Celebrities get behind new campaign to drive regional tourism and road trips

The #RoadTripPledge is being called an "Australian regeneration promise", created by online holiday rental website Stayz, which draws attention back to the needs of regional Australia. Just as recovery was underway post bushfires, COVID-19 hit and has left regional towns further isolated.

With travel now back on the cards for many states and territories across the country, the #RoadTripPledge message is to focus on reconnecting Australian families with these impacted areas. While also encouraging Australians to make a simple promise to take on new adventures and hit the road to rebuild tourism across regional communities.

A number of Aussie celebrities have joined the campaign, with the likes of Edwina Bartholomew, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Cameron Daddo, Jamie Durie, Adam Liaw, Cartiona Rowntree and Dr. Katrina Warren, some of the first to make the pledge.

Each celeb has made their own promise that in 2020 they will travel locally with their families by road as a way to give back to the recovering regions. This pledge is for families to help process and understand recent major Australian bushfires and health issues, and offers a way to take positive action to revive the economy.

As a reminder of the incredible power of regeneration.
I stand with regional Australian towns.
I vow to explore impacted places by road.
To spend generously in towns of all sizes.
To always ask locals “are you okay”.
To value moments of connection with the people I love.
And find a renewed sense of adventure together.
Even when the headlines have stopped, and the social media has ceased.
We will not forget the reason why we made our #RoadTripPledge.

As part of the campaign launch, Stayz is offering Aussies who take the #RoadTripPledge and are one of the first 1000 to book a Stayz trip (over $1000) will be eligible to receive a $100 VISA gift card. The idea is that road trippers will be able to use it in the regional holiday destination, injecting much needed money back into small businesses that need it most.

“We are extremely proud, even during hard global times, to launch the #RoadTripPledge this month in support of regional tourism and ensuring this is remembered across 2020,” says Simone Scoppa, Travel Expert for Stayz.

“We have seen since travel restrictions have eased in Australia, that the demand to stay in a holiday home has increased significantly, where people are wanting to stay in a spacious whole home with their family and friends but away from other people. Stayz has always been committed to driving tourism in regional Australia but this year more than ever it is so much more important.”

There were many property owners whose families were impacted by the fires in key regional areas and more recently, the double impact of COVID-19. One of these owners is Karen Beeston from the Kangaroo Valley in NSW. Karen has spent most of her life in her family home built by her grandparents. It has four generations of memories and nostalgia which she now opens up to other families for long weekends and mid-week escapes to get out of Sydney.

"The fires got close but didn’t impact the property thanks to a last minute wind direction change, however the sense that it hasn’t been safe to travel into regional Australia has left the property bare for months on end, then followed by COVID-19 which did mean people couldn’t travel – all local businesses have been impacted with so many families affected. The #RoadTripPledge means so much to us to see tourists come back and have a holiday in our town.”

To find out more on the #RoadTripPledge and about regional travel head to roadtrippledge.com.au

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