The latest phase of Tourism Australia's stylish new global marketing campaign, There's nothing like Australia, has been launched in China – Australia's fastest growing and most valuable overseas tourism market.

In an ad as cool, stylish and sophisticated as the nation it sells, supremo Andrew McEvoy has at a stroke successfully airbrushed previous campaigns from history.

A song written in 2010 There’s Nothing Like Australia after the theme of the campaign, is being replaced with a more sophisticated-sounding song called It’s Like Love, by an Australian singer-songwriter, Dewayne Everettsmith, and 22-year-old viola player Jasmine Beams, who hails from Milwaukee.
 
New broadcast, print and online advertising materials were unveiled in Shanghai by the Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson alongside Tourism Australia’s Chairman Geoff Dixon and Managing Director Andrew McEvoy.
 
Tourism Australia will spend approximately $180 million over the next three years rolling out the evolving campaign in its key international markets and in Australia. It expects to achieve a total investment of $250 million by securing up to $70 million in additional funding from industry partners to support joint marketing activities, aimed at promoting Australia with a clear and consistent voice.

In addition to a new broadcast ad and print executions the campaign boasts a strong digital and social media focus, and will leverage the advocacy of Tourism Australia’s three million Facebook fans. Other elements include a new, interactive tablet app and hub on www.australia.com, to take customers further into the stories played out in the ad and provide more information on the locations.
 
Tourism Australia Managing Director, Andrew McEvoy, said the latest iteration of the campaign builds on an already successful and established platform by highlighting some of Australia’s best tourism attractions, experiences and products that showcase why there is nothing quite like Australia.
 
"When we first launched There's nothing like Australia in May 2010, it was built to last and designed to be flexible. Now is the right time to evolve the campaign to remain competitive and long lasting in a fast-changing global tourism environment," Mr McEvoy said.
 
The campaign features many unique Australian attractions, including the Bungle Bungles in The Kimberley, Sydney's harbour, Uluru, the Great Barrier Reef's Lizard and Hayman Islands, Freycinet in Tasmania and South Australia’s Kangaroo Island. Several scenes include examples of premier tourism product, a deliberate move to inspire visitors by leading with Australia’s best.
 
"This new campaign creative – particularly the locations and how they have been shot – clearly demonstrate Australia’s distinctive and high quality tourism products and experiences that are amongst the world’s finest," Mr McEvoy said.
 
Mr McEvoy added that adopting a 'world’s best in Australia' approach would appeal to traditional western audiences but also help target Australia's key growth markets – led by Asia – and particularly the new, rapidly expanding middle classes with money to spend and a desire to travel.
 
"Promoting your best attributes is a strong and proven marketing principle. By leading with Australia’s best the campaign will create a positive halo effect for Australian tourism more broadly, particularly through the digital elements which will allow us to go deeper and showcase a broader range of experiences to cater for all travellers and different budgets," Mr McEvoy said.
 
Mr McEvoy said China was the logical location to launch the new creative, in line with Australian tourism’s transition in this Asian Century and supported by recent research, showing that Australia tops the travel preferences of its Chinese urban elite target audience.
 
"The primary purpose of this and indeed all our global marketing is to drive international visitation and China now represents both our fastest growing and most valuable international inbound tourism market," he said, adding that China presented an opportunity to deliver around 900,000 annual visitors worth up to A$9 billion a year for Australia by decade’s end.
 
Tourism Australia is seeking the involvement of the Australian industry in the campaign through partnership opportunities and by sharing campaign tools and resources.
 
"The industry has bought in very enthusiastically to There’s nothing like Australia, since it was launched two years ago – with 180 partners getting involved – and Tourism Australia will seek similar support in this latest phase of the campaign," Mr McEvoy said.
 
The campaign will start in China, the UK and USA and also run in Australia, with A$5 million being spent on a domestic marketing push to encourage more Australians to holiday in their own ‘backyard’.
 

