Australia pumps extra funds into luring UK tourists

June 26, 2003

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Australia pumps extra funds into luring UK tourists

The Australian Tourist Commission is throwing an extra £1m at marketing Australia to the British over the next three weeks, to kick-start bookings following the recent war in Iraq.

The money comes from an additional £3.8m in funding recently allocated by the Australian federal government to tourism initiatives.

The campaign, which spans TV, radio, newspaper and online media, will be run in conjunction with a promotion by national airline Qantas, which is offering return flights for £799 including taxes.

Many of the ads will use the theme of the Rugby World Cup, to take place in Australia this autumn.

The £1m spend is in addition to a £2m campaign already running in the UK. The TV activity, through Delaney Lund Knox Warren, features outdoor activities to the tune of Australia by The Manic Street Preachers.

Tourism to Australia has been damaged by events in the Middle East and Asia, including the war in Iraq and the outbreak of SARS.

UK visitors to Australia totalled 632,300 in the year ending March 2003 - almost identical to 2001 figures.

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Marketing