Brisbane's Largest Tourism Campaign to Reach New Zealand

Brisbane’s new autumn/winter tourism campaign will be the largest to date with its reach spreading interstate and to New Zealand, the Lord Mayor of Brisbane Graham Quirk has said.

Cr Quirk said the $2 million Brisbane Marketing-led campaign, aimed to lure visitors to our sub-tropical climate during the cooler months, with a host of great events including Bolshoi Ballet, Brisbane Racing Carnival and the British & Irish Lions matches.

“Brisbane Marketing will be working in partnership with Tourism and Events Queensland, Virgin Australia, Emirates, Accor and 71 other industry partners to deliver the largest, longest and most far reaching winter campaign to date,” Cr Quirk said.

“The campaign is expected to generate more than $54 million in economic impact and attract more than 332,000 attendees to Brisbane events over the autumn and winter months.

“It has increased its traditional intrastate focus to include the regional fly-markets of north Queensland as well as Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand.

“New Zealand is Brisbane’s top international source market so it makes sense for Brisbane Marketing to work with Tourism and Events Queensland and the industry to extend our presence in this important market.”

The campaign has been boosted by $833,000 in contributions from surrounding local government authorities and the Queensland Government under the Regional Tourism Organisation Contestable Grant Funding Scheme 2012-13.

Cr Quirk said as Council of Mayors (SEQ) Chairman, he was pleased at the strength of the partnership between Brisbane and the surrounding local authorities as well as the widespread participation of local industry and the support of the Queensland Government.

Tourism Minister Jann Stuckey said the initiative was also funded as part of the Government’s $20 million Tourism Investment Strategy, aimed to support destination marketing and drive more visitors to Queensland.

“Tourism and events are intrinsically linked and this campaign will deliver economic and social benefits to the entire community,” Ms Stuckey said.

“Brisbane has a very exciting calendar of events scheduled over the winter months, add this to our enviable climate and we expect this campaign to deliver great results for our capital city.

“Last year Brisbane welcomed six million visitors to the city who spent more than $4.5 billion on visits, according to Tourism Research Australia data.”

Brisbane Marketing CEO John Aitken said the campaign would showcase the distinctive experiences available in the city as well as the surrounds of Moreton Bay, Logan City, Lockyer Valley, Ipswich City, Redlands, Somerset and the Scenic Rim.

“Competitive air fares to Brisbane will be offered from Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns which will be combined with great local deals from our tourism operators in the region,” he said.

“It’s a great example of what can be achieved by working in partnership with state and local government and industry. We’re particularly pleased with the high level of industry participation in what will be our longest and most far-reaching campaign to date.

“The campaign includes television, radio, digital and newspaper ads and inserts, billboards and transit advertising underpinned by a strong public relations campaign.”

Visit www.visitbrisbane.com.au for more information.