Food and wine
Saffire Freycinet Marine Oyster Farm Experience, Freycinet, Tasmania © Tourism Australia
Working with leading identities across the food, wine, and tourism industries, Tourism Australia developed a food and wine strategy built around the concept of Restaurant Australia. The strategy aimed to close the gap between perceptions of what Australia has to offer and the reality of our exciting world-class food and wine offering.
Tourism Australia’s research, conducted across 15 of Australia’s key tourism markets, showed that ‘great food, wine, and local cuisine' was a major factor influencing holiday decision-making (at 38 per cent), ranking third ahead of world class beauty and natural environments (37 per cent).
The research also showed that for people who had never visited Australia, only 26 per cent associated the destination with a good food and wine offering. However, for those who had visited, Australia was ranked second across the 15 major markets for its food and wine experiences (60 per cent) behind France and ahead of Italy (third). More importantly though, for visitors from China, USA, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia the UK and South Korea, Australia is ranked as the number one destination for food and wine.
To narrow the perception gap between those who have visited Australia and those who have not, Tourism Australia developed the idea that Australia could be the world’s greatest restaurant – Restaurant Australia.
Since the launch of the Restaurant Australia campaign:
- Spending on food and wine by international visitors in Australia has increased by 38% to $5.8 billion in 2017 and now accounts for one in five dollars spent.
- Australia's global ranking has moved from #10 to #8 for food and wine among those that haven’t travelled Down Under and Australia is ranked #3 for those who have visited.
Four phases of ‘Restaurant Australia’
| Phase | Date | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Restaurant Australia Launch | December 2013 | Start of food and wine specific marketing in Tourism Australia's international target markets. |
| 2. Invite the World to Dinner | November 2014 | More than 80 of the world's most influential and respected food and wine VIPs hosted in Australia for a gala event at MONA in Tasmania and famils around the country. |
| 3. Noma Australia | January - March 2016 | 10-week residency in Sydney by one of the world’s best restaurants, Noma, showcasing unique produce from around Australia. |
| 4. The World's 50 Best Restaurants | April 2017 | The largest annual celebration of global gastronomy, bringing together thousands of unique, influential and forward-thinking visionaries from around the world. |
