Victoria's brand will be plastered around the world thanks to a massive $43 million investment to boost Victorian tourism marketing internationally - because more visitors mean more jobs.
In Shanghai yesterday, Premier Jacinta Allan joined Visit Victoria to announce the new investment and officially press the button to launch the 'Every Bit Different' campaign in the target market of China.
The campaign will appear across social media platforms and billboards across China, which is our biggest international visitor market, and highlight Victoria's wildlife, nature, culture, dining, sport and events.
It will also promote Victoria's world-class major events calendar, including our homegrown tennis Grand Slam that's hugely popular in China. Additional ads will roll out across TV, plus broadcast partnerships and sponsorships.
Advertising in other key international and domestic markets will also increase as part of the push. Education and training programs will also be offered to overseas travel agents, to keep Victoria front of mind.
China is Victoria's largest international visitor market, with 411,000 travellers spending a total of $2.9 billion in the year ending March 2025 - up 23.3 per cent year-on-year. By 2029, visitors from China to Victoria are forecast to reach almost 800,000.
The campaign launch comes ahead of new flights to Melbourne from Shenzhen Airlines and Hong Kong Airlines - secured through the Government's Industry Partnerships Program.
The wall-to-wall promotional effort is all part of the Government's China Strategy objective to "make Victoria the number one destination of choice for Chinese people to visit and study".
Alongside the campaign a multi-year marketing deal has been struck with one of the world's largest on-line travel agents, Trip.com(opens in a new window), to work together to help drive more visitors from China.
Launching Victoria's China Strategy in Beijing on Monday, the Premier said, "we want one in every five international visitors to Victoria to come from China".
Victoria's record $40 billion visitor economy supports more than 288,000 workers - including 183,800 direct tourism jobs, with nearly three quarters in hospitality, accommodation and retail.
An independent KPMG report shows every $1 invested in Visit Victoria marketing delivers up to $27 in visitor spending.
As stated by Premier Jacinta Allan
"With an investment like this, we can plaster Victoria around the world - starting in China."
"We want Victoria to be the number one destination of choice for Chinese people to visit and study."
"More visitors means more jobs. It's that simple."
As stated by Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos
"We're the major events capital, the sporting capital, the live music capital and the culinary capital of Australia and we're showcasing the best of Victoria to a massive audience in China."
As stated by Chief Executive Officer of Visit Victoria Brendan McClements
"This investment will have a profound impact on our visitor economy, because destination marketing builds awareness and creates demand for our hotels, restaurants and small businesses across Victoria."
