Tourism Australia defends payment of social influencers to attract tourists
Taxpayers have forked out tens of thousands of dollars for international YouTube stars and body-positive social media influencers to promote Australia as a tourist destination. SEE WHAT THEY’RE DELIVERING
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Kylie: ‘That’ll be the last time I dress as Charlene’
- Controversial trainer slams ‘deceitful’ fitness influencers
- Instagram influencer caught with knife, steroids
Taxpayers have forked out tens of thousands of dollars for YouTube stars and body-positive social media influencers to promote Australia.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal Tourism Australia has recruited seven European online stars to entice northern hemisphere holiday-makers.
Tourism Australia says the $70,000 paid in total to the influencers is money well spent. Government documents reveal curvy British fitness influencer Chessie King and her fiance Matt Carter were paid up to $13,055 for four candid posts from the Northern Territory.
It included a cheeky photo of King in her bikini which she shared with her 699,000 followers while swimming in Kakadu National Park.
French travel influencer Bruno Maltor and German online prankster Simon Will were paid more than $49,000 to show Australia to their fans.
Will, who has amassed hundreds of thousands of YouTube followers, made three posts from Sydney and YouTube videos including a four-minute clip called “What is YOUR hustle” featuring him taking surfing lessons, for a campaign to recruit working holiday-makers.
Maltor, who was part of one of the most expensive social media campaigns this financial year, visited Victoria and Queensland, and was one of the only influencers to be upfront about receiving a fee for his posts.
British beauty blogger Emily Canham, who commands an audience of more than 900,000 YouTube subscribers and one million Facebook followers, was paid $5229 to travel around Queensland in September, posting photos and live stories.
Nick Pescetto, a self-described “content creator and thrills chaser” was paid $2676 to spruik Western Australia.
In total Tourism Australia, which claims it “does not typically pay social media influencers” splashed almost $70,000 on seven influencers in the four months between August and December.
In the previous financial year the agency spent more than half a million dollars on social media campaigns.
The agency said the influencers were required to undergo a “rigorous evaluation process” before being paid a fee from the campaign budget for their “captivating digital content”.
“With Australia’s $143 billion tourism industry employing one in 13 Australians, it’s vital we continue to find innovative ways to attract the attention of prospective international travellers so we can keep tourist number at record levels,” a spokesperson said.
The release of the latest figures comes as Tourism Australia launched a multimillion-dollar traditional advertising campaign starring Kylie Minogue aimed at drawing Brits to Australia.
Originally published as Tourism Australia defends payment of social influencers to attract tourists