US Visitors Flock to Sydney Following Visit by The Ellen DeGeneres Show

The initial results for Destination NSW and Qantas joint marketing campaign promoting NSW through The Ellen DeGeneres Show has delivered immediate benefits.

"The Qantas and Destination NSW campaign, Dance Your Way Down Under, increased inbound ticket sales from the USA to Sydney by 22 per cent compared to normal levels," Mr George Souri, Minister for Tourism and Major Events
said.

"The campaign, which includes television commercials in Los Angeles and New York during screening of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, has delivered immediate results for NSW and is a great return on investment in promoting our state to North American audiences."

The Dance Your Way Down Under campaign, which was in market from April to June in the United States, comes off the back of a five day visit to Australia in March by the talk show superstar and her team to film segments for The Ellen DeGeneres Show as part of a trip for Swisse Wellness and Qantas.

"The campaign also features online marketing in the US and to date has delivered more than 62 million impressions on Qantas websites and almost 220,000 total sales leads for business and services throughout NSW." Mr Souris said.

"Visitors from the United States who booked their travel with Qantas via the Dance Your Way Down Under campaign plan to stay 12 nights on average, enjoying the best that NSW has to offer and contributing to the NSW Visitor Economy," Mr Souris said.

Destination NSW CEO, Sandra Chipchase, said "This impressive return on investment for the Dance Your Way Down Under campaign is one of many great marketing, packaging and public relations tools, developed jointly by Destination NSW and Qantas."

"Destination NSW's three year partnership with Qantas will ensure that NSW is promoted to audiences in our key international markets, delivering economic benefits to tourism operators, services and the NSW economy."

Simon Hickey, CEO Qantas International said that not only had the visit by The Ellen DeGeneres Show and the accompanying promotional campaign helped put Australia at the top of mind for US travellers, it has also inspired people to actually get on board a Qantas flight.

"The exposure of Australia in the important US market has been outstanding and it is obvious that team from The Ellen DeGeneres Show really enjoyed their time and experiences. It also highlighted to American travellers that Australia is a great option for a relatively short break," said Mr Hickey.

Members of The Ellen DeGeneres Show audience also received a holiday to Australia from Qantas and Swisse as a prize for being in the audience the day her visit was announced. To date, more than 205 winners have travelled to Australia on Qantas, with around one third bringing at least one more person with them.