Qantas has ended its standoff with Tourism Australia with a $20 million, multi-year deal to promote Australia that will see them share anonymised data to better target campaigns.
The flying kangaroo cut its major sponsorship ties with Australia’s peak tourism body in 2012 over then TA chairman Geoff Dixon’s part in a consortium which bought a small stake in the airline and talked about changing the carrier’s strategy. Although it was involved with TA in minor promotions, this is its first formal multi-year partnership since that time.
It has since been investing heavily in state tourism authorities and it will continue to do so. It recently renewed deals with tourism authorities in NSW and Queensland and talks are underway with other states. The new deal will bring the value of joint deals involving Qantas to about $80m, almost twice the $44-million partnership with TA at the time of the schism.
The three-year TA agreement, signed on Wednesday by Qantas boss Alan Joyce and TA managing director John O’Sullivan, involves a joint investment from the parties to attract more international visitors to Australia, with a focus on the United States, Asia, the United Kingdom and Europe.
The campaign will focus on digital marketing and see the partners launch joint campaigns that see them using social media, public relations and sharing anonymised data to better target online advertising and promotions.
The move comes as Qantas has been increasing its investment in its international operations after returning them to profitability. The investment includes the addition of new fuel-efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliners from 2018.
Australia’s biggest carrier flew 3 million international visitors to Australia last year and it pointed to a recent Deloitte Access Economics report that found the overall Qantas Group facilitated $9.5 billion in tourism expenditure in the country and supported 105,000 jobs nationwide.
Mr Joyce said both organisations wanted a strong travel industry and to promote the benefits of the current tourism boom. “With tourism both to-and-within Australia on the rise, it’s the ideal time for us to join forces once again,” he said.
“Over the past two years Qantas has been increasing capacity to destinations around the world, building our alliances with the world’s biggest airlines, and investing in our fleet, lounges and technology to make sure that visitors to Australia get the best possible travel experience.
“This new investment builds on the marketing we already do and our partnerships with state and territory governments to put Australia’s best foot forward.
“Qantas has always been the biggest private sector supporter of Australian tourism and we will continue to focus on growing visitor numbers.”
Mr O’ Sullivan said the deal made sense for both parties and Australian inbound tourism given the nature of their businesses.
“ The shared resources this agreement brings together are considerable and we’re very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead to grow international inbound traffic and increase regional dispersal,” he said.
“The plans we have around data sharing are particularly exciting, allowing us to be more efficient and effective with our advertising but also enabling us to provide consumers with a much more relevant and personalised online experience.”
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