Multimillion-dollar travel pitch to the world as Australia opens border

Tourism Australia's latest bid to revive the industry is a back-to-basics campaign aiming to spur demand when the international border opens to travellers later this month.

The new ad will launch in the US and UK tomorrow before running in Europe and Canada, in an attempt to change the perception Australia is closed for business.

The proposition is simple and plays to the country's strengths.

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"G'day. Next time you holiday, why go small when you can go Australia?" a voiceover asks over footage of some of the nation's greatest highlights.

Quentin Long from Australian Traveller said most people in the markets being targeted were thinking about taking smaller trips.

"It's smart, it's simple. It's got a great consumer proposition which is, you know, you've been in lockdown for so long, you really deserve a holiday," he told 9News.

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After two years as 'Fortress Australia', borders reopen to tourists on February 21.

Australians will soon need a booster to be considered "up to date" with COVID-19 vaccinations.

However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said visitors only need two jabs to enter.

Online travel site Skyscanner saw an overall 199 per cent increase in international bookings into Australia the day after the reopening announcement was made on February 7.

Demand from the UK surged 272 per cent, with a 192 per cent increase from Germany and spikes from India and Ireland. March was the most popular month for travel.

The $40 million campaign includes billboards in New York's Times Square and London's Piccadilly Circus.

"I think it's very important to make sure their money is being spent in the right place," David Flynn from Executive Traveller said.

"Because rather than spending up big on celebrities and gimmicks they want to spend on exposure and eyeballs — reaching those people who they want to bring to Australia."

After a love-hate relationship with tourism ads of late, this attempt is getting more thumbs up than Lara Bingle's famous "where the bloody hell are ya?" spot.

"It's not about how we want Australia to be seen, it's about what's going to put bums in planes and in beds in Australia," Mr Long said.

Our most recent ad just before the pandemic hit — a celebrity-heavy extravaganza directed at the UK — had to be pulled when borders slammed shut.

With so much at stake for the tourism industry and with Australia having been closed to the world for so long, industry players warn this campaign only works if the country reopens without any rule changes.