The launch of a bid for the 2008 Australian Tourism Exchange and new marketing initiatives to boost tourism in the state indicate how serious the government is about growing the industry, according to Tourism Minister Mark McGowan.
The launch of a bid for the 2008 Australian Tourism Exchange and new marketing initiatives to boost tourism in the state indicate how serious the government is about growing the industry, according to Tourism Minister Mark McGowan.
The Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre will again play host to the Tourism Exchange trade show in 2008 if a bid for the event is successful.
About 2,500 people visited the exhibition in June this year, injecting about $10 million to Perth’s economy, according to Tourism WA.
The Tourism Exchange is considered Australia’s premier tourism trade event and is the largest international travel trade show in the Southern Hemisphere, providing a forum for Australian tourism businesses to showcase their products, meet overseas contacts and negotiate business deals.
It also provides the international travel trade the opportunity to experience the destination first hand, according to event organisers, Tourism Australia.
Meanwhile, the government is spending some of its $9.4 million marketing budget increase on a $160,000 contribution to a campaign encouraging Western Australians to holiday at home, and the establishment of three new foreign language websites for tourists.
Along with the government’s contribution, the ‘Whenever You Feel Like It’ marketing campaign had been funded by local tourism operators and Experience Perth.
The campaign will focus on what Perth has to offer during summer, and on promoting places such as Mandurah, Rockingham, Avon Valley, the Hills and the Swan Valley.
Mr McGowan said research had shown people were tending to embark on expensive overseas holidays rather than taking trips within Perth’s immediate surrounds, as they had more disposable income on the back of the stronger economy.
Experience Perth chief executive Noeleen Pearson said that local advertising agency Marketforce had been engaged to carry out some of the predominantly print media campaign.
The foreign language websites feature information in Japanese, Chinese and Korean designed to promote the “Real Thing” Western Australia brand and increase overseas awareness of the state as a tourism destination.
“Each of the sites will provide culturally appropriate information about WA as a destination, as well as interactive maps, video footage, and contact details for consumer and trade activities,” Mr McGowan said.
“Online marketing campaigns are now being devised to help drive people to these new websites.”
He said the websites were cheap to run but were expected to deliver real gains.
Another new plan, announced by Mr McGowan at last week’s Tourism WA Marketing Forum, was for internationally-recognised WA personalities to put together a television feature of their favourite place in the state for broadcast on BBC World travel programs.
The previous face of WA tourism marketing was Elle Macpherson, who was contracted in 1996 to promote the state as a tourism destination in a television advertising campaign worth $2.8 million.
Latest figures on the number of international visitors to WA for the 12 months ending June 2005 show an increase of 7.4 per cent to 628,800.
