Brisbane in Hot Pursuit of North American Visitors

Brisbane Marketing and Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) are partnering to expand Brisbane’s presence in key international markets with the appointment of a tourism marketing team in North America.

The two newly appointed agencies and principal personnel, Luke Jones from Advocate Travel Marketing and Kylie Robertson from RS Marketing, will represent Brisbane as it seeks to maximise North American visitation.

Brisbane Marketing CEO Brett Fraser said the appointment was timely in anticipation of $12B in new tourism and transport projects set to revolutionise Brisbane’s visitor economy.

“Brisbane is a compelling destination for North Americans because it embodies the best of Australia with stunning natural assets, subtropical outdoor lifestyle and relaxed and welcoming vibe,” he said.

“Our city’s visitor infrastructure is experiencing a once in a generation boom with thousands of new hotel rooms and a wave of new products and experiences, meaning we are primed to welcome visitors to our city.

“Our new partner agencies will be the on-the-ground arm of Team Brisbane, putting Brisbane on the map and top of mind for North Americans so they are convinced to come and experience it for themselves.”

The specialist agencies were brought on board as part of the three-year partnership between Brisbane Marketing and BAC to boost recognition of Brisbane in North America.

Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO, Gert-Jan de Graaff, said with the new runway opening mid-2020 and direct routes from Chicago and San Francisco soon to launch, Brisbane was more accessible for American travellers than ever before.

“From 15 April 2020, Brisbane Airport (BNE) will be the first and only port in Australia with direct flights to/from Chicago, with direct flights to/from San Francisco launching on 9 February, offering a more convenient way to travel, saving time and avoiding multiple connections,” Mr de Graaff said.

“Relative to the size of the market and overall demand, Queensland has been under-served from the USA, and these new services will go some way to addressing pent up demand.

“It’s important now we do all we can to grow recognition of Brand Brisbane in North America, encouraging US travellers to ‘choose Queensland’ as their point of entry into Australia and enjoy the amazing experiences our beautiful city and region has to offer.”

Background

In January 2019, Brisbane Marketing and Brisbane Airport Corporation entered into a new multi-million-dollar international partnership marketing program to implement world standard destination marketing campaigns for Brisbane and to improve awareness of the city as a global destination for leisure travel.

Advocate Travel Marketing is a specialist trade and consumer engagement agency based in Los Angeles and will represent Brisbane in the United States and Canada. It was founded by Luke Jones in 2011. Luke joins Brisbane Marketing with over 20 years tourism marketing experience in North America. As a senior manager in the Tourism Australia North America office for much of this time, Luke helped build many of the tourism relationships that exist in the market today. Advocate Travel Marketing has specialised in growing business to Australia and the South Pacific, with clients including Destination NSW, Coral Expeditions, Queensland Rail Travel and the Indigenous Tourism Champions Program of Australia.

RS Marketing – Kylie Robertson, a native of Brisbane, established RS Marketing in New York in 2003. The group specializes in tourism and travel marketing and public relations, previously representing Australian clients including Tourism Northern Territory, Destination New South Wales and Hamilton Island. Other work has included building visitation to the Falkland Islands and Montreal as well as promoting travel brands such as Trip.com, Wild Frontiers and Polar Latitudes.