign relies heavily on visuals from Queensland's tropical north.Credit: Tourism and Events Queensland
The campaign has taken a similar approach as the eat and buy local campaigns of the past, featuring exclusively local talent.
The music was performed by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the song sung by Sunshine Coast rising star Sahara Beck.
The campaign, while featuring the reef, has taken a step inland to feature the terrestrial wonders of the state.Credit: Drew Creighton
The choice to use locals was not a random shot, it comes off the back of consumer research, the tourism body asked what people wanted and the response was they wanted something different.
"At every angle we've wanted to embrace our wonderful locals and the people that can tell the story best," Tourism and Events Queensland CEO Leanne Coddington said.
Of course it would not be an advertisement about Queensland without the Great Barrier Reef featuring.
Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort managing director Peter Gash was another of the operators featured in the series.
He said what they were doing was more than just showing off a product to the world.
"We all as local operators love our product but it's deeper than that, we love our state, we love our country and we love our planet.
"We look at the great barrier reef and we see there is just so many spectacular places.
"There are so many variations on the experience from where you snorkel in this place to where you snorkel in that place.
"This is the world's largest reef, it's 2300 kilometres long, it's 344,000 square kilometres, to put that in perspective, It's longer than Italy, it's longer than Japan."
The Queensland government has the task of trying to manage the reef and Mr Gash said the tourism operators work together to help them keep the reef operating.
"We know and it's no secret, the great barrier reef has had some challenges in the last 50 to 100 years," he said.
"We also know that there has been tremendous efforts by our Queensland government, by our Australian government, by our operators to come and make a difference."
Time for islands to upgrade
There has been pressure mounting on the government to push some local tourism operators on the reef to clean up their act.
Some resorts operating on government leases have fallen into disrepair and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was time to set a deadline.
"Up and down the coast we are seeing firm interest in people wanting to fix those islands up," the Premier said.
"I, like everyone else, want to see those island returned to that pristine condition and if not, even enhanced to become a real draw card.
"If you've got the lease over the particular island you should look seriously at putting in place a timeframe that if you do not develop it or fix it up by that timeframe, then surrender the lease back to the government."