06 May 10 (TravMedia.com): Australians are getting behind Tourism Australia’s new global campaign - There’s nothing like Australia – already exceeding the target of more than 15,000 entries in the national promotion to show the world what’s unique and special about our country.

Since 15 April, Australians have been uploading their local holiday photographs and stories to the website www.nothinglikeaustralia.com. With the promotion closing at midnight on 12 May 2010, those Australians yet to share their holiday tips need to act fast if they want to be part of the new campaign to promote Australia to the world.

Tourism Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy said Australians had responded enthusiastically to the promotion with images and stories received from around the country.

“Australians have demonstrated how passionate they are about promoting their country to the world by submitting thousands of images and stories of the many experiences travellers can have in Australia,” Mr McEvoy said. “It is terrific to see this level of support from communities across the country.”

“The entries really capture the essence of Australia – both the people and places – and the diversity of the country from the well-known icons and big cities to the hidden gems that only locals know about.

“So far entries for holiday experiences in New South Wales are leading the tally, just slightly ahead of Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania, and the ACT.

“With only a week to go I urge all Australians to log on to nothinglikeaustralia.com to upload their own stories and images to show what’s great about where they live or holiday and put their holiday tips on the map,” Mr McEvoy said.

Tourism Australia will use the images and stories entered in the promotion to create a new interactive map of Australia, made up of all the things Australians think are special about their country. It will be searchable by experience type, location, and by 1,000 keywords. That map will be housed on www.australia.com, which attracts more than a million unique visitors each month, and also at www.nothinglikeaustralia.com.

Entrants will also be eligible to win prizes. A winner will be chosen from each state and territory to win an Australian holiday valued at $5,000. An overall winner will then be selected to win the ultimate Australian holiday valued at $25,000.

The second phase of the campaign will be announced 31 May 2010.

(source: Travel Daily Asia)