New South Wales Tourism targets MySpace Generation

Minister for Tourism Jodi McKay said today Tourism NSW would target the MySpace Generation with a vibrant new online experience on the world’s leading social networking site.  

The MySpace MySydney campaign will pilot in the United States from October – December 2008 and invites young Americans to visit, holiday or continue their education in NSW.

“This new tourism strategy integrates social networking, web technology and destination marketing to allow us to tap into one of the fastest growing sources of tourism business worldwide,” said Ms McKay.

“With this site we are launching a campaign to ‘own’ the youth travel market to Australia.”

Ms McKay said today’s young travellers stay longer and spend more than mainstream tourists.

“They can also deliver a ‘lifetime tourism value’ to a destination due to their tendency to make repeat visits over the course of their lives.”  

“To foster this lifetime friendship, we have created MySpace MySydney which is designed, built and populated by young people for young people.”

“Australia is the first country with which the US has entered into a Work and Holiday visa arrangement, effective from 31 October 2007 and this campaign is expected to create interest in working holidays as well,” said Ms McKay.

The MySpace MySydney community will go live this morning at  www.myspace.com/mysydney.

MySpace MySydney US pilot program includes:

** a customised MySpace MySydney site with links to Tourism NSW’s Sydney.com website;

** six video vignettes promoting living, working and studying in Sydney; 

** applications enabling online transactions (jobs, airfares and events);

** interactive forums and blogs;

** a 3-month PR and online advertising campaign across MySpace, followed by other promotions, contests and media events.

Ms McKay said youth travel represents more than 37 per cent of total international visitor arrivals to NSW, 60 per cent of international visitor nights, and 53 per cent of total international tourism expenditure in Australia.

“If we can increase this market by as little as two per cent, we can generate almost 21,000 more visitors and $62 million more expenditure in NSW,” said Ms McKay.

“Working in the ‘digital space’ is now compulsory for marketers worldwide, but success requires so much more than website with a cutely coined URL – it is all about content and functionality.”

“What sets MySpace MySydney apart from our tourism competitors is that we have attracted relevant and credible content written by youth for youth that will keep the site fresh and keep our potential travellers (or ‘friends’) coming back for more and passing the word on to their mates,” Ms McKay added.

“This is not just a web site.” “It is an online community where people can get first hand recommendations from their peers and other travellers about Sydney and NSW: our great lifestyle, opportunities for a professional career boost or a top-notch education, as well as unforgettable holiday experiences.”

“The focus has been on authenticity.”  â€œWe’ve got real Sydneysiders talking about their home.”  â€œWe’ve got real working holiday-makers talking about work and play opportunities, and real students talking about study opportunities.”

“The site also has the essential functionalities they need to research and plan their visit.”  â€œThanks to our partners at News Digital Media – CareerOne, Moshtix and WeGo – we have real-time tools that people can use straight away to book flights, find jobs, and even book tickets to some great Aussie music events.”

Chief Executive Officer of News Digital Careers, Dr. Stephen Hollings said, “This is a fantastic campaign from Tourism NSW to promote Sydney and NSW – News Digital Media is excited to help them achieve this”.

“It’s a great opportunity to introduce a large audience looking to visit Australia on a working holiday from the US to information on job opportunities on offer through CareerOne.com.au, entertainment and events promoted through moshtix.com.au and travel arrangements through wego.com.”

To drive participation young Americans visiting the MySpace MySydney site over the next three months will have the chance to enter a competition to win one of four ultimate work and play experiences in Sydney.

Last year NSW received 292,900 visitors from the United States, up by 1.7 per cent on the previous year.

The US is one of the States largest markets, (following the UK and New Zealand) contributing 10.4 percent of all visitors.

A Report by The Mole