The tourism industry has been one of the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic but as restrictions continue to ease and borders slowly begin to open, travel advertising is making a comeback.
According to the SMI (Standard Media Index), early data from media agencies shows ad spend lifting in July and August for domestic tourism.
Within the travel category SMI tracks seven sub categories, including government tourist bureau activity which is reporting higher demand in July than last year and strong August demand of 64%.
Advertising by airlines and travel agents is still very low though.
Tourism Australia was among the first to relaunch domestic campaigns with its Live From Aus campaign which took both Australians and people from around the world live via Facebook to some of the nation’s tourist hotspots over the course of a weekend in May.
Domestic tourism hot spots like the Gold Coast have also been ramping up their advertising to entice people from both intrastate and interstate to visit.
Destination Gold Coast is among those vying for the competitive domestic tourism dollar, up against other city and state tourism bodies.
The $1.5 million Come Back and Play Queensland campaign to attract Queenslanders to visit the Gold Coast is part of a four-phased approach by Destination Gold Coast to recover its tourism economy.
“This is being amplified via free-to-air TV and radio, digital and social media placements supported by value for money holiday deals,” Destination Gold Coast CEO Annaliese Battista says.
Tourism contributes around $6 billion to the Gold Coast economy each year but in 2020, Destination Gold Coast says it predicts a loss of $3.3 to $4.3 billion as a result of COVID-19.
The industry also employs one in seven, or 60,000, people on the Gold Coast and represents 40% of the city’s economy.
Battista says the tourism body is working with the four-phased marketing approach to help the industry recover but it could be three years before it returns to pre-COVID numbers.
“Our four-phased approach is Gold Coast’s blueprint to match consumer sentiment and the ability to travel, once domestic travel bans are lifted and confidence returns,” Battista says.
“Destination Gold Coast’s marketing recovery plan outlines key phases to kick-start the return of holidaymakers to Australia’s favourite playground.”
The recovery plan phases include: reassess, remind, restart and result.
In phase one, Battista says continued brand awareness has been important to keep the Gold Coast as a top-of-mind destination for Australians and Kiwis.
“We manoeuvred through the initial phase by assessing and re-evaluating our markets’ potential and pivoting our focus to address the changing needs of travellers in a post-crisis environment,” she says.
“In truth, as marketers, this process never truly ends so we are refining our approach continuously.
“Queensland’s early success in flattening the COVID-19 curve allowed us to anticipate that the drive market would be the first to open up.”
This led the tourism body to begin the ‘remind’ phase, where it began to produce and promote a series of videos to spark interest at a time where many of its competitors remained quiet.
“This presented a tactical opportunity to appeal to a captive audience and we managed to connect with the hearts and minds of more than five million Aussie and Kiwi viewers across our social channels, during various stages of lockdown,” she says.
“In this phase we knew cashed-up destinations throughout Australia would be turning their attention to the domestic market - vying for every tourism dollar.
“Of course, with the domestic market comprising 92% of visitors to the Gold Coast, this means we must now be more competitive than ever.”
With border restrictions now easing, Battista says they are starting to operate in the early parts of stage three.
This phase includes the current Come Back and Play Queensland campaign and a soon to be released campaign targeted at other markets.
“A scalable approach to win back visitors from our core domestic markets of Sydney and beyond will come into play when Queensland’s border restrictions ease,” she says.
“That’s the trigger for us to tell would-be travellers that Australia’s favourite playground is once again open.”
The international tourism industry continues to suffer as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Australia’s neighbour New Zealand, tourism is its biggest export.
Prior to the outbreak, domestic and international tourism generated $40.9 billion with 40% of international arrivals coming from Australia.
The industry also employs one in eight people directly which equates to almost 230,000 people or 8.4% of all people employed in New Zealand.
Tourism New Zealand officially launched in 1991 with a remit to promote the country as a tourist destination to the rest of the world.
Now for the first time in its nearly 30-year history, Tourism NZ’s remit has expanded to include domestic tourism.
Andrew Waddel, Tourism NZ’s general manager of Australia, says ahead of the trans-Tasman bubble, domestic tourism will be key to helping the industry recover.
“Ahead of international borders opening, Tourism New Zealand has been focused on encouraging New Zealanders to explore their own backyard with a new campaign,” he says.
“We are looking at how we can focus on and promote domestic tourism in the short-term and targeting an international offering in phases, with Australia being a ‘tier one’ market.”
The tourism body also recently released its first international work, Pure Promise, to keep New Zealand top of mind.
The work, created by Special Group New Zealand, focuses on reconnecting with friends and past visitors around the world to share a reflection on what is important in life, as early signs of recovery begin to emerge for the island nation.
The pandemic has forced the tourism industry to undergo huge changes globally - changes Waddel says Tourism NZ will take on board for the future while maintaining the nation’s iconic branding.
“From a global perspective, we have an opportunity to rethink the entire way we approach tourism to ensure that it will make New Zealand a more sustainable place, enrich the lives of all our people and deliver a sector which is financially self-sustaining in the longer term,” he says.
“Of course, we will continue to lead the evolution of 100% Pure New Zealand.”
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