Virtual reality will be Tourism Australia’s weapon of choice as it seeks to immerse prospective visitors in Australia’s coastal and aquatic experiences in a bid to take on rivals such as South Africa and Hawaii.

Chief marketing officer Lisa Ronson told Travel Weekly that Tourism Australia is heavily investing in the technology to enhance the experiential nature of its newest campaign in order to convert interest into bookings.

With 70 to 80% of international visitors participating in some sort of aquatic and coastal experience during their Australian visit, the country’s aquatic and coastal attractions are among Australia’s key advantages.

“It’s featured in some of our campaigns in the past, but it’s never been front and centre,” Ronson said.

Key competitors such as South Africa and Hawaii are “really starting to dial up” their own coastal allure as part of their campaigns, she continued.

“And we know from our research before people come to Australia, they probably perceive us about on par with Hawaii, but after they’ve been here, we over-index in terms of the experience delivered is far superior to our competitors.”

But with a general trend among consumers towards more “immersive” experiences, far beyond simply looking at things and snapping a quick photo, the question turned to how to communicate Australia’s coastal assets in the most effective way.

Enter virtual reality – a non-starter back in the 90s, but now in the throes of a major comeback with it already proving very popular with tourism brands.

“So the campaign is really all about that immersion piece, really feeling something and showing the ultimate benefit to a consumer of coming to Australia,” Ronson said.

“That’s why VR and 360 video is really important in the campaign, to try and get as close to showing them a taste before they come here so we can really whet their appetite and encourage them to get on that plane and come down to Australia.

“We know we’re a very aspirational destination but we really need to focus on the conversion piece and getting people here.”

Although VR headsets are not widely available at present, Ronson is confident that will change dramatically over the coming year, with Google Cardboard providing a low cost way for consumers to view the next generation content and a range of other new products releasing to market this year, several using smartphones to deliver the experience.

“And with the increased adoption of mobile phone usage, it’s only a matter of time before it’s fairly well established and extensively available,” she said.

In the meantime, the 360 video assets are easily accessible across the board, with platforms such as Facebook and Instagram having already integrated 360 capability into their news feeds.

“Although it’s not as immersive as when you put a headset on, when you go onto Australia.com and look at 17 different experiences, and you can look around and see what interests you, then get more information on some of those locations, and really immerse yourself that way.”

The next step will be extending the use of VR headsets to Tourism Australia’s key distribution partners and travel agents. Instead of showing them a brochure, they will instead be able to use the technology to gain a better understanding of Australia and the experiences on offer here.

“They can get a feel for what it’s like to be on Kangaroo Island or Cascade Falls in the Northern Territory or swimming with dolphins in Tasmania,” Ronson explained.

“Wildlife is obviously a big thing for Australia and a key reason why people come here, so we can give them a taste of that experience and how amazing that will be.”

Gathering the footage was no small undertaking with Tourism Australia setting aside two months to shoot the VR, 360 and 2D material using a range of technology including drones and challenges coming in the form of unfavourable weather conditions.

Spend on the campaign will be in the region of $40 million over the next financial year, Ronson revealed. Tourism Australia will also be spending a similar amount on its ongoing food and wine campaign which will continue to run alongside the new coastal push.

“So it’s not like we’re finishing off food and wine and moving onto this one,” she stressed. “They’re the two big ones we’re going to be working with over next three to four years, so it’s a long term play.”

Both fall under Tourism Australia’s There’s Nothing Like Australia campaign which launched in 2010.

The coastal campaign will launch in New York on January 25, Australia Day eve with newly-confirmed global ambassador Chris Hemsworth in attendance.

Main image: the filming process for the new campaign gets underway on Rottnest Island