‘Come and say G’day’: Anthony Albanese revamps iconic Aussie tourism campaign in pitch to Chinese holidaymakers

An iconic Aussie campaign urging tourists to “Come and say G’day” is being revamped as Anthony Albanese spruiks the country’s postcard-perfect tourism offerings to prospective tourists in Shanghai. The Prime Minister landed in China’s biggest city on Saturday, kicking off an unusually lengthy state visit at the invite of counterpart Li Qiang. Mr Albanese hopes to convince the Chinese that Australia has more to offer than the world’s best tariff-free beef and lobster, amid the spectre of an increasingly militaristic regional rivalry looming large over the Australia-China relationship. But Mr Albanese appears otherwise keen to focus on other areas, such as the billions of dollars vacationing Chinese pump into Australia’s thirsty tourism sector. He is expected to sign a deal with Chinese travel giant Trip.com to promote Australia as the place to see. The “Memorandum of Understanding” between Trip.com and Tourism Australia - our peak government agency promoting Australian travel destinations - will come with a revamp of the “Come and Say G’day” ad campaign. Like the original campaign in 2022, it will star Rosy the Kangaroo welcoming Chinese tourists to Australia. It will also feature Yu Shi, a young A-list actor leading an explosive career since his 2023 break-out role in a major Chinese epic fantasy franchise. “Not only is Australia’s beef, barley, red wine and lobster the best in the world – we’re the best place in the world to come for a holiday,” Mr Albanese said. “Expanding our tourism relationship with China will mean more jobs for Australians and a boost to Australian businesses.” Chinese holidaymakers are Australia’s highest-paying visitors. Making up some 860,000 visits, tourists from mainland China splashed a whopping $9.2bn in the 12 months to March, according to official figures. Both the number of visits and the amount spent were up on March 2024 figures by 26 per cent and 28 per cent respectively. Still reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic and blindsided by devastating natural disasters in recent years, it is a welcome trend for Australia’s tourism industry.