More details of the campaign creative are available at www.tourism.australia.com/TNLA

Jonathan Porter

It is difficult to imagine Liz Anne Macgregor being humble.
But the tenacious flame-haired Scot who has headed one of Australia’s premier cultural icons (Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art) for the past 13 years says that is just what overseeing its $53 million revamp has made her.

“It’s been humbling, exhilarating exasperating, but finally it’s come together and look at the results,’’ she tells Lunch Magazine from the Sculpture Garden on level three of the new wing that was three years in the making.
“There were moments when I thought it was never going to happen and I felt like saying “let’s give it up and go home’.’’

“But the results justify all the hard work.’’

She says the much-maligned old building had become untenable.
“As the numbers increased problems became acute. Eventually the museum would have just imploded.

Private philanthropy critically important to the arts ... MCA chairman Simon Mordant

She praised the $15 million contribution from philanthropist chairman Simon Mordant and his wife Catriona, which made the revamp possible.
“Simon and Catriona’s contribution was much more than financial – they kept us going; they really believed that we could do this together.
“He always said: ‘Remember I am a solutions person’.’’
"He is a phenomenal and inspirational person to be working with.''

Ms Macgregor says private philanthropy is critical to the arts in Australia.

“It’s important we get recognition from the government and that is partnered with funding from private individuals.

Mr Mordant says private philanthropy is vitally important for the survival of the arts community.

“If you want a creative and vibrant community the arts are absolutely core to that,’’ he tells Lunch Magazine.
“That is the kind of community I want to live in and I’m sure that’s the kind of community a lot of other people would like to live in.
“If you don’t invest in the arts you will have a dying society. To have great programs and great exhibitions you need great infrastructure.

“This institution was bursting at the seams; we had 600,000 visitors up from 100,000 10 years ago. Without this expanded institution we would probably have peaked and started to go downhill.
It’s a very humbling experience and something I’m very happy to be a part of.’’

Mr Mordant, who is also co-chief executive of Greenhill Caliburn, a leading independent corporate advisory firm, says there is no better location on Earth for the MCA.
“You have got the Opera House spread out in front of us, you have got the Harbour Bridge; you are right on Circular Quay, which is prime access for tourism, but it’s also prime access for commuters.’’

“Our audience is 80 per cent local, 20 per cent tourism and it’s an incredible location.’’
Asked about attempts to move the MCA from its harborside seat he says the MCA had a lucky escape.
“There were many attempts to get the institution to move from this site over the years and as chairman, I fiercely resisted that.’’

And as far as his personal stake in the MCA’s success goes: “I made a philanthropic gift with my wife of $15 million to make sure this happened, I have been involved with the institution for a long time – since 1989. When I immigrated to Australia in 1983 I was surprised there was no institution associated with contemporary art in Sydney, and now look at what we have.’’.

www.mca.com.au

A sparkling sailing ship doubling as a pirate radio station hailed the reopening of Australia's iconic Museum of Contemporary Art after a three-year, $53 million revamp.

Zoe Walker and Neil Bromwich’s Celestial Radio hovered offshore as MCA director Liz Ann Macgregor fielded questions from the press about the opening of the gallery.

The widely anticipated reopening of the Museum is a highlight on the international art calendar.

This milestone will be celebrated with a week-long series of launch events culminating in a dynamic schedule of free artist talks and public programs throughout the opening weekend.

MCA a world-class hub ... Liz Ann Macgregor

The world-renowned and highly acclaimed 24-hour video installation The Clock by Christian Marclay occupies the largest of all galleries, the Level 1 North Gallery in the new wing.
The Museum has also commissioned Performance Space to curate a performance program in and around the new building. Local Positioning Systems comprises six artists from Australia and a UK collaborative.

The new MCA opens with a collection hang, Volume One: MCA Collection, which features works by more than 170 Australian artists.The second season comprises the 18th Biennale of Sydney across two floors of the MCA.

