Tourism Australia is stepping into live streaming, with the very best of what the country has to offer set to reach the living rooms of hundreds of thousands of Aussies.

Stepping outside of Australia for a getaway remains off the cards for the foreseeable future. But, with signs pointing to borders opening up between Australia’s states and territories before then, Tourism Australia is amping up its campaign to get Aussies keen to travel their own backyard.

‘Live From Aus’ marks the next iteration of Tourism Australia’s heartwarming ‘With Love From Aus’ campaign, a new program highlighting the best Australia has to offer, from “our unique culture to our stunning natural beauty, world-class food and drink and exceptional wildlife”.

Aimed at Aussies, it’s also set to show off a familiar face or two, including The Wiggles, Outback Wrangler presenter Matt Wright and Australian chef Matt Moran.

Kicking off on Friday 15 May, Live From Aus will open with a special one-hour broadcast at 7:30pm on Network 10’s The Project.

Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison said the broadcast and digital activation would help to further bring to life Tourism Australia’s With Love From Aus campaign, which has been rolling out across its social channels over the last month.

“Even though demand for travel is currently on hold and the timing of the recovery is still uncertain, it’s important that we don’t go quiet as a destination,” Harrison said.

“While people can’t travel right now, they can certainly dream and plan for those holidays to come.”

Although domestic tourism alone cannot fill the vacuum of lost international business from the COVID-19 pandemic, more Australians travelling domestically has the potential to deliver much-needed revenue to the country’s tourism industry.

According to Tourism Australia, domestic tourism makes up around two-thirds of total tourism spend in Australia, with locals spending more than $80 billion on overnight trips last year, and more than $26.3 billion on day trips.

“The brands that continue to engage with their audiences in a crisis are the ones that tend to recover the fastest,” Harrison said.

“Our marketing job right now is about keeping Australia front of mind for travellers by using this enforced period of self-isolation to engage with people in their living rooms, feed their escapism and inspire them to travel again once the restrictions start to lift.

“The With Love From Aus campaign is about providing a platform for our industry operators, tourism products and experiences to continue to connect with travel lovers and give them the ideas and inspiration to explore our incredible country when borders reopen, and people can travel again.”

The ‘Love Australia Project’, supported by Tourism Australia, will be headlined by some of the nation’s favourite tourism and entertainment personalities, who will help shine a spotlight on our “unparalleled” offerings.

Additionally, for the entire weekend of 16 and 17 May, Tourism Australia will be going live with exclusive new travel experiences, broadcasting on the hour, every hour, to a potential audience of more than 13 million from across Australia and around the world.

From a dance party with The Wiggles and iconic workouts in Byron Bay, to close crocodile encounters with the Outback Wrangler Matt Wright, pro golfing lessons, and a dinner party with Matt Moran and friends, the program of live events kicks off from 7am (EST) on Saturday 16 May 2020.

An ongoing streaming program from 18 May will further reconnect Australians with the country’s unique wildlife, landscapes, food and wine, indigenous heritage, and arts and cultural experiences through Tourism Australia’s digital and social media channels.

Hansons Peak, Tasmania (supplied)

According to Tourism Australia’s chief marketing officer, Susan Coghill, viewing of live content across digital and social media globally has nearly tripled in the past month, while TV viewership in Australia has climbed 11 per cent on last year due to people being in isolation.

“With Love From Aus aims to make the most of this opportunity and playing into consumers’ desire for positive content by filling their feeds with spectacular content from around Australia,” she said.

Australia’s Minister for Tourism, Simon Birmingham, said restarting the tourism industry once border restrictions were eased would be crucial to Australia’s overall economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The international border controls and restrictions that have helped to keep Australians safe are sadly inflicting enormous pain on tourism businesses all over Australia,” Birmingham said.

“Australians may not be able to travel across our wide brown land at present, but those who can should definitely be dreaming and planning to tick off some bucket list items when it’s safe do so.

“Those able to take breaks once restrictions are eased should do so knowing they can enjoy the time of their lives while also helping to save the businesses or jobs of fellow Australians.

“COVID-19 may have taken some of the fun out of life right now, but soon Aussies will be able to experience the sumptuous food and wine, thrilling adventures, rich culture and beautiful nature that usually make us such a favourite destination with international visitors.”

It comes as the next stage of a concerted effort by Tourism Australia and the federal government to boost domestic tourism among locals, and support community recovery, which began shortly after the devastating Australian bushfires with the ‘Holiday Here This Year’ campaign.