Wine tourism is set to be the new drawcard for Australia under a major deal announced last week.
SYDNEY- Tourism Australia and Wine Australia will join forces to promote regions such as the Hunter Valley in NSW, Barossa Valley in South Australia and Yarra Valley in Victoria under the partnership.
Tourists from China, the USA, UK and Canada will be targeted in the three-year marketing deal, as well as domestic tourists.
Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said they would work with companies such as Penfolds and Jacobs Creek, which are household names in many countries.
“Every bottle of wine that goes overseas is like a liquid postcard for Australia,” he said. ” In China you say wine and they say Penfolds. One thing Wine Australia brings is eight to ten companies who export over 90 per cent of Australian wine.”
A recent survey of country brands by Futurebrand found Australia ranked first for beautiful beaches when it came to attracting tourists, but did not even make the top ten for food or wine.
Mr McEvoy said people who hadn’t been to Australia had a lower understanding and expectation of food and wine offerings than those who had been. “The gap between what people think it’s like and what it is actually like is a marketing opportunity,” he said.
“Regional areas can especially benefit from the tourism opportunities offered by Australia’s wine experiences,especially when matched with our fine food offering.”
Together, wine and tourism contribute around $140 billion annually in economic value. As part of the agreement, which begins next month, the two government organisations will partner on a range of marketing activities such as advertising and consumer promotions, digital marketing, public relations and special events.
Wine Australia chief executive Andrew Cheesman said he wanted to see more quality Australian wines on wine lists and retail shelves around the world.
(Source: News Limited Network)
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