In October, the annual Primavera exhibition will showcase young Australian artists, alongside the first major solo survey devoted to the work of renowned Australian artist Ken Whisson. Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro will take over the Museum’s Level 1 North Gallery. In December, artist Brook Andrew will curate a thought provoking exhibition which presents recent and new artworks by Indigenous artists from Australia and around the world.
And the MCA will present the first major exhibition by Anish Kapoor in Australia as part of the Sydney International Art Series.

Another two additions to the Museum are the rooftop venues. Created to take advantage of their location, the venues offer spectacular views across Sydney Harbour from the Opera House to the Harbour Bridge.
‘'I am delighted that we are opening with a dynamic program of exhibitions showcasing work by Australian artists alongside their international peers. It is thrilling to see the new MCA take shape,’' said Ms Macgregor.

"The creation of wonderful new spaces for art and for creative learning, right on the harbour is a landmark in the Museum’s history.

"The cutting-edge architecture complements the existing building and the use of new technology sets a new standard for collaboration with audiences.

"The new MCA will be a world-class hub of art and creative learning which responds to the Museum’s growing audience and reaches out across the country.''

A key feature of the new MCA’s program is a series of commissions by Australian artists. Brook Andrew has installed a permanent work on the Circular Quay façade which draws attention to the colonial naval dock remains underneath the new extension. The work is a poetic response to one aspect of the interpretation of the heritage of the site. The artist who represented Australia in the 2011 Venice Biennale, Hany Armanious, has created the first work for the new Sculpture Terrace, a spectacular space for art overlooking Sydney Harbour.

Each year an artist will be invited to create a site-specific installation to be exhibited for a period of 12 months. The MCA Sculpture Series will stimulate ambitious and significant new work to fire the public imagination.

Westpac Institutional Bank is the Major Partner for the new MCA’s inaugural international exhibition Marking Time, which presents major works by eleven artists from Europe, the USA, Brazil, Japan and Australia. The exhibition explores the ways in which artists visualise time, from family history and the failures of memory, to the ancient time of the planet or cosmos, to calendar cycles mapping the duration of the exhibition itself and its passing, across diverse media.

Celestial radio is a seductive and functional sculptural object, a radio station housed on a sailing boat whose surface is covered by 60,000 inch-square mirror tiles; she splinters daylight as if transmitting Morse code messages. The Celestra: Southern Star travels literally across the high seas while conceptually exploring the metaphorical oceans of life’s big questions, both cosmic and microscopic.

www.mca.com.au

140 Geroge St

The Rocks

Sydney NSW Australia

Subway: Circular Quay

Jonathan Porter

One visit to Sydney is not enough.
That’s the message from George Souris, the new “super tourism’’ minister for Australia’s most populous state New South Wales.
“Whether it’s musicals, sporting events, racing, shows, there will be something on,’’ Mr Souris told Lunch Magazine.
“We are aiming to extend people’s stays that is the bottom line.’’
Mr Souris who holds the key ministries of Tourism, Major Events, Hospitality and Racing and the Arts, says the aggregation of portfolios under his rubric means it’s a top priority for the new government.

Spend a few minutes with the voluble tourism minister, as Lunch Magazine did recently, and you will agree that New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell made the right choice picking Mr Souris for this vital role.

Create a cultural heart for the nation ... Mr Souris

“We are trying to make sure there is nothing missing from the program.
“We have continuous offering musicals, big shows on and big shows coming.’’
He cited the world premiere of Strictly Ballroom, the return of the Lion King, the world premiere of An Officer and a Gentleman featuring the music from the movie, and Kevin Spacey in Richard III  at the Lyric Theatre.

“Next March will see La Traviata on the Harbour complete with a barrage of fireworks at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair and a 10,000 piece chandelier,’’ he said, adding that the city had recently been voted the best festival and event city for the second year running by the international Festivals and Events Association.
“The idea is that it’s continuous. In the sporting arena we have the NRL grand final week, we have also locked in 10 years of the Bledisloe Cup one Saturday in Sydney, the next Saturday in Melbourne," Mr Souris said.

