But Tourism Australia’s new ad isn’t about going on vacation — it’s about getting vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The “It’s Our Best Shot for Travel” campaign launched domestically in Australia on August 16 in newspapers, on TV, online and across social media.
“We need to claim back our way of life so that we can visit friends and relatives, get back into the workplace, get our kids back to school, travel domestically and internationally again, and welcome the world back to enjoy all that Australia has to offer,” Phillipa Harrison, managing director of Tourism Australia (the country’s official national tourism board) said in a press statement.
Tourism Australia’s new ad campaign encourages people to get vaccinated.
Tourism Australia
The tourism industry, which employs as many as one in 13 Australians, has been hard hit during the pandemic. The government has encouraged regional travel, but ever-changing state border closures have made this increasingly challenging.
Though Australia’s chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, said the ad’s startling visuals were an intentional way to draw attention to the seriousness of Covid-19, many young people expressed resentment that they weren’t able to obtain the very vaccine they were being pushed to have.
However, that situation is slowly changing.
Following lockdowns in Sydney last week, a new batch of Pfizer vaccines in New South Wales state has been earmarked for people in the 20-39 age demographic, the first time this group has been specifically targeted. Before this, health care workers and the elderly were first in line for the shots.
Another campaign backed by the tourism authority is due to launch later this year. It will be titled “Put a Jab on the Menu” and feature some of Australia’s celebrity chefs.
As of August 16, Australia has logged 39,097 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 958 deaths.
CNN’s Rhea Mogul and Hilary Whiteman contributed reporting.