Tourism Australia’s plans to ramp up the promotion of Australia’s food and wine experiences in its international marketing were unveiled at the country’s largest ever global wine forum, Savour Australia 2013. The plans, which form part of its global campaign, There’s nothing like Australia, were shared with more than 800 wine industry and media delegates from across the globe at the inaugural Wine Australia forum. 
Andrew McEvoy, Managing Director, said the development of the new approach to marketing Australia’s culinary experiences to prospective visitors was based on strong consumer insight. “There is a growing appetite (literally) globally for food and wine as part of the travel experience and Australia has all the right ingredients to capitalise on this opportunity – with the finest array of produce served in the most stunning locations in the world.
“Research across 15 of Australia’s key tourism markets shows that great food, wine, and local cuisine is now a major factor in holiday decision making (at 38%), ranking third ahead of world-class beauty and natural environments (37%).
“However, our challenge is that for people who have never visited Australia, only 26% associate the destination with a good food and wine offering. For those who have visited though, Australia is ranked second for its food and wine experiences (60%) after culinary giant France and ahead of Italy (third). We are ranked as the number one destination for food and wine for people who have visited from China, USA, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the UK and South Korea.
“Clearly, we need to narrow the perception gap between those who have visited Australia and those who have not. This is a great marketing and communications challenge. To do this we are evolving our global campaign with the idea that Australia could be the world’s greatest restaurant – Restaurant Australia – serving up the most unique food and wine experiences in remarkable locations every day.”
