Rebrand places WA tourism in strong position
New $15m campaign to help create jobs across tourism and hospitality
Strongly endorsing Tourism WA’s new Walking on a Dream global brand, AHA(WA) CEO Bradley Woods said the campaign is emotive and lays the groundwork for marketing efforts that will have longevity in the years ahead.
The new campaign invites travellers to visit WA to explore the attributes that make WA a wondrous, dreamlike place, including its jaw-dropping landscapes and one-of-a-kind experiences that inspire a sense of unparalleled freedom.
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The new tourism brand is intended to lift WA’s profile as a unique holiday destination within a fiercely competitive global travel marketplace, to turbocharge interstate and international visitation, boost the WA economy and create quality jobs across tourism, hospitality and related sectors.
‘Walking On A Dream’ features two WA-born Aboriginal performers, Rika Hamaguchi and Ian Wilkes, who star in the new brand campaign.
“This is a campaign that highlights what is truly special about WA and taps into the unique destinations and experiences we have to offer tourists,” Mr Woods said.
“As we pivot out of the pandemic, launching a new and effective global brand is more important than ever.”
“The campaign is uniquely Western Australian and successfully promotes Aboriginal culture in a way that we haven’t done so previously.”
Mr Woods said strong investment in domestic and international campaigns to promote the new brand will help WA’s tourism industry to rebound and truly cement our reputation as Australia’s western gateway.”
“At the moment, the international tourism industry is hypercompetitive, as countries around the world are rebooting their visitor economies and working hard to attract new and returning visitors,” he said.
“Launching a powerful new tourism brand, supported with a significant marketing investment, will provide WA with a critical point of differentiation, which will deliver direct benefits to the state’s hotels and hospitality venues.”
“The success of WA’s tourism industry relies on us being able to attract high value travellers and this campaign will help us achieve this objective.”
“Effective tourism campaigns are always underpinned by a strong brand. This is evident when we think of examples such as New Zealand’s 100% Pure campaign, a highly successful tourism campaign that was launched over 20 years ago and continues to be used around the world today.”
For the first time in many years, WA has a new global tourism brand that is proudly unique and will stand out in a crowded market.”
Meanwhile, Tourism Council WA has welcomed the launch with Tourism Council WA CEO, Evan Hall describing the campaign as well-designed to distinguish WA from the rest of Australia to potential interstate and international guests.
“To be successful, it is important to stick with the new brand in all interstate and international marketing for the next decade,” he said.
“However, WA cannot rely on a brand and marketing alone – this must be complemented by the creation of new tourism experiences showcasing WA’s unique features, state government investment in events, and airline partnerships to attract visitors to WA.”
Tourism Council WA will continue to work with Tourism WA to train small tourism businesses to use the new brand in order to secure more visitors.
Mike Parker-Brown is a UK-trained and qualified journalist and an award-winning travel communicator with more than 30 years experience.
Since 2002, Mike has worked as a freelance writer and PR consultant providing his services to major organisations in Australia and internationally in the tourism, aviation, hospitality, recruitment and export marketing sectors.
