New campaign to position Kalgoorlie-Boulder and the Goldfields as an ancestry tourism Mecca launches via Wanderlust Communications

Tourism in Kalgoorlie-Boulder and the Goldfields is set to receive a much-needed boost, once travel restrictions are lifted, thanks to an innovative partnership and campaign between regional tourism organisation Australia’s Golden Outback and the Eastern Goldfields Historical Society, devised by Wanderlust Communications, the tourism organisation’s digital marketing agency.

 

The campaign began late in 2019 and is now being launched to the public.

Last December, Australia’s Golden Outback put a call out to applicants for one person with connections to the Goldfields to win an experience to dig deeper into their family history and have their journey made into a mini documentary.

The eight-minute documentary, produced by Lush The Content Agency, ‘Journey into the Goldfields’ featuring Stirling resident Toni Barnett will be premiered on the Australia’s Golden Outback Facebook page and on YouTube on Friday 1st May at 5pm.

Says Amy Gough, managing director of Wanderlust Communications: “We really wanted to highlight this historic side of the Goldfields with this campaign. So many people have a connection to this place, and it made sense to appeal to this curiosity and get people thinking about their own history. We wanted to create some interesting, long-form content to support the campaign, so the idea of opening the experience up to the public, then creating a documentary was the perfect way to do this. Not only does the viewer get transported to the Goldfields and invested in Toni’s story, but they also start to imagine themselves doing the same thing.

“We could never have predicted the Covid-19 pandemic, but even in these uncertain times, especially for tourism, we feel this documentary will help entertain and inspire people – hopefully encouraging them to travel when the time is right. The campaign will be launched predominantly via digital marketing, with a targeted social media advertising strategy, outreach programme and retargeting strategy. We’re capturing people in the dreaming phase with this video, so we then want to follow up with key articles, blogs, itineraries and ideas for doing this journey themselves so we can move them through to the planning and travelling phases.”

Australia’s Golden Outback CEO Marcus Falconer said that there were tonnes of hidden stories buried in the Goldfields, many of those stemming from the gold rush era of the late 1800s: “It’s a place that’s obviously incredibly rich in history and anyone with connections to the Goldfields can engage the services of the Eastern Goldfields Historical Society to go on their own journey of discovery.

“More and more we’re finding that people have a real curiosity about their ancestral past and want to visit the places they are connected to. And right now, whilst people are stuck at home, there’s no better time to do the research and plan a trip to the Goldfields.

“Given that at the time of the Goldfields gold rush, it’s estimated that approximately 120,000 people from more than 30 countries flocked to the region, added to fact there has been over 125 years of continual gold production since, the Goldfields could become an ancestry tourism Mecca.

“Another objective of the campaign is for it to act as a catalyst for developing an enhanced ancestry tourism experience through the Eastern Goldfields Historical Society, which the Goldfields’ tourism industry can engage with to attract more visitors. With support from Regional Development Australia Goldfields Esperance, Australia’s Golden Outback will be conducting an initial feasibility evaluation.”