Fake Crocodile Dundee ad credited with boosting tourism numbers
It sent social media into a frenzy when it first aired and now the impact of the multimillion-dollar taxpayer funded tourism ad campaign that featured Chris Hemsworth has finally been revealed.
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American tourists have flocked to Victoria in record numbers on the back of the Australian government’s fake Crocodile Dundee film.
More than 250,000 visitors from the United States went to Victoria in the year ending June 2019 — 17,000 more than the previous 12 months.
International visitor numbers to the state hit three million for the first time ever and spending was up 7 per cent to $8.6 billion.
The Australian government launched a concerted campaign to lure more US visitors down under last year.
This included a mock preview for a Crocodile Dundee sequel, starring Chris and Liam Hemsworth, during the halftime of the 2018 Super Bowl.
Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham will today seize on the new figures as proof the Dundee campaign was worth it.
“Victoria has seen a surge in tourists number from the US since the Dundee campaign was launched and the good news is they’re spending big across the state,” Mr Birmingham said. “This is no surprise with the Great Ocean Road and Mornington Peninsula playing a starring role in the original Dundee campaign ad which was watched by over 100 million Americans during last year’s Super Bowl.
“While US tourists fly into Melbourne, they’re dispersing into the regions, heading to places like Phillip Island, the Yarra Valley and the Grampians, injecting millions of extra tourism dollars into these regional areas.”
Americans spent $390 million in Victoria which was an increase of $54 million on the previous year.
Australia continued to see record numbers of international visitors, with 8.6 million arrivals over the period.
Victoria is still the second-most visited state, only trailing NSW which saw 4.4 million international visitors.
What first appeared as a star-studded preview for a new Dundee film featuring the Hemsworth brothers, Hugh Jackman, Paul Hogan and Margot Robbie, was later revealed to be pricey ad campaign by Tourism Australia.
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Following the preview being aired, the $36 million campaign then featured a series of videos inviting Americans to book a trip to Australia and “visit the set” of the movie.
“The US is critically important for Australia’s tourism industry, with US travellers splashing the cash when they come out here, spending on average $5000 per person per trip,” Mr Birmingham said.
“That’s why last year we launched one of our largest ever marketing campaigns to help stimulate this lucrative market and get more Americans down under.”