Acting Minister for Tourism, Linda Burney today congratulated Tourism NSW for winning the Pacific Asia Travel Association Gold Award for an innovative public relations campaign.
The Tourism NSW Lord Howe Island Spring 2006 campaign won the top prize in the Public Relations category of the 2007 PATA Gold Awards announced today and Ms Burney, congratulated Tourism NSW for their creativity and enterprise and said the accolade from PATA was well deserved.
“I’m very pleased Tourism NSW’s successful campaign promoting Lord Howe Island is now receiving international recognition from the tourism industry,” Ms Burney said.
“The PATA Awards recognise exceptional achievement in a variety of endeavours, bringing acclaim to the best the Asia Pacific’s travel industry has to offer.
“The winning projects set industry standards for excellence and innovation, serving as examples for others to follow.”
Paveena Niemwongse, PATA’s Communications Manager said: “The quality of the entry maintains the standard of excellence for which the PATA Gold Awards have become known.
“The achievement is all the more impressive considering that the 2007 PATA Gold Awards attracted a record 339 entries from 132 organisations and the PATA Gold Awards have been running for more than 20 years.”
Ms Burney said Tourism NSW developed the campaign to raise the profile of Lord Howe Island among specific target audiences and to create demand for the spring 2006 travel period, adding, “At the conclusion of the campaign, almost double the campaign target of passenger numbers had visited the island and the value of the publicity generated reached more than $2 million”.
“World Heritage-listed Lord Howe Island is a timeless natural paradise featuring spectacular scenery, unspoilt beaches and reefs teeming with fish.”
“Highlights of the campaign were:
** A media briefing event with Australian aviator, Dick Smith
** A press pack with backgrounder, story ideas, a new image CD, a Holiday Planner and a kentia palm
** Media visits
** Features in Tourism NSW media and consumer newsletters
** A hot deal feature on ninemsn and emailed to 165 subscribers
** A new microsite on www.visitnsw.com
“The Lord Howe Island campaign was a partnership between Tourism NSW, Lord Howe Island Tourism Association, specialist wholesalers and Qantaslink.
“Last year Tourism NSW won a PATA Gold Award in the Government/Destination (State/City) category for its Winter in Sydney 2005 marketing campaign.“
Ms Burney said in the year to March 2007, an estimated 73 million people visited NSW, spending around $22 billion.
Report by The Mole
