Media release

Tourism Australia’s global campaign, Come and Say G’day, has officially launched in China to remind Australia’s number one tourism market why There’s Nothing Like Australia and to encourage more Chinese travellers to plan and book an Australian holiday.

Come and Say G’day has been running in Tourism Australia’s key markets around the world since October 2022, with the exception of China, where travel was not possible at the time.

Tourism Australia Managing Director, Phillipa Harrison, said with aviation capacity between China and Australia recovering now is the right time to introduce the market to Brand Ambassador, Ruby the souvenir kangaroo.

“Tourism Australia has remained active in China over the past few years to keep the dream of an Australia holiday alive and we launched a tactical campaign, Don’t Go Small Go Australia, shortly after travel from China resumed,” Ms Harrison said.

“We delayed our global campaign until aviation capacity between China and Australia could meet the demand. With the capacity returning to more than 50 per cent of 2019 levels this month, we believe now is the right time to invite Chinese travellers to Come and Say G’day.”

“Ruby the souvenir kangaroo is already proving to be a success in other key tourism markets around the world, with 59 per cent of those who have viewed the campaign saying it has made them more likely to take a holiday to Australia. Given this success, we are confident Ruby will be very popular in China as well.”

Tourism Australia’s official China launch of Come and Say G’day took place in Chengdu – the capital of China’s Sichuan province. Chengdu has become the go to Chinese city for global luxury brand launches as it has high impact 3D billboards that often capture national headlines in China.

Tourism Australia’s Chief Marketing Officer, Susan Coghill, said the Come and Say G’day campaign assets, which launched last year, have been tailored for China, with the television commercial and short film, G’day, translated in-language.

“Our beloved Brand Ambassador, Ruby the souvenir kangaroo, once again takes centre stage in the campaign, featuring prominently in a new series of creative assets designed to resonate with Chinese travellers,” Ms Coghill said.

“This tailored and nuanced approach perfectly aligns with our vision for Ruby, allowing us to adapt her to different markets and cultural moments without the need for significant additional production.”

A senior delegation of Australian tourism and business events leaders travelled to China ahead of the campaign launch to meet with important partners. Tourism Australia will work with several partners in China as part of the Come and Say G’day campaign including, airlines and Key Distribution Partners such as retailers, wholesalers and online travel agents.

In 2019, China was Australia’s leading visitor market with Australia welcoming 1.4 million visitors from China, contributing $12.4 billion in visitor spend. The Australian Bureau of Statistics international arrivals for April 2023 show visitation from China to Australia returned to 33 per cent of 2019 levels, which is up from 22 per cent in March.