City
Epaper

Tourism Australia delays new ad campaign amid bushfire crisis

By IANS | Published: January 06, 2020 9:34 AM

The government owned Tourism Australia has delayed the rollout of a new advertising campaign on account of the devastating bushfires that have so far killed 25 people and destroyed thousands of acres of land.

Open in App

The national tourism agency on Sunday announced it was "pausing" parts of its "Matesong" campaign, which is aimed at attracting more visitors from the UK, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

The advertising campaign, which features a host of Australian celebrities, debuted in the UK prior to Queen Elizabeth II's traditional Christmas Day speech.

It urges British audiences to "turn off the news" and escape to Australia for a trip to the beach.

Shortly after the A$15 million ($10 million) campaign was launched, critics accused it of depicting an easy-going lifestyle that was in direct contrast of the bushfire crisis.

As the crisis continues to escalate, a spokesperson for Tourism Australia told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Monday that some of the campaign has been paused.

"In light of the current situation in Australia, we have reduced some of our campaign activity in the UK," he said.

"Whilst bushfires continue to impact parts of Australia, many areas of the country are unaffected and most tourism businesses are still open.

We hope that our Matesong campaign will provide inspiration for our friends in the UK to plan a future trip, and we also hope that this demonstrates to those tourism areas impacted by the fires that we will continue to back them now and into the future."

It comes after Simon Birmingham, the Minister for trade, tourism and investment, defended the rollout of the campaign amid the criticism.

"The fires will pass. Communities need to rebuild, and people who see this ad today will be making bookings to travel in six months' time, nine months' time, 12 months' time," he said at the time.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: australiaukElizabeth IiSimon BirminghamXinhua
Open in App

Related Stories

CricketAustralia Topples India To Claim No 1 Spot in ICC Test Rankings

InternationalLondon Stabbing: 13-Year-Old Boy Killed, Four Injured in Sword Attack Near Tube Station

InternationalLondon Stabbing: Several Stabbed, Including Two Police Officers Near Hainault Tube Station; Scary Video of Man With Sword Goes Viral

InternationalLondon: Overseas Friends of Bjp UK Organises Spectacular ‘Run for Modi’ Event

EntertainmentCheck Out: Maheep Kapoor treats fans with sneak peek into Sydney trip

International Realted Stories

InternationalWorld Uyghur Congress opposes Chinese president Xi Jinping's visit to Europe

International'Traitors to this country': Holocaust survivor recalls being shouted down by anti-Israel protesters in Berkeley

InternationalPakistan: Swearing-in ceremony of Punjab governor postponed for second time

International"Quite concerned about this action": US on closure of Al Jazeera operations in Israel

InternationalPakistan: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari forms committee to engage with govt on privatisation