Tourism Australia says G’day at North America Marketplace 2025

Tonight, just before his debut performance on Dancing with the Stars, Robert Irwin will be onscreen starring in another role — Tourism Australia’s latest Come and say G’day campaign. Airing just before the show starts in the U.S., the commercial will feature the well known Australian wildlife conservationist along with animated brand ambassador Ruby the Souvenir Kangaroo showcasing why a vacation to Australia is the trip of a lifetime.

“We’re really exited to be working with Robert Irwin. The Irwin family has such a legacy in our country,” Chris Allison, Tourism Australia’s vice president, The Americas & New Zealand, told TravelPressToday. “He resonates really strongly in the U.S. and Canada in terms of his recognition. Robert is on the new season of Dancing with the Stars this year, we didn’t know that before working with him, but it’s a definite happy coincidence because we know Robert will continue to grow his profile to be an ambassador for Australia. So that’s exciting for us as a destination.”

Telling the tale of a traveller named Danny who recounts his unforgettable adventures in Australia, the brand film encourages travellers to “Come and say g’day to the vacation that lasts a lifetime,” he notes, adding that the timing of the campaign launch was deliberately set to align with the debut of the new season of the hit show.

Chris Allison, Tourism Australia’s vice president, The Americas & New Zealand with Ruby the Souvenir Kangaroo

“Tourism Australia’s new film is really all about how an Australian holiday stays with you. That’s what sets us apart. Of course, we’ve got the best wildlife in the world. We’ve got the most amazing scenery, the most awesome people. But really, it’s about creating a memory that will stay with you,” shared Irwin onscreen. “And in this film, we explore so many different stories, people from every different walk of life, coming together and forming connections through this amazing country. That’s what Australia does, gets right in here, right into your heart, and it stays there forever.”

Australia Marketplace North America 2025 kicks off in Los Angeles

Coinciding with the campaign launch, over 115 sellers from Australia are on location in Los Angeles this week for Australia Marketplace North America 2025, marking the largest delegation on hand for the event.

Over the course of the next two days the reps will meet with key travel agencies, wholesalers, travel advisors and tour operators from across Canada and the U.S., including Premier Aussie Specialists from Canada.

Karen Hardie, GM, Canada, Virtuoso and Kemi Wells-Conrad, founder & president of Wells Luxury Travel

“It’s just an amazing platform where we provide the opportunity to connect our products and experiences in Australia with travel buyers from across the U.S. and Canada,” Allison explained. “This event is the biggest one we’ve ever had. We’ve got 117 tourism businesses represented across Australia this year, which is awesome.”

Although Canadian visitation isn’t yet back to 2019 levels, Allison highlighted that Canadians are spending more in destination.

“Over the last 12 months, we have seen 166,000 Canadians travel down to Australia — this is for the 12 months to June — and that’s 2% ahead of the same period in 2024,” he said. “We’re not quite back to our 2019 visitation numbers from North America at the moment but we see a continued growth upwards. What we do see in our data is that the guests that are coming to Australia are spending and spending big. If we look at the total value of the Canadian market to Australia, that represents $1.1 billion of spend into our visitor economy. That is up 6% compared to the prior year and a whopping 25% over 2019.”

Based on the number of forward sales from airline partners, he also highlighted that bookings are strong for the next seven months.

“I think we’re all very confident of the continued growth that we’re going to see, both from the U.S. and from Canada,” he said. “In the last six-to-12 months there’s been a significant growth in capacity on existing routes but also new routes. There’s now more options than ever to get between the U.S., Canada and Australia.”

In total there are up to 163 non-stop flights operating per year with 204,000 seats a month.

One of the routes ramping up capacity from Canada is Qantas offering up to daily flights from Vancouver to Sydney between January to March, representing a 68% increase.

For more on Tourism Australia, stay tuned to an upcoming edition of Canadian Travel Press! Although the new campaign won’t air in Canada, it will underpin Tourism Australia activities happening here.