Tourism Australia heads back to China with a not so secret weapon, Ruby the Roo

Tourism Australia’s efforts to woo Chinese visitors back Down Under are moving into top gear with the help of a plush toy kangaroo.

Tourism Australia is stepping up its campaign to woo Chinese visitors Down Under with tourist numbers still a long way from pre-Covid levels.

In an effort to accelerate their return, Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison will lead a delegation of chief executives from state and territory tourism bodies to meet with Chinese airlines and other travel service providers.

The visit will culminate in the official Chinese launch of the Come and Say G’Day campaign in Chengdu on Thursday.

The $125m campaign was released in other key markets in October but this will be the first time China is introduced to Tourism Australia’s brand ambassador Ruby the Roo.

Research has shown Australia’s native animals are a major drawcard for Chinese visitors along with our clear blue skies, beaches and fresh seafood.

Tourism and Trade Minister Don Farrell said it was pleasing to see that since China relaxed its borders in January, aviation capacity to Australia had rebounded to more than 50 per cent of 2019 levels.

He said that milestone signalled the timing was right to rollout Ruby the Roo and invite Chinese travellers to “come and say g’day”.

Ruby the Roo is being used to woo Chinese tourists back to Australia.

“Chinese travellers have long been an important part of Australia’s visitor economy,” said Senator Farrell.

“China was Australia’s biggest market in 2019, with 1.4 million Chinese travellers visiting and contributing $12.4bn in visitor spend.”

Tourism Research Australia was projecting Chinese tourists would not return to pre-Covid levels until 2026.

Bureau of Statistics’ data for April showed short-term visitors from mainland China were at 33 per cent of pre-Covid figures, with 32,000 arrivals in the month, up from 26,810 in March.

Ms Harrison said the timing of this week’s visit was critical to Australia’s tourism industry because of the importance of China to the visitor economy.

Tourism Australia's $125m campaign starring Ruby the Roo voiced by actor Rose Byrne.

“The delegation will take part in meetings with major airlines and travel providers, showing Australia’s commitment to work with partners to strengthen aviation capacity between our two countries and get travel bookings to Australia back to the levels we have seen in the past,” Ms Harrison said.

The trip comes weeks after Tourism Australia took the axe to its marketing department, making 20 positions redundant, including several senior roles.

The move followed federal budget cuts intended to reflect the fact the tourism industry was now in recovery.

Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert said they were already seeing signs of lift-off in the Chinese market, with passengers arriving from China recovering to 54 per cent of 2019 levels in May.

He said that would only increase further as direct flights from Shenzhen recommenced, and services from Nanjing returned in July.

“Capacity in this market will continue to grow with a total of seven airlines flying 48 return services a week between mainland China and Sydney in July,” Mr Culbert said.

“This is one of the strongest China recoveries of any international airport globally which provides a critical boost to Australia’s tourism industry and the economy more broadly.”

Qantas was also preparing to restart its Sydney-Shanghai flights from October 29, for the first time in three years.

A mix of A330s and A380s would operate the daily flights in a major boost to capacity between the business hubs.

Originally published as Tourism Australia heads back to China with a not so secret weapon, Ruby the Roo