Tourism Australia launches next iteration of vaccination campaign

Tourism Australia launches next iteration of vaccination campaign
By Travel Weekly


Tourism Australia has released a stunning new video as part of its push to get the travel industry and the broader community vaccinated for COVID-19.

The video, which went live on Tourism Australia’s corporate website on Friday, features a swathe of industry figures from across the country vouching for the vaccine.


 

It’s the latest iteration of the government-funded organisation’s campaign, ‘It’s our best shot for travel’, which launched last month.

The initiative also includes a toolkit (which has just been updated) that features a range of ways for the travel industry to share the message, including social media assets, an email signature, a website sticker and even a Zoom background.

Speaking at a Tourism Australia webinar on Friday, managing director Phillipa Harrison said the campaign has been well received so far.

“[The toolkit’s] been downloaded over 2,500 times from our website, and I’ve seen it shared far and wide,” she told attendees.

“It really is joining a groundswell of voices with the industry and corporate Australia really getting behind the need to get vaccinated.”

One of those voices that Harrison highlighted was Qantas, which launched its own vaccination campaign last month with a tear-jerking ad.

“I think that the Qantas ad was really beautiful and really touched on the emotion of why we all travel and was incredibly, incredibly motivating,” she said.

Aussie Specialist Program gets a facelift

Tourism Australia has also relaunched its Aussie Specialist Program to make it easier for travel sellers around the world to gain the skills they need to better promote and sell the destination.

The Aussie Specialist Program, which is run in conjunction with Australia’s state and territory tourism organisations, has been given a new look and feel in its 32nd year, including greater personalisation, faster qualifying times and shorter, more interactive training modules.

Harrison said the investment comes after many frontline travel sellers turned to the Aussie Specialist Program over the past 18 months to learn and position themselves as champions for Australian travel once borders reopen.

“Australia remains one of the most desirable travel destinations in the world and the Aussie Specialist Program helps to ensure we will be in the best possible position to convert travel demand into bookings as soon as borders reopen,” she said.

“We now have more than 26,000 qualified Aussie Specialists worldwide, and hope the new program will allow more agents to complete their learning so they too can best sell Australian tourism experiences.”

The improvements to the Aussie Specialist Program were made in conjunction with more than 400 stakeholders and 1,000 existing Aussie Specialist agents.

The program is available in nine languages and is jointly promoted by Tourism Australia and all eight state and territory tourism partners.

Latest News