2002 - 2003 Annual Report - Tourism Australia

Chairman and Managing Director’s Report
The year 2002/03 presented the ATC and the tourism
industry with unique challenges and opportunities. While
still in the shadow of the terrorist assault in New York on
September 11, 2001, we experienced the terrorist attack
in Bali, war in Iraq and SARS. Australia lost its innocence
and its relative isolation and, as a consequence, we too
were impacted by the resultant wariness of the travelling
public and the inevitable downturn in tourism across
the globe. In all the circumstances, it was a remarkable
achievement to attract 4.7 million international visitors
to Australia in 2002/03, a decline of only 2 per cent on
the previous year.
This result was neither accidental nor coincidental.The
ATC, in partnership with the tourism industry and assisted
by the Federal Government, instigated a recovery strategy
for Australia that began with the monitoring of the global
situation and later developed into the rollout of specific
campaigns to stimulate travel.
We postponed our marketing programs in all markets
and – using professional research, advice from ATC offices
and close collaboration with our industry partners –
reassessed where our funds would have the greatest
impact in the short term. Given the fluid global situation,
we needed to be as flexible as possible. When the time
was right we initiated our recovery strategy in those
markets that were most likely to deliver returns of
substance and to do so sooner rather than later. Phase
one of the strategy was aimed at stimulating travel in
markets such as New Zealand and Japan where consumer
confidence had improved.This was followed by reintroducing
campaigns in the United States, the United
Kingdom and Korea.
The ATC was provided with an additional $10 million
in funding for recovery strategies from the Federal
Government which the ATC leveraged an additional
$10 million. In total, we allocated $33 million to marketing
in ten carefully chosen countries with the aim of
stimulating demand for travel to Australia.These recovery
strategies provided the first step in building a stable
platform from which we could move forward.
A strong brand
The last 18 months have demonstrated the vulnerability
and volatility of international tourism and the critical
importance of Australia sustaining consistent, distinctive and
compelling messages to consumers across all key markets.
The professionalism of our marketing strategies needs
to reflect the increasing discernment of international
travellers and the ever-increasing competitiveness of
other destinations.
It is against this background that we have embarked on
perhaps the most important current project for Australian
inbound tourism – the refreshing of Brand Australia. It
has become increasingly evident that we need an even
stronger, more definitive image of our country in tourism
promotions across all our markets.The culmination of this
work will be launched in 2003/04 and will redefine all our
marketing activities in what we believe will be innovative
and compelling ways.
More than advertising
A focus on new and innovative ways to promote our
country overseas has been a priority over the past year.
The increased competition from other destinations, as
well as ever-evolving consumer needs and interests, has
demanded that the ATC continue to review and revise
its promotional activities.
An example of this process has been the development of
the ATC’s Australian Tourism Ambassador program which
gained further momentum this year, helping to personalise
and diversify our image in key markets. Beginning last year
with Ian Thorpe in Japan, the program was extended in
2002/03 to include popular Italy-based model Megan Gale
for the Italian market and five-time world champion surfer,
Layne Beachley, to entice the youth market from the US.
Further such appointments will be made in 2003/04.
The expansion of the Celebrate Australia promotion
beyond Singapore to Hong Kong and China has also
delivered benefits for the industry, generating promotion
and awareness of Australia.
One of the most enduring and still one of the most
potent programmes conducted by the ATC is the Visiting
Journalists Programme and it merits recording here that
it continues to earn its way with spectacular results by
way of positive media publicity around the world. Last
year, the ATC hosted 1,027 print, broadcast and television
journalists from around the world and what they
produced upon their return – which was overwhelmingly
positive – generated publicity to an estimated value of
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