A forgetful blue tang fish named “Dory” is poised to once again catapult Australia’s world famous Great Barrier Reef to the front of mind of potential global visitors.
Qantas has announced it will partner with Disney.Pixar on the highly anticipated Australian premiere screening in mid-June of Disney.Pixar’s “Finding Dory”, the sequel to the much loved “Finding Nemo”, based around Dory’s journey from the Great Barrier Reef to the coast of California to reunite with her family.
Qantas Group Executive of Brand, Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Olivia Wirth, said the release of the film was a perfect opportunity to promote tourism and raise awareness of protecting the Reef.
“Qantas will launch a joint promotion focused on bringing families together for the Australian premiere. It’s the ideal platform to introduce a new generation of Australians to the Reef, and talk about how crucial it is that we protect this amazing part of our environment,” Mrs Wirth said.
The national carrier will promote the Great Barrier Reef through an integrated domestic marketing campaign with Tourism Events Queensland, aimed at encouraging more visitors to the state to experience the beauty of the Reef for themselves.
Qantas will also install Great Barrier Reef Finding Dory-themed artwork in the travelator at Qantas’ Sydney Domestic Terminal while Great Barrier Reef video content will feature on the airline’s domestic inflight entertainment throughout June and July.
Qantas has a long standing relationship with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to promote the ongoing conservation and preservation of the reef.
In addition, for the month of June, Qantas is dedicating its carbon offset program – the largest of its kind in the world – to the support of a regeneration project in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area.
All voluntary contributions will directly benefit the Catchment Conservation Alliance, a first of a kind public-private collaboration aimed at mobilising green finance from the private sector to deliver crucial environmental outcomes through changes in land management.
“We wanted to shine a light on the great work the Catchment Conservation Alliance does to preserve the Reef for the future and give them a helping hand – and encourage more people to see the Reef for themselves. It’s really exciting to show that tourism and conservation can go hand in hand,” added Mrs Wirth.
Qantas will feature the Great Barrier Reef as part of a special 16 page cover story in its in-flight magazine Qantas Spirit of Australia with a readership of more than half a million people, with millions more accessing the content online at Qantas Travel Insider or via the Qantas Magazine App. In January, Qantas launched a new tourism-themed safety video, which showcases some of the natural beauty Australia has to offer to the airline’s 30 million passengers a year.