The best vintage ads from the Tourism Australia archives

It’s 50 years this year since Australia was first promoted to the world as a cool place to go on holidays, and boy have we come a long way.

From Paul Hogan to Lara Bingle and now the hunk of spunk that is Chris Hemsworth, it’s been a heck of a journey.

So we dove deep into the archives to show you how Australia’s advertising has changed over the years, and how the country’s reputation as the land of “no worries” developed.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, said Australia’s tourism industry is now worth $120 billion, and employs almost one million Aussies in the process.

Ciobo gave a nod to all the infamous Aussie campaigns – not just Chris Hemsworth, although he did manage to scoop $54 million in ad value with his role as ambassador.

Sadly, though, Hemsworth was no match for a cute little kangaroo, which actually won best pic promoting Australia, as a whopping 80 per cent of Aussies admit to just loving Hemsworth as the face of our country overseas,

“Having home grown superstar, Chris Hemsworth, as an ambassador in Tourism Australia’s latest campaign has also helped propel Australia to new heights,” Ciobo said.

“Australia has solidified itself as a bucket list travel destination through famous advertising campaigns; from Paul Hogan offering to throw another shrimp on the barbie, to Lara Bingle asking, ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’

“Tourism has grown to become a major driver of the Australian economy. Every dollar spent on tourism generates 81 cents in other parts of the economy, higher than mining, agriculture and financial services.

“Importantly, 43 cents of every tourism dollar is spent in regional Australia.

“The strength of Australia’s tourism industry is a testament to the many years of unwavering commitment and hard work from those across the industry who work tirelessly to promote our beautiful country and ensure our products are of a world-class standard.

“Today, Australia is breaking tourism records, attracting more than eight million overseas tourists who spend more than $40 billion.”

Now let’s scroll through some vintage Tourism Australia archives to see how campaigns have changed over the years:

1970s_ Friendly Australia_Sydney Harbour 1970s_Australia Welcomes You_ Location Currumbin 1970s_Come on Down Under featuring Skippy 1980s Paul Hogan_Australian Made Holidays 1986 NZ Four Corners campaign 1987_88 Land of Dreams campaign ASIA 1999 My Aussie Style campaign Japan 2002 Tourism Ambassador Ian Thorpe_JAPAN 2003 Australia No Worries Campaign UK Late 1960s_1970s_Great Barrier Reef

Channeling my Kung fu panda at @qualiaresort on Hamilton island, another incredible place to visit in @australia #whitsundays
A post shared by Chris Hemsworth (@chrishemsworth) on Jul 18, 2016 at 2:38pm PDT

Advertise with us

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Latest comments

Hannah Edensor says:
November 1, 2017 at 12:17 pm
Thanks for the heads up Aubrey! Good eagle-eye, you have there. But we did in fact mean dove – not as in the bird though, but as in the past tense of the word ‘dive’. ‘Dove’ or ‘Dived’ are both considered appropriate ways to describe the past act of diving.
Log in to Reply
Aubrey Adams says:
October 31, 2017 at 11:45 pm
Some quaint nostalgia there for sure; but “dove”??? Puh-lease! Dove is a bird. I think that you meant “dived” 😀
Log in to Reply

@australia Chris Hemsworth lara bingle paul hogan qantas tourism australia tourism industry