Tourism Queensland - Mega Famil for flood recovery

Following the floods and cyclone that affected Queensland in early 2011, Hills Balfour helped to organise an international mega media famil for journalists to visit the Australian state, as part of its destination PR work for the tourist board. Timing was of the essence as the PR team wanted the media to visit the areas affected, including Brisbane and Cairns respectively, as soon as possible. Hills Balfour was therefore tasked with securing nearly a dozen key publications to travel to Australia with only 10 days’ notice.

Within this short time frame, Hills Balfour secured 11 journalists from key British and Irish publications, including  The Daily Express, The Daily Mirror, The Irish Times, The Yorkshire Evening Post and Scotland on Sunday. These writers together with others from around the world, meant that around 100 media converged in the Sunshine State all writing about Queensland’s recovery from its two natural disasters that had happened in quick succession.

The journalists chose from six itineraries and had the opportunity to experience firsthand how the state has bounced back, allowing them to help spread the word that Queensland is ‘open for business’.

Highlights of the trip included learning to surf in Noosa, cruising on the Great Barrier Reef, jungle surfing in Cape Tribulation and exploring Fraser Island with a closing night at Brisbane’s GoMA which all of the journalists attended together with key industry contacts.

Tourism Queensland’s PR team at Hills Balfour is continuing with its recovery strategy for the Australian state, part of which will include a second group media trip in May 2011 for journalists to visit Brisbane, which has now fully recovered from the floods.

The media famil trip led to extensive positive coverage for Tourism Queensland. The total resulting circulation in the UK was 9,393,730 with an estimated advertising value equivalent of £381,398.

For more information on Queensland, visit www.experiencequeensland.com.