Qantas has extended its partnership with Queensland’s peak tourism bodyfor a further three years in an agreement worth $9.78 million.
Under the new deal, Qantas and Tourism and Events Queensland, would conduct joint marketing and promotion campaigns to attract more interstate and overseas visitors to the state.
The pair said in a joint statement on Tuesday the advertising campaigns would focus on digital and social media, trade partner campaigns, public relations activities and trade and media visits.
“We know that online and social media campaigns are really effective at inspiring more people to travel to Australia, so that will be a big part of our focus,” Qantas International chief executive Gareth Evans said.
“As the largest private investor in Australian tourism, it’s a really exciting time for us to be investing to attract more visitors to Queensland, particularly with the relatively low Australian dollar and the number of visitors from markets like Hong Kong, China and the US at an all-time high.”
Evans noted Qantas and its regional wing QantasLink served 20 destinations in Queensland – more than any other state – in addition to international links through both the Flying Kangaroo and low-cost unit Jetstar.
Queensland Minister for Tourism and Major Events Kate Jones said: “We are thrilled one of the world’s most iconic airlines is continuing to partner with Tourism and Events Queensland to ensure Queensland is the first choice for travellers.”
The initial partnership with Tourism and Events Queensland, signed in July 2013, was worth $12 million.
Qantas began signing partnerships with state-based tourism bodies after withdrawing about $44 million of marketing support to Tourism Australia in late 2012, saying at the time it was no longer possible to work with the organisation given its then-chairman Geoff Dixon was among a group of investors who were pushing for change at the airline.
However, in June 2015 Dixon stepped down as chairman. And in January 2016, Qantas teamed up with Tourism Australia to promote some of the country’s most beautiful locations through a new safety video.
“We always said the reason we weren’t working with Tourism Australia back in 2012 was there was a conflict of interest with the chairman that was there,” Joyce told Fairfax Media’s Traveller website in January.
“There’s a new chairman and CEO and we felt the timing was appropriate for working together again.”
Qantas and Destination NSW re-signed for a further three years last week.
