Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) Chief Executive Officer, Leanne Coddington, said the campaign aimed to showcase Queensland as a destination of choice for American travellers.
Queensland’s unique destination holiday experiences will shine in the USA when the new Connect for Life campaign launched in the United States on 12 April.
Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) Chief Executive Officer, Leanne Coddington, said the campaign aimed to showcase Queensland as a destination of choice for American travellers.
“This is an initiative between TEQ and Qantas Airways as part of our three-year $12 million cooperative marketing agreement,” Ms Coddington said.
“Three ambassador groups from North America have travelled to Queensland to capture their journey and highlight some of the amazing holiday experiences on offer throughout the State.”
“The videos promote an emotional connection to destinations throughout Queensland and will be shared via Qantas and Queensland’s social media channels.”
“This campaign builds on the momentum of our highly successful 24 Hours in Queensland social media initiative with Qantas and Destination Think! in 2014.”
Ms Coddington said the ambassadors were return visitors who relived and shared their personal stories, connecting with experiences which made their first visits unforgettable.
“Queensland is truly diverse from the cities to the coast, the hinterlands, the outback, its world-class events and its amazing culinary and leisure opportunities,” Ms Coddington said.
“The ambassadors shared in a variety of experiences such as exploring the Great Barrier Reef, enjoying food and wine tours through the Sunshine Coast and enjoying the natural attractions of Fraser Island.”
Ms Coddington said capitalising on the low Australian dollar and inviting North Americans to Queensland was reinvigorating growth from the region.
“We want to inspire visitors from the United States to experience the best address on earth,” Ms Coddington said.
“The United States is an important international visitor market with 197,000 American visitors to Queensland in the year to December 2015 who generated $362 million, up 19% and 38% on the year prior respectively.”
TEQ’s International Director Americas, Leigh Arredondo, said, “We want to continue to reinforce the message that Queensland is a fantastic destination of choice for US travellers.”
“The videos being created for this campaign showcase inspirational content and memorable experiences unique to Queensland, designed to influence people to visit this diverse state and make their own once-in-a-lifetime memories,” he said.
Below is a synopsis of the selected ambassadors and their stories. Check out their videos here.
Group 1 – Tammy Ware, Brooke and Olivia Marcus (Laramie, Wyoming)
Tammy Ware travelled to Cairns in Tropical North Queensland a few years ago with her two daughters, Brooke and Olivia. The Make a Wish Foundation facilitated their trip at the end of Brooke’s leukaemia treatment. The three women, as well as Tammy’s husband, returned to Queensland to explore Port Douglas and Brisbane. The video shares their story and emotions behind their first trip, as well as highlighting their close family relationship.
Group 2 – Britt and Tory McPhail (New Orleans, Louisiana)
A well-known New Orleans Chef, Tory, and his wife Britt were engaged on Queensland’s Whitehaven Beach and have returned less than a year after their wedding. Their video, which was filmed in the Whitsundays and on the Sunshine Coast, highlights their engagement story and focus on “falling in love” in Queensland.
Group 3 – Tamara Bell and Renel Craig (Greenwich, Ohio)
Tamara and Renel are childhood best friends who also studied abroad together in Queensland at Central Queensland University. They’ve travelled across the State, learned to dive near Cairns, spent time island hopping and were excited to return to Queensland 16 years later. Tamara and Renel visited Tropical North Queensland and Fraser Island and their video centres on re-living their once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences as well as the concept of best friends travelling together.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
