Tourism Australia is the Australian Government agency responsible for promoting Australian locations as business and leisure travel destinations. The agency is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and employs 187 staff. Tourism Australia's objectives are to influence and encourage international and domestic travel to Australia, foster a sustainable tourism industry, and develop economic benefits to Australia from tourism. The agency's Tourism 2020 strategy, which outlines certain goals and values for the agency's campaigns until 2020, predominantly aims to grow the "overnight annual expenditure" generated by tourism to $140 billion. The agency is active in 15 markets, including Australia, where it aims to grow demand for the nation's tourism experiences through international and domestic promotions, advocacy and representation.
Organisational history
Tourism Australia was created in 2004 by the as a merger of four existing tourism organisations – the Australian Tourist Commission, the Bureau of Tourism Research, and the Tourism Forecasting Council, and See Australia. Tourism Australia describes itself as the successor of the Australian Tourist Commission, and hence celebrated what would be the commission's 50-year anniversary in 2017. In February 2019, Tourism Australia collaborated with Australian Traveller to launch a magazine in the United States, Australia. Jane Whitehead, regional general manager Americas, Tourism Australia, said "In collaborating with Australian Traveller, we set out to tell quintessentially Aussie travel stories, while highlighting some of the finest hospitality product, in a way that compels travellers to book memorable vacations."
Campaigns
The organisation caused controversy in 2006 when its advertising campaign "So where the bloody hell are you?" gained media attention following a ban in the United Kingdom. In January 2010 Tourism Australia displayed a caged kangaroo on a street in Hollywood. The kangaroo was filmed by a concerned member of the public who was reported as saying, "The kangaroo was there in a pen, like a 10 by 12 pen, straight on the concrete and it was really, really disturbing. It was just disturbing. There were kids who were really upset because this kangaroo was just rocking back and forth and back and forth and back and forth." Australian macropod expert Tim Faulkner, after viewing the video of the kangaroo, said that it was clear the animal was not acting normally, "The animal is obviously distressed, there is no question about it. The sort of stress I see here suggests that it has endured long-term problems." In 2010, Tourism Australia launched its There's nothing like Australia campaign, sourcing its stories and photographs from the Australian public through a competition with strict licensing conditions. The terms and conditions of the competition required the authors to assign all rights, including moral rights, to Tourism Australia and indemnify Tourism Australia against any legal action as a result of its re-using the works, which the Australian Copyright Council stated were extreme conditions and "particularly disturbing given that Tourism Australia is a government body". A 2019 advertising campaign, entitled Matesong, that featured Kylie Minogue, Ashleigh Barty, Adam Hills, Shane Warne, and Ian Thorpe, with a song written by Eddie Perfect, was aired on televisions in the United Kingdom before the Queen's message on Christmas Day. However the advertisement was withdrawn several days later in light of the impact of the 2019–20 Australian bushfires.
People
served as Managing Director of Tourism Australia from 2004 until 2006, when his three-year contract was prematurely terminated. Morrison was subsequently elected as the Member for Cook in the House of Representatives and served as Treasurer until August 2018 when he assumed the role of Prime Minister of Australia. In January 2014, Tourism Australia announced it had appointed Fox Sports' Chief Operating OfficerJohn O'Sullivan as its Managing Director. In September 2019 Phillipa Harrison was appointed as O'Sullivan's successor, having been the Acting Managing Director of Tourism Australia since his departure in April 2019.
