The Sunshine Coast is set to build on the heightened awareness of the region in the UK market following October’s Royal visit to Fraser Island with the launch of a new trade campaign.
Tourism and Events Queensland Chief Executive Officer Leanne Coddington said the UK trade campaign had been launched to show travel agents the latest offerings and experiences of ‘Australia’s Nature Coast’, with the aim of attracting more British travellers to the Sunshine and Fraser Coasts.
“The UK is a highly desirable market with holiday and VFR (visiting friends and relatives) travellers spending on average 22.6 days in Queensland, with broad regional dispersal,” Ms Coddington said.
“We also still see a strong reliance on the traditional trade network throughout the UK and Europe, making trade activities in these markets vital.
“This campaign is showing travel agents what Australia’s Nature Coast has to offer, in order to leverage their strong role in the booking process for UK visitors.
“We also know that UK visitors have a strong affinity with nature and want to experience unique natural attractions on their travels, which is what makes the ‘Australia’s Nature Coast’ campaign so strong.”
The campaign takes a strong focus on the nature experiences on offer, encouraging agents to experience ‘the perfect shade of blue’.
The multi-media program was launched in the depths of the UK’s winter months to vividly highlight the beauty of the Sunshine and Fraser Coasts.
Travel agents can also win a place on a familiarisation tour, providing a further opportunity to promote the experiences of the regions.
“We were very privileged to welcome Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth, when she came to the Sunshine Coast for CHOGM in 2002, and the UK market has been strong ever since, with our blend of temperate sunshine and distinctive experiences really resonating with the market,” said Simon Latchford, CEO of Visit Sunshine Coast.
“The Sunshine Coast is very easy for UK travellers to access with new daily services by Qantas ex Sydney departing at perfect times to complement long-haul arrivals from the UK”.
Fraser Coast Tourism and Events General Manager Martin Simons said the visit by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in October underlined the importance of K’gari (Fraser Island) as one of the world’s premier wilderness assets which was on the bucket list of travellers everywhere.
“About 400,000 visit the island annually, with Hervey Bay the main access point to the resorts on either side of the island”.
Visitors from the UK to Queensland grew by 4.3 per cent in the year ending September 2018* (to 235,000) and spent $421.6 million. The state’s equal third largest visitor market, UK visitors spent an average 22.6 nights in Queensland over the same period.
*Preliminary results from Tourism Research Australia’s International Visitor Survey for the year ended September 2018.
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