Destination NSW Joins Instagram Carousel in Australian First

The NSW Government's tourism and major events agency Destination NSW has become the first Australian tourism organisation to join Instagram's brand new advertising format, Instagram Carousel, bringing stunning images of NSW to Instagram feeds across the country.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said the new campaign with Instagram Carousel is another example of Destination NSW's leadership in tourism marketing.

“During the 30 days of the campaign, images of Sydney are expected to reach the Instagram feeds of the more than 5 million users across Australia, giving them additional incentive to plan a trip to Sydney, and helping the NSW Government work towards its target of doubling overnight visitor expenditure to the State by 2020,” Mr Ayres said.

“The campaign will help further boost visitation to Sydney from the domestic market which is an important part of the State's tourism mix. Sydney received more than 8.5 million domestic overnight visitors in the year ended December 2014, worth an estimated $6.1 billion to the NSW visitor economy,” he said.

First released in the USA in March 2015, Instagram Carousel places branded content within users' Instagram feeds, enabling them see multiple images telling a story, and click through to a website to learn more. The platform has just been released in Australia.

Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer Sandra Chipchase said, “Our creative for the new Instagram Carousel initiative is based on Destination NSW's highly successful 'Love Every Second in Sydney' campaign, which uses images of Sydney events, places and experiences to inspire people to plan a trip to our Harbour City.

“The images to be featured highlight tourism experiences including the Vivid Sydney Light Walk at Circular Quay, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Bondi Beach, and our city's outstanding shopping and waterside dining.

“These ads will help drive visitation to the Sydney.com website, which already receives almost 1 million visits per month. In conjunction with Visitnsw.com, the website is ranked first among Australia's State Tourism Organisation websites, attracting 46 per cent of all website traffic in this sector as at April 2015.”

Destination NSW's Instagram Carousel ads will be in market in Australia during the month of June.