She's a sophisticated place, mate

By SELWYN PARKER

"Shrimps on the barbie" is dead, long live Brand Australia.

The Australian Tourist Commission has rolled out its new A$360 million ($413 million) campaign in record time.

Within a day of its release this week, it was already showing on television screens in Europe, Asia and Britain.

The ATC's haste is understandable. After four disappointing years since the Sydney Olympics, Australian tourism has a lot of catching up to do. Especially so, when compared with New Zealand.

The $70 billion a year industry is betting its future on a campaign that sells the country as a transforming experience, rather than one built around a few mates slurping XXXX beer in the backyard.

As Tourism Minister Joe Hockey admits, this much more sophisticated sell is a gamble for Australia.

The campaign is nothing less than an attempt to brand the entire country - its beaches, wine, forests, indigenous culture, cities, and down-to-earth people.

That's why there isn't a shrimp, a barbie or Paul Hogan in sight. Nor, for that matter, Uluru (Ayers Rock) or Great Barrier Reef. Even the Sydney Opera House is seen only in the background.

As tourism chiefs say, no "reef, roos or rock". Instead there are six quirky, one-minute clips embracing the whole Australian experience, and featuring Richie Benaud ("great shot, that") and Michael Parkinson among others. All of them gave their services for free.

The campaign - full title, Australia: a different light - is in fact Australia's version of the Pure New Zealand strategy, which has hugely impressed the industry here. And the numbers tell why.

In the four years of Pure New Zealand, inbound tourism has jumped 33 per cent while in Australia it has been flat, bumping along at just under five million arrivals a year. For that, most tourism chiefs blame Sars, 9/11, and the collapse of Ansett.

But, if that's the case, they should have also hurt New Zealand more than they did. That only leaves the campaign to blame, and "shrimps on the barbie" was over 20 years old. Although the industry acknowledges the Hoges campaign was very successful, it did not represent the "truth and reality" in Hockey's words that Australia was thought to need.

The replacement campaign was put together in nine months by Australian agency Whybin TBWA, which shot the commercials for $3 million, after New York's Brand Architecture International did a lot of grassroots research.

The American firm sought the views of not just tourism people but those of wise heads in the tourism, wine, clothing, sports and arts sectors.

The conclusion was that Australia was bigger than shrimps on barbies and it should aim for discerning travellers with money who can boost the A$17 billion a year that the industry banks from inbound tourism.

And it's leaving no stone unturned; there's a special section in the Government-funded See Australia website for gay travel.

The stakes are high in Australia, which relies more on tourism than most comparable countries. Its total contribution to the economy is around 9 per cent of GDP and it pays the wage of nearly 550,000 people, or 6 per cent of total employment.

That's why the Government is throwing money at it. Normally, the ATC's budget is around $90 million a year but last week's federal budget gave it a $120 million top-up, most of which will pay for the overseas campaign. The industry expects a lot from the campaign, judging by the ATC's own forecasts.

It predicts that, starting now, inbound tourism will rise quickly to over five million arrivals (boosted by a 7 per cent increase from New Zealand) by this time next year, close to six million by 2006, and over six million by 2007.

The first test of Brand Australia comes next week, when 700 tourism operators from 50 countries visit the Australian Tourism Expo in Melbourne.