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It’s not philosophy, it’s “philausophy” – which Tourism Australia defines as “the distinct and defining character of Australia and of Australians”. Its latest campaign, unveiled yesterday, invites the world Down Under to experience first-hand the Australian way of life.

Key industry stakeholders were invited yesterday to a special preview of the new three-year global campaign, “Come Live our Philausophy”, which elevates one of Australia’s greatest assets – its people and personality.

A deliberately Australian play on words, Philausophy aims to capture the philosophy of Australians and their informal approach to living, which research shows is highly appealing amongst visitors.

Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said Tourism Australia’s latest global campaign strategy is part of a $38 million investment that will be rolled out in our 15 key tourism markets over the next three years to attract more international tourists Down Under.

The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) was fast to welcome the new campaign.

“While the global market for international tourism continues to grow, Australia also faces increasing competition from destinations willing to invest significant marketing budgets into attracting international visitors,” ATEC Managing Director Peter Shelley said.

“Finding new ways to connect and showcase Australia’s unique offering is a vital way for us to stand out in a crowded marketplace and this campaign hones in on some of the things that make Australia a truly special and unique travel destination.”

Shelley said Australia is becoming an increasingly popular leisure destination with 77% of visitors travelling here for holidays and that figure due to increase over the next decade.

“Tourism Australia is continuing to evolve our marketing campaigns in order to deliver not only a stronger message to-market, but to engage a more sophisticated and enduring visitor relationship.

“Our unique Australian personality is being celebrated in this campaign – a welcoming and positive message which has been well received by leading international travel buyers representing our key markets.

“The ‘Come Live our Philausophy’ campaign will highlight the Australian lifestyle and outlook on life in order to create inspiration to travel here, and with international visitation expected to almost double in the next decade, it’s campaigns like this that will help to drive this growth.

“While Australia possesses many attractive and competitive natural and man-made tourism attributes one thing that is different is our unique, welcoming and relaxed Australian personality – an attribute which is consistently highlighted in guest books and review sites countrywide by international visitors.”

Tourism Minister Birmingham said Australia’s $143 billion tourism industry was a vital part of the country’s economy “and in order to grow the industry further and create more tourism jobs, we need to find new ways to sell Australia and differentiate ourselves.

“In such a competitive global market, the sell is tougher than ever. We need to stand out from the crowd and find a unique selling point that sets us apart from our competitors.

“Philausophy aims to do this by not only encouraging people to book a flight to Australia and visit our incredible destinations but go a step further and actually immerse themselves in the best of the Australian way of life.

“At its core, Philausophy, is about giving travellers from around the world a taste of what makes Australia such an enjoyable destination by shining a spotlight on the people, lifestyle and personality that make Australian experiences so memorable.

“Tourism Australia’s marketing campaigns have done a great job over the years of promoting our key destination strengths, from our spectacular coastal environments to our unique fauna and flora and our world class food and wine.

“We know the unique nature of Australia combined with the welcoming and fun-loving nature of Australians sets us apart, and it is this combination that will form a powerful platform for our next wave of exciting new campaigns.”

A suite of new creative assets have been developed for the Philausophy campaign, including over 5,000 new images captured across every state and territory, a series of industry videos, bespoke social content, a refresh of australia.com and Australia.cn, and a book featuring well-known Aussie icons who will have provided their own personal perspectives and experiences that help explain our unique Australian way of life.

Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison said that Philausophy was all about elevating one of Australia’s greatest assets and something that we know people from around the world will travel to experience firsthand – its people.

“We know from our research that 70 per cent of international travellers believe that Australians have a different perspective on life; 79 per cent believe that the Australian people are an important part of the Australian lifestyle; and 82 per cent would like to travel to Australia to experience our lifestyle,” Ms Harrison said.

“The Australian character and way of life has long been woven into our marketing. The journey began with Paul Hogan and Come Say G’Day. In more recent times Chris Hemsworth, our global ambassador, has been integral in embodying the Australian character for our audiences. Dundee too was all about leaning into our personality. And promoting our people is at the core of our Friends of Australia advocacy program. Our new campaign will continue to build on this narrative by inviting the world to come and live our ‘philausophy’.”

“Philausophy will be brought to life by our industry, because who better to talk about the Australian way of life than the tourism operators who live it themselves every day. Not only will they be front and centre in the campaign, but they will be pivotal in ensuring its success by continuing to be the face of our country’s tourism offering to international travellers.”

Speaking about his involvement in the new campaign, Australian actor and Global Ambassador for Tourism Australia, Chris Hemsworth said that Australians have something truly special to offer to the world.

“To say that Australians are laid back, outgoing, and have a great sense of humour would be both buying into widely-known clichés and admitting an absolute truth. An incredible sense of adventure and an insistence on having a great time is truly born into our DNA,” Chris Hemsworth said.