Words by LATTE correspondent, Barry MathesonTourism Western Australia wants more visitors, and to get them it is spending $15 million on a global advertising campaign, showcased in Sydney on Wednesday night. The campaign was teased last month to luxury travel delegates attending Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas, reported exclusively by LATTE.

The campaign’s tune and theme, ‘Walking on a Dream’ features a state-wide 60-second film and four destination-focused videos showcasing the Margaret River region, the Kimberley’s, Ningaloo Reef and Perth.

The videos will be shown nationally, as well as in 11 countries including the US, UK, Singapore and New Zealand.

Travel trade partners from around the country were invited to the launch and were treated to a selection of WAs tasty seafood delicacies as well as top-shelf Margaret River wines.

Guests watched a special performance by Rita Hamaguchi, a talented dancer from Broome who also features in the ad campaign.

“Western Australia is a true bucket-list destination,” said Carolyn Turnbull, Tourism Western Australia’s Managing Director.

“While many of the world’s tourism destinations are well known, well-trodded and overcrowded, Western Australia is not,” she added.Turnbull highlighted the state’s sweeping outback plains, millennia-old gorges, Australia’s whitest beach and ancient tracks brimming with jaw-dropping landscapes.

She said ‘Walking on a Dream’ is an emotive and unique global tourism brand that represents a significant milestone for Western Australia and will showcase the state as a world-class business and leisure destination.

As LATTE exclusively foreshadowed last month, the campaign has an Indigeneous focus.

“It takes inspiration from Aboriginal culture and the multitude of cultures that makes our state so special,” added Turnbull.

“It truly is a wondrous, otherworldly dreamlike place to explore.”

View the video above, or see an extended version with commentary Noongar man Nick Abraham of cultural tours and consultancy company Warrang-Bridil, here, with Abraham discusses his culture and introduces each short video alongside the brand’s four story pillars of Time, Space, Connection, and Freedom.

Lead image from left: Sonia Holt, The Walshe Group; with Tourism Western Australia’s Cory Gale, Chiara Dichiera, Mel Johnson, Carolyn Turnbull, Tiana Anderson and Melissa Forbes, with Christine Poole, The Walshe Group.