He said NSW was not eschewing the tourism staples of the Harbour, the bridge, Bondi Beach and the Opera House, adding the city had recently been voted the world’s No 1 city in the Conde Nast Traveler Reader’s Choice Awards, beating New York, Paris and Cape Town to take out the influential award.
“We are creating a cultural heart. We don’t want to move away from the Opera House and Bondi. “These are anchor points but we don’t want them to do that by lunchtime and be off to somewhere else.’’
He said two other key locations were the Blue Mountains and the Hunter Valley.
“We are investing in regional tourism. The Sydney Festival will be spreading for the first time to Parramatta with a second Speigel Tent in there and give us a year or two and it will be spreading to a third location.’’

Sticking with the winners ... the Sydney Harbour Bridge

He nominated the Writers Walk- a series of brass plaques spaced from Circular Quay around to the Overseas Passenger Terminal – as something tourists should undertake.
“There is a little bit of a story about the writers and a famous passage they have written – what a great excuse to walk around the harbour.’’
He said he personally took visitors to the harbour on their first visit to Sydney.
“Then go to Manly or the Icebergs for lunch and go back to the harbour for dinner; take the smells and walk them from Circular Quay around the Rocks or even up to the Rocks for  a beer.
“Then I take them to Blue Mountains the next day and the Three Sisters and Skywalk.
“And maybe to the Jenolan Caves, and back to Sydney at 5.30 pm; a preplanned  show or a really good resatuarant but I would have preplanned a show at the Opera House, the Concert hall with that beautiful Tasmanian Oak panelling.’’

The next day would be a visit to the city’s most unsung tourist attraction, Taronga Zoo and then Manly by ferry.
“It’s the only zoo in the world on a harbour and I’d be sure to point out the Governor-General’s house.
That night would be a visit to one of the city’s new bars and the next day to the Hunter Valley and dinner at Bistro Molines or Margan Restaurant. Then back to Sydney and take it easy," Mr Souris said.

Sydney and NSW’s vibrant dining scene has been recognised as the best in Australia in the latest edition of global travel bible Lonely Planet’s East Coast Australia guide. “For years the “fooderati” in Melbourne and Victoria have refused to acknowledge Sydney and NSW’s dining supremacy.

“Now the world’s most famous travel guide – Lonely Planet, headquartered in Melbourne – has put Sydney and NSW at the top of the Aussie food chain."

www.visitnsw.com

www.australia.com

operaonsydneyharbour.com.au

For more information about Hunter Valley Food and Wine Month visit: www.hvwineandfood.hvva.com.au

Major events to be held in Sydney include and NSW include:

Harry Potter: the exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum Sydney from November 2011 – March 2012, Sydney exclusive
Richard III show starring Kevin Spacey at the Lyric Theatre, Sydney in December 2011, exclusive Sydney season
Sydney is home to first-run musicals, including World Premiere of An Officer and a Gentleman from May 2012, Australian Premiere of ANNIE from January 2012, Australian Premiere The Addams Family from March 2013 and World Premiere of Strictly Ballroom from September 2013

The Bledisloe Cup ten year deal, where at least one Bledisloe Cup game will be played in Sydney each year from 2012 to 2021
Sydney International Rowing Regatta, including the opening rounds of the Samsung World Rowing Cup at Penrith in 2013 and 2014
The first ever Australian Open of Surfing to be held in Manly in February 2012 in conjunction with Hurley and Billabong
Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour held annually from March 2012
Sydney secured three World Cup Qualifier Games in the lead up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup
The Davis Cup World Group Play-off between Australia and Switzerland at Royal Sydney Golf Club
2015 Touch Football World Cup, including range of national and international Touch Football events from 2011 – 2015
2011 NAB AFL Draft secured for Western Sydney this November
Australian Open Grand Prix Gold (Badminton) at Darling Harbour in April 2012, moved from Melbourne.