Australia's Northern Territory Eyes Film-Inspired Tourism

Australia's Northern Territory tour operators and wholesalers have moved quickly to support the new marketing investment and objective from Tourism Australia to encourage North Americans to see Baz Luhrmann's epic "Australia," and then see the country. Northern Territory Minister for Tourism Kon Vatskalis said the feature film, set to hit the big screen in the U.S. over Thanksgiving, will put Darwin in the international limelight. "We're absolutely confident that Baz Luhrmann's film will do for Darwin what 'Crocodile Dundee' did for Kakadu," said Vatskalis. As part of its initiative, Tourism NT approached trade partners in North America to develop specific and innovative itineraries and marketing plans to capitalize on the movie locations and themes.

Incentivized with co-operative marketing dollars, Tourism NT received a number of entries. The chosen wholesaler -- Abel Tasman Tours -- launched three custom-designed Australia itineraries this week to encourage North Americans to see the country. The tours include Darwin and Dreamtime -- the history of Aboriginal and European Australia, Drover -- Australia's Greatest Outback Driving Experience, and the Ultimate Territory -- A Discovery of Australia's Great Outback. For more information, call 800-388-1828 or visit www.attours.com/AboutAustraliamovie.html. North American operators featuring Australia packages include Aspire Down Under (877-727-7473, www.aspiredownunder.com); Discover Downunder (888-836-9686, www.discoverdownunder.com); Down Under Answers (800-788-6685, www.duatravel.com); Springboard Vacations (866-447-7746, www.springboardvacations.com); Classic Vacations (800-221- 3949, www.classicvacations.com); Goway (800-387-8827, www.goway.com); and Australian Pacific Touring (800-290-8687, www.aptouring.com). For more information, visit www.australiasoutback.com.

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