The
three year agreement will see the two Australian
Government agencies partner to promote wine
and tourism in key international markets such as China, the USA, UK,
and Canada as well as Australia from 1 January 2013. Collectively,
wine and tourism contribute around $140 billion annually in economic
value.
As
part of the MoU, Wine Australia and Tourism Australia will partner on
a range of marketing activities such asadvertising and
consumer promotions, digital marketing, public relations, and special
events.
Wine
Australia’s Chairman George Wahby said the obvious synergies
between the
wine and tourism sectors means a close
alliance is vitally important.
“Our
partnership with Tourism Australia is a very exciting prospect
for the wine industry as we move the promotion of wine
firmly into the lifestyle sector through a combination of wine, food
and tourism,” Mr Wahby said.
“Both
wine and tourism are sectors of great significance for Australia in
terms of exports, their economic contribution and jobs, particularly
in regional economies.
“Our
partnership is an important opportunity, not only for both the
tourism and wine sectors but for Australia, with two government
agencies working together to align funds and strategies to support
non-mining, sustainable, regional development.”
Tourism
Australia’s Managing Director Andrew McEvoy said the partnership
comes off the back of new research which shows that Australia’s
high quality wine and food offerings are key selling points for
international visitors.
“Recent
findings from our Consumer Demand Research in 11 key tourism markets
indicate that Australia’s food
and wine are
an important part of the visitor experience but are not necessarily
something that visitors know a lot about before they arrive here,”
Mr McEvoy said.
“By partnering with
Wine Australia there is a greater opportunity to highlight
Australia’s world-class wine experiences as a further motivating
factor for people to travel to and through Australia.
“Regional
areas can especially benefit from the tourism opportunities offered
by Australia’s wine experiences, especially when matched with our
fine food offering,” Mr McEvoy said.
Wine
Australia’s Chief Executive Andrew Cheesman said Wine Australia
will work closely with Tourism Australia to generate greater
awareness about the quality of Australian
wine and our wine tourism experiences.
“We
are currently developing a campaign together with Tourism Australia
and our industry partners, to build a higher value premium perception
of Australian wine and develop our food and
wine offering to be more relevant to the decision making process
for travel to and within Australia,” Mr Cheesman said.
“Ultimately,
our aim is to excite consumers about Australian wine,
activate the
trade and
see more quality Australian wines on wine lists and retail shelves
around the world.
“Our
partnership with Tourism Australia will play a major role in bringing
this campaign to life.”
Today’s
announcement comes at a time when Australia has attracted a record
six million international visitors in the past year, domestic travel
has seen five consecutive months of growth, and Australian
wine exports have increased at higher price points, with a four
percent per litre increase in the average value.
The Australian
wine industry is a $4.3 billion sector that provides an economic
value to Australia of $43 billion and creates 52,000 jobs, many of
which are based in 65 regional communities. It is the fourth biggest
agricultural exporting sector. Just under 30 million glasses
of Australian wine that have been produced by one of
Australia’s 2,400 wineries and 6,200 grape growers are consumed
around the world every day.
Australian
tourism generates $96 billion in spending annually, employing around
one million Australians both directly and indirectly. Tourism’s
direct contribution to GDP was worth $34.6 billion in 2010-11, or
2.5% of GDP, making it Australia’s largest services export sector.
