Targeted Tourism Campaigns Deliver Strong Bookings

21st May 2021

The latest quarterly marketing results for Townsville North Queensland have revealed that Townsville Enterprise destination marketing activities have been viewed over five million times in the past three months, supporting tens of thousands of dollars in local operator bookings, and reaching an additional 1.5 million viewers tuning into the three Amazing Race episodes showcasing the region.

The latest quarterly marketing results for Townsville North Queensland have revealed that Townsville Enterprise destination marketing activities have been viewed over five million times in the past three months, supporting tens of thousands of dollars in local operator bookings, and reaching an additional 1.5 million viewers tuning into the three Amazing Race episodes showcasing the region.

Townsville Enterprise supported the production of Townsville, Magnetic Island, Hinchinbrook, and Palm Island Amazing Race – Australia episodes which were aired in February and March providing a significant opportunity to promote the region to the nation.

April saw the conclusion of the 12-week ‘Find Your Shine’ marketing campaign that commenced in November 2020, totalling $121,957 in bookings for local operators. This campaign was the start of a new strategy redefining how the destination is packaged to support smaller local operators upon their re-entry into travel markets and build greater awareness of the lesser-known experiences in the region.

Most recently, the period from 20 January to 30 April included Burst 2 of the ‘Find Your Shine’ campaign targeted to Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales visitors generating $56,000 in bookings for local operators. Top performing products receiving bookings included Sealink Queensland, Tropical Palms Resort and 4WD Hire, Adrenalin Snorkel & Dive, Magnetic Island Best Bus Tours, and Magnetic Island Sea Kayaks.

Additionally, in March Townsville Enterprise partnered with Queensland Airports and Jetstar to further extend the campaign into aviation where the ‘Find your Shine’ branding was collaboratively leveraged to sell over 5,000 seats on Brisbane to Townsville flights. 

Townsville Enterprise Director Visitor Economy and Marketing, Lisa Woolfe said although the tourism and events sector continued to face challenges in 2021, a strong marketing presence had been maintained by adopting new strategies to promote Townsville and North Queensland.

“Our campaign activities over the past three months have focused on promoting the region to the domestic market and packaging our destination in a new way. We have specifically concentrated on key travel periods, such as leveraging school holidays and Easter, to support our tourism industry as it continues its COVID-19 recovery,” said Ms Woolfe. 

“The results speak for themselves. We have seen thousands of visitor bookings and our accommodation occupancy has continued to grow, with most operators reporting levels on par with 2019 to pre-COVID.

“The local tourism industry has shown unwavering resilience over the past 12 months and their partnership on campaign activities continues to position our destination strongly to welcome visitation."

Tropical Palms Resort and 4WD Owner/Operator, Jennifer McKenna said the partnership on Townsville Enterprise campaigns had generated a significant uplift in their bookings.

“The fantastic response we received from the ‘Find your Shine’ package that was created and marketed by Townsville Enterprise far exceeded our expectations,” Ms McKenna said.

“During the campaign period, we booked 44 packages which is 88 bed nights and 44 car rentals during what can be a typically quieter time of year.

“All our guests loved Magnetic Island, with many saying they would be back and would be telling their friends to also visit.

”Ms Woolfe said that the region’s relatively low COVID-19 cases had also been an attractive incentive to prospective visitors when choosing their holiday destination.

"Not only are visitors viewing our region as a ‘COVID safe’ travel option, but we’ve also seen television shows choose North Queensland as a filming location,” she said.

“We were thrilled to assist the Amazing Race production team in pulling three episodes together in Townsville, Magnetic Island, Hinchinbrook and Palm Island. The episodes were beamed into lounge rooms across the country in February and March which not only promoted our stunning natural assets but profiled several local businesses, including Mungalla Aboriginal Tours and JKs Deli in Ingham.”

The Amazing Race – Australia Producer, Scott Browning spoke highly of shooting a television series in the region.

“Townsville Enterprise provided crucial support in pulling together our Townsville area based episodes of The Amazing Race – Australia,” Mr Browning said.

“I strongly recommend working with Townsville Enterprise for any future productions filming in Townsville, or the far North Queensland area. The region really did excel all expectations.”

Marketing Campaigns Highlights:

  • Assets viewed over 5.0 million times Generated
  • $56,000 in operator bookings
  • Generated approximately 5,000 airline bookings
  • 5,026 Jetstar seats sold for Brisbane/Townsville flights
  • 4.6% increase in Visit Townsville, Australia social media following
  • Hosted six social media influencers with a combined reach of more than 531.2K followers
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