Travel agents booking flights to Australia on Qantas and British Airways will be eligible to win tickets Down Under throughout 2000.
The Australian Tourist Commission has announced a major tie-up with the codeshare partners and Travel Weekly which is aimed at keeping trade interest in Australia high in the run-up to the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
The 12-month campaign was launched at the ABTA Convention with one pair of tickets being given away to a travel agent at the end of each work day.
Starting in January, agents making bookings on either Qantas or BA to any gateway in Australia can enter a prize draw in which three pairs of tickets will be given away each month throughout the year.
This is the biggest trade incentive campaign the ATC has run in the UK.
ATC managing director John Morse said he wanted to overcome the perception that the trade should stop selling Australia in 2000 because of the Olympics.
“We are trying to get across the message that apart from three weeks in September it’s business as normal in Australia. This campaign will promote the whole of the country for the whole of the year,” he said.
The campaign will continue for three months after the Olympics to capitalise on increased interest in the destination following the games.
In order to be entered into the draw, agents who have made a booking on either carrier to Australia must fill in the coupons which will appear each month in Travel Weekly.
Meanwhile, the ATC’s Web site has been upgraded to tie in with a new television advertising campaign for next year.
The six-week TV campaign will start in January and is being run in conjunction with Singapore Airlines.
Previous commercials have displayed the ATC’s Web site address, but the new campaign will direct consumers to a microsite tailored to their needs.
A similar TV/Internet campaign with Qantas will be launched in the spring.
The theme of all UK consumer advertising will be ‘Australia 2000 Fun and Games’ to tie in with the Olympics, but also to promote the idea that there is plenty going on in all of the states throughout the entire year.