Global visitation continues to grow one year into ‘Come and Say G’day’ campaign via M&C Saatchi

Tourism Australia’s global campaign ‘Come and Say G’day’, developed by M&C Saatchi, has now been in key tourism markets around the world for one year, welcoming international travellers to Australia and supporting the recovery of our visitor economy.

To celebrate the milestone brand ambassador Ruby the kangaroo has hopped onto major billboards in New York, London, Singapore, Chengdu and Beijing with a warm and welcoming message for travellers while showcasing some of Australia’s most recognisable and stunning scenery.

Tourism Australia managing director, Phillipa Harrison, said while Come and Say G’day is a long-term campaign, and its work is far from done, we can already see it has had a positive impact in Tourism Australia’s key markets: “When Come and Say G’day launched in October 2022 visitation to Australia was at about 50 per cent of monthly pre-pandemic levels. The latest arrivals numbers for July 2023 show we have steadily climbed back to about 80 per cent, compared to the same month in 2019.

“This ongoing recovery is great news for our industry, and we are confident that our campaign will continue to drive more demand back to Australia, as we look to stand out in a very competitive global market. We know the campaign has already driven up global consideration for an Australian holiday, and our share of flight search is already up by 10 per cent globally, compared to 2019.

“These numbers demonstrate that Come and Say G’day is working, and will play an important role, as we look to not only recover to 2019 levels, but to return to the sustainable growth our industry experienced in the decade before the pandemic.

“As part of the campaign Tourism Australia has 190 campaign partnerships in market, including a variety of airlines and travel agents, and the feedback from those partners on the ground is they have seen a jump in interest in an Australian holiday since the launch of Come and Say G’day.”

Tourism Australia chief marketing officer, Susan Coghill, said it is not a surprise Come and Say G’day is resonating internationally as it tested extremely well in markets ahead of the launch: “We put the 60 second television commercial through System1 testing last year and it received an ‘exceptional’ or ‘strong’ response in most markets and we have since re-tested it and are pleased those results are holding up.

“Come and Say G’day has proven to be an incredibly versatile campaign that translates across English and non-English speaking markets and it can be adapted to capitalise on key moments such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, where we were able to make the most of the global attention on Australia with a special instalment of the campaign.”