Why Kylie Minogue Says You Should Visit Australia in 2020
Kylie Minogue has a message for Brexit-weary British tourists: It’s time to relax.
The pop icon teamed up with Australia’s tourism board for a brand-new song and music video specifically aimed at British would-be travelers who are in need of a vacation amid the never-ending Brexit news cycle.
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"I'm such a proud Australian that I've spent most of my life traveling around the world sharing my stories of Australia with anyone who would listen, so I kind of feel like a walking tourism advert for Australia already," Minogue said in a statement.
The three-minute music video for the song, titled “Matesong,” played on the airways just before the Queen’s televised Christmas message. The video starred not only Minogue but also a host of other famous Australians including comedian Adam Hills, tennis player Ash Barty, and former Australian cricketer Shane Warne.
The song’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics, written by Australian comedian and singer-songwriter Eddie Perfect, include pitch-perfect lines like “Negotiating tricky trade deals is a shocker/ But look there’s a quokka! / And that’s what you need.”
The ad, CNN reported, is part of a $10.4-million advertising campaign put on by Australia to lure British tourists back to the country following a slight dip in tourism as well as natural disasters. In November, Australia not only reached record-high temperatures but also experienced devastating wildfires that burned more than 9 million acres across five states, destroyed thousands of homes, and left at least six people dead.
"It's no secret that the UK has been going through a period of uncertainty,” Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said in a statement, “and this has had an impact on outbound travel, including to Australia where numbers have dipped in recent months.”
Of course, you don’t have to be British to be inspired to take a vacation to Travel + Leisure’s destination of the year. As Minogue says in the video, “All of Australia loves you/ And we’ll never judge you.”
