We're just over a month away from the release of Baz Luhrmann's latest epic film, Australia, which the country is hoping will boost its profile as a travel destination (witness this cool Aussie tourism ad). Based on the trailers, the story looks pretty interesting - Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman portray lovers caught in the turmoil of the 1930's - but the real star of the film is the land itself. In a recent interview with National Geographic Adventure magazine (not online), screenwriter Richard Flanagan talked about his childhood in Tasmania and the northern outback region that inspired him to pen the script.]]> Victor Ozols 2008-10-12T14:30:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/8/85133/7401

Seen the new ads promoting the great Down Under land of Australia? Two "mini-movie" ads created by Baz Luhrmann have just started showing in 22 countries so keep an eye on your screens. (Or watch it after the jump.)

After the Where the bloody hell are you? campaign turned into a bunch of web clicks, no extra visitors and a lot of complaints, Tourism Australia had to get something pretty good in the pipeline.]]> amandak 2008-10-09T09:30:42-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/18/105039/549

If you still have any money left after this week on Wall Street, Las Vegas wants you to come out to the desert and spend it. Crazy times call for crazy fun, right?!

The new ad is up on the Vegas tourism board's official YouTube channel, which is also branded with the new "crazy times" slogan.

New Zealand also has a branded YouTube channel, and it's really going after the kids: It's featured video hypes the fact that NZ is "the youngest country on Earth."

Related Stories:
· New Zealand Tourism Board [YouTube]
· Google's Travel Plans [BW]
· Online Video Gives Marketing a Boost [Adweek]
· Tourism Boards coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-09-18T11:00:29-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/16/163258/052

Speaking of new websites...

The Pennsylvania Tourism Office has a new website and it's... colorful! It also has lots of audio and photos, and a bunch of trip ideas. (Yes, we liked the brewery tour suggestion.)

The new VisitPA.com is also soliciting stories about tourism in the state from visitors. While user-generated content isn't exactly a novel idea, it does prove that the higher ups are at least cognizant of the web and how much online research people do these days before taking a trip.

Our fave feature? The road trip planner that lets you grab destination and event info from all over the site and aggregate it into a mapped itinerary for your own one-of-a-kind trip.

Related Stories:
· VisitPA.com [Official Site]
· Oregon Coast Embracing the Web, User-Generated Content [Jaunted]
· Tourism Boards coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-09-16T16:33:57-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/11/163621/892

One major problem with tourism board websites is that the content on them can be a little thin--and a little cliche. So how is Oregon spicing up its effort to lure travelers to its coastal cities? By having locals and visitors alike submit photos and stories about the great times they've had there.

The coast's new site--at the easy-to-remember URL VisitTheOregonCoast.com--has dozens and dozens of photos from Flickr along with Google Maps, recommendations of stuff to do from real people and extensive listings of places to stay, complete with links to property websites.

True, we could just search Flickr on our own for, say, Yachats, but then we wouldn't learn that it's actually pronounced YAH-hots!

Related Stories:
· Oregon Coast Visitors Association [Official Site]
· Oregon, the People's Coast [Travel 2.0]
· Tourism Board Travel coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-09-11T16:45:26-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/9/12279/58584

Alright Phelps phanatics. If you didn't get a chance to play grab ass in Vegas with the gold medal god, you'll have another chance in Baltimore on October 4.

After a miscue in August, the Phelpstival is a go, and it starts with a "Parade of Gold" at 3 pm through Towson, Maryland, the suburb that the swimmer calls home. At 7 pm, a "Star-Spangled Salute" will be held at Fort McHenry.

One assumes the party won't stop just because it's getting late. While we can't guarantee a Phelps appearance, Max's Taphouse does have the biggest selection of beer in the city.

Related Stories:
· Phelpstival [Official Site]
· Max's Taphouse [Official Site]
· Michael Phelps coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-09-09T12:35:25-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/25/114933/914

Now that the Olympics are over, it's time for Baltimore to cash in on Michael Phelps' most recent gold medals. The Phelpstival--that we heard about last week--will start at 9 am on September 11 in the suburb of Towson, Maryland.

The party kicks off at Phelps' high school, where Cedar Avenue will be renamed in his honor. A parade will then march to the courthouse where the world record holder will receive a key to Baltimore County.

Here's hoping the Baltimore tourism board doesn't make him do a lap in a hotel pool.

Update: Don't believe everything you read at Baltimore.org! Turns out the tourism board posted info about 2004's Phelpstival on its official website before hyping the news on Twitter. Only later did officials realize that they'd made a mistake. When the real Phelpstival is announced, we'll let you know--as long as the tourism peeps give us the correct date!

Related Stories:
· Phelpstival [Official Site]
· Baltimore Tourism Wants a Piece of Michael Phelps [Jaunted]

[Photo: PopStarsPlus]]]> pbb 2008-08-25T12:00:17-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/