On December 25th on Christmas Day, Australian tourism chiefs launched their biggest UK advertising campaign in more than a decade for reversing a decline in British visitors, which they think might have been caused by Brexit.
The A$15m campaign headlined by pop icon Kylie Minogue taps into longstanding ties between the two Commonwealth nations and is part of a wider drive to intensify the political relationship with the UK leaving the EU on January 31.
Canberra aims to be among the first nations to strengthen a free-trade deal with the UK and has flagged that it would consider visa-free travel as part of any agreement.
“It is no secret that the UK has been going through a period of uncertainty, and this has had an impact on outbound travel, including to Australia where numbers have dipped in recent months,” said Simon Birmingham, Australia’s minister for trade and tourism. “It is crucial that we continue to drive growth from this market,” he added.
The UK remains Australia’s fourth-biggest inbound tourism market, worth A$3.4bn in the 12 months till the end of October. British visitors tend to stay longer, spending more than other international travelers, averaging 32 nights on a visit and spending almost £2,700.
