NSW: Ads to ure visitors back to Blue Mountains and Shoalhaven
SYDNEY, April 21 AAP - An intensive advertising campaign began today to boost tourismin the Blue Mountains and Shoalhaven after the Christmas bushfires.
Television ads began screening in Sydney and regional NSW today and will go to airin Victoria in late May.
The campaign is part of a $1 million assistance package to help the regions recoverfrom the fires, estimated to have cost tourism operators at least $50 million.
NSW Tourism Minister Sandra Nori said the ads would spread the message that many tourismareas were not affected by the fires.
"There was a perception out there in the public that the whole of the Blue Mountainshad burned down and that Shoalhaven had burned down, and that you couldn't travel there,"
Ms Nori said in Sydney.
"In reality the major tourism areas in these regions were untouched by the bushfires."
Ms Nori said she would hold talks with media outlets later this year to discuss coverageof disasters like the bushfires crisis.
"I'll be having discussions with the media this year about how we handle crisis situationsgenerally or a natural disaster to make sure that we also get the good message out," shesaid.
Ms Nori said visitation levels in both regions seemed to be picking up again, and theads, which promote two-day getaway packages, should help that continue.
"All anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that Easter and these current school holidayshave shown a strong return to strong bookings," she said.
"But to have had September 11, the collapse of Ansett and then these bushfires, it'sbeen a hard time."
Ms Nori said international tourism did not appear to have been affected by the bushfiresin any long-term way, with the UK market particularly buoyant at the moment.
While numbers from Japan were down, that was more a reflection of the state of theJapanese economy, she said.
AAP tnf/mg/bwl
KEYWORD: TOURISM
No comments:
Post a Comment