TROPICAL NORTH STARS IN NEW CAMPAIGN

The Tropical North will play a starring role in the Beattie Government’s new multi-million dollar tourism marketing campaign, Tourism Minister Margaret Keech said today.

Mrs Keech said the $6.5 million Where Else But Queensland campaign would include stunning images from the Tropical North and across Queensland.

“World renowned cinematographer Mark Toia and his team recently completed their shoots for the new campaign. They told me they were stunned by the quality of the images they captured,” she said.

“When people like this make those comments, and they‘re obviously still in awe of what they had seen, you know you have something very special.

“I can’t wait to see the finished product.”

Mrs Keech said no Queensland marketing campaign was complete without images of the Tropical North.

“The team spent five days shooting in the Tropical North,” she said.

“The team shot footage of the coastline south from Cairns to Townsville, the Atherton Tablelands; canoeing, fishing and other spectacular images at Mossman Gorge; horse riding on the Beach at Port Douglas; stunning images at Thala Beach Lodge, near Port Douglas; underwater shots at Agincourt Reef; Chillagoe rock formations; Wrotham Park Lodge; and outdoor images at Georgetown.

“The toughest job will be to decide what footage is used for the advertisements.”

Mrs Keech said the campaign was shot with a state-of-the-art SpaceCam - the same revolutionary camera used to film many of the aerial segments in movies such as Lord of the Rings, Twister, Con Air and Shackleton's Antarctic Journey.

The Toia team also shot footage around Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Whitsundays, Outback and south east Queensland.

Mrs Keech predicted the new-look Where Else But Queensland campaign would take the market by storm when launched early next year.

“Queensland already has an enviable reputation as a great place to live, work and play and this campaign will reinforce that attraction in our interstate markets.”

Media contact: David Smith 3225 1005/ 0409 496 534.