Kangaroo Island showcases ‘unfiltered’ beauty in new campaign

Kangaroo Island has launched its first-ever national tourism campaign to welcome back visitors to its shores following bushfires and the pandemic.

Made possible with the Federal Government’s Recovery for Regional Tourism program, the three-year Unfiltered campaign showcases the Island to eager travellers with storytelling that captures the unique essence of the South Australian destination.

It features a series of films profiling Kangaroo Island tourism operators and experiences, which will be used in digital advertising and on playback television, as well as public relations and out-of-home advertising across Australia’s eastern seaboard.

“There’s a perception out there in the market that the Island is still majorly impacted by the bushfires and there’s not the depth of experiences that there once was,” Megan Harvie, regional tourism manager of the Kangaroo Island Tourism Alliance said.

“So this campaign is all about showcasing the breadth of what we have to offer…and getting our potential customers to understand who we are and want to connect with us deeper.

“It also gives us legacy and provides us with the ability to market the Island over the next three years.”

Kylie Bamfield from Kangaroo Island Distillery said it’s the campaign’s longevity — and focus on shoulder season visitation — that excites her.

“The support from the community after the bushfires was amazing, and we did really well during the first year after the pandemic,” Bamfield said.

“It was a record year for us with domestic visitation like we’d never seen before, but we had a false economy.

“Now that international borders have opened, we’ve found our bottom line has suffered significantly.

“We are 95 per cent reliant on visitors to the island in order to be profitable.

“That’s why I was so excited about this campaign…we’re hitting the ground on the front foot to compensate before it becomes a big issue.”

Kangaroo Island is traditionally heavily affected by seasonality, with figures from the South Australian Tourism Commission showing that visitation to the Island decreased by almost half between June to December 2021, compared to the first half of the year.

Growing visitation in the low-season will enable businesses like Kylie’s to effectively plan and manage their business operations, contributing to Kangaroo Island’s economic growth.

“One of the things I was really happy to see was a focus on growing visitation in low-season times,” Kylie said.

“It’ll help put us in a really healthy position to have a more sustainable income year round.”