Tourism Australia (TA) Managing Director Scott Morrison welcomed the news that Australia has been awarded ‘cool brand’ status in the annual Cool BrandLeaders list in the UK.

“We are thrilled that The Brand Council in the UK has named Australia as one of the world’s Cool BrandLeaders, especially as this is the first time that a country has been included on its annual list,” Mr Morrison said.

“Tourism Australia has worked hard to ensure that the rest of the world is aware of Brand Australia and what it represents, through our range of international marketing and public relations activities. While its great to be recognised as one of the world’s ‘cool’ brands, it’s even better to be visited by those who think you are cool, and that is our focus at Tourism Australia.”

“Australia is known around the world as a great tourist destination as survey after survey shows, but it also has a reputation as an innovative destination where creative talent flourishes against an incredibly unique landscape that offers something for everyone.”

“In the UK, Australian musicians, artists, fashion designers and chefs are becoming recognised as world leaders in their field, and all of this contributes to Australia’s ‘cool’ brand image. This survey confirms that Australia has a strong brand identity, and this is a contributing factor in Australia receiving over 700,000 visitors from the UK each year.”

“The UK market is very important to Australia because travellers from the UK stay longer and disperse widely when they visit. Recent marketing and public relations activities undertaken by TA’s in the UK have also helped contribute to Australia’s ‘cool’ image, such as working with celebrity photographer Rankin, who photographed Australia for the exhibition ‘Rankin’s Australia A Different Light’ at Sony Ericsson Proud Galleries,” Mr Morrison said.

Tourism Australia’s core international marketing challenge is to shift international consumers from a preference to visit Australia to an intention to visit Australia within the next twelve months, and thereby expand the international demand pool available for conversion by the travel and tourism industry.

“The recent appointment of TA’s global advertising and media agencies, and the process we are undergoing to evolve our brand are critical steps in ensuring Australia’s brand position is strengthened around the world,: Mr Morrison concluded.

Cool BrandLeaders is an initiative that identifies and pays tribute to the UK’s strongest cool brands. The judging panel awarded 87 brands the Cool BrandLeaders status. The shortlist itself was drawn from tens of thousands of brands that are initially considered by the Superbrands organisation.