Australia targets New Zealand and Japan to help boost arrivals

The Australian Tourist Commission (ATC) is set to launch new advertising campaigns in its two largest tourism markets, New Zealand and Japan, to  help boost international visitors to Australia in coming months.

ATC Managing Director Ken Boundy said international arrivals to Australia had slumped over the past three weeks by around 15 - 20 per cent, due to the impact of the Iraq crisis and SARS, with the fall expected to continue in coming weeks.

 “New campaigns will be implemented in New Zealand and Japan to help boost arrivals from these countries,” Mr Boundy said.

“The new campaigns will stimulate demand in travel to Australia, helping to minimise the impact of global events and deliver a short term boost in visitors. While this growth will not compensate for the overall drop in international visitors to Australia - it will provide a needed kick-start for the sector.

“We have been monitoring global consumer sentiment to travel and in-market intelligence indicates that both New Zealand and Japan offer significant opportunities for Australia’s inbound sector in the immediate future. 

“The war in Iraq and more recently the outbreak of SARS has impacted on travel with many consumers postponing or cancelling travel plans and deferring new holiday bookings. In fact, forward bookings from some markets to Australia are down by around 20-30 per cent, compared to the same time last year.

“As a result, the ATC’s major campaigns across the globe have been postponed over the past three weeks, as consumers were reluctant to make holiday bookings, particularly to long haul destinations like Australia.

“While New Zealand and Japan offer immediate opportunities for Australian tourism - we are not walking away from other markets, such as the UK and US. We will continue to monitor the situation around the globe and will be ready to roll-out new campaigns to meet the return of consumer demand in all tourism markets.

“In fact, we are already planning to recommence ad campaigns in the US in coming weeks, which will help to test consumer interest in travelling to Australia. Contingency planning is also underway for the UK, Europe and some Asian countries.

“In this uncertain environment, ATC marketing activities need to be flexible to ensure we can implement campaigns which respond to shifting consumer trends and market performance.”

Mr Boundy said the ATC has reallocated funding to ensure the new campaigns in New Zealand and Japan could be implemented immediately and to capitalise on new opportunities in the markets.

“The ATC’s campaign in New Zealand will include a range of activities in partnership with industry,” he said.

“In New Zealand, there are indications that travellers have cancelled trips to Asia and long haul destinations (such as the UK) however, they are looking to travel to destinations closer to home - providing a good opportunity for Australia.

“The ATC campaign in Japan, will be run in partnership with Japan Airlines (JAL) and will assist Australia to rebuild visitation from this important tourism market. The campaign will include a range of activities from advertising in trains to television and magazine promotions.

 “The Japan market has been severely impacted in recent weeks, with cancellations in group and school tours to many destinations, including Australia. We need to reverse this trend to ensure we can continue to compete with other destinations and secure an increased share of  outbound travel from Japan.

“The global travel market is increasingly competitive, with destinations looking for a greater share of a diminishing market.

“We expect competition for the travel dollar to significantly increase once the current situation has eased, with all destinations looking to rebuild their industry. Australia needs to ensure we can continue to hold our market  share in this environment.”

Mr Boundy said the ATC had been working closely with the Federal and State Governments on the National Tourism Crisis Response Plan for the last three weeks to develop contingency plans for the sector, and this work would continue.

“The ATC will continue to provide daily reports to tourism businesses with details on the impact of SARS and Iraq crisis on global travel patterns,” he said. “This information is critical to ensure operators can make informed business decisions."