Visit Sunshine Coast launches post-COVID campaign to entice domestic tourists
Visit Sunshine Coast is the latest destination tourism body to launch a new campaign as COVID-19 restrictions slowly ease, and the tourism industry, previously ground to a halt by the pandemic, attempts to attract domestic visitors.
The campaign videos riff off The Big Pineapple being one of the region’s best-known landmarks, and feature tourism operators ‘passing a pineapple’ around the area.
Visit Sunshine Coast chair David Ryan said the campaign will roll out across a number of channels in the coming weeks. Visit Sunshine Coast is also using social media advertising to promote the Sunshine Coast’s sub-regions, and launched its ‘A Taste of Escape’ campaign which allows travellers to discover the area through sound.
“Our region’s tourism operators have faced incredibly challenging times in the face of COVID-19, and these videos are about encouraging visitors to plan their next Sunshine Coast holiday and support our local businesses,” Ryan said.
“The campaign’s launch is perfectly timed ahead of the school holiday period, and with travel restrictions eased across Queensland, it is important that we continue to push hard in the intrastate market. In the year-end December 2019, there were 7.9 million day-trippers to the Sunshine Coast with an additional 2.9 million overnight intrastate visitors, highlighting the importance of these markets.
“We believe the quirky nature of the videos will help set us apart in the marketplace while highlighting the people, places and businesses that make our region so special.”
A surfer catches the travelling pineapple in the ad
General manager of The Big Pineapple’s Tree Top Challenge, David Taylor, added that the campaign is important for his business and others like it.
“This latest initiative by the tourism body is a great way to promote the Sunshine Coast region and another way for us to show visitors what our business offers in an engaging way,” Taylor said.
“We have recently re-opened and ramping back up to seven days a week and this campaign is perfectly timed to help us build awareness ahead of the school holiday period.
The pineapple races down a zipline at the region’s Tree Top Challenge
“The iconic Big Pineapple site has been a magnet for visitors over the past year of operation at TreeTop Challenge and we look forward to building on this success as we enter post-COVID recovery and get back to what we do best.”
Last month, the South Australian Tourism Commission and Destination NSW both launched similar campaigns to entice domestic visitors.
Brittney Rigby was Mumbrella's deputy managing editor - news and analysis. She left Mumbrella in April 2021.
Linkedin