On Tuesday Tourism Australia launched a new short film aimed at encouraging more domestic and international visitors to include indigenous tourism experiences in their itineraries.

Titled ‘Aboriginal Australia: Our Country is waiting for you’, the film was created in collaboration with Australian filmmakers Brendan Fletcher (Mad Bastards) and Warwick Thornton (Samson and Delilah and The Sapphires) and tells the story of Australia’s indigenous tourism offerings.

Developed in partnership with Austrade, the film features a diverse range of activities, adventures and immersive cultural experiences which can be enjoyed in the red centre and outback, lush rainforests and tropics as well as in cities and urban environments.

One of the misconceptions that the film aims to dispel is that indigenous tourism experiences can only be found in hot, dry and remote areas.

Australian directors Brendan Fletcher (Mad Bastards) and Warwick Thornton (best known for his work on acclaimed movies Samson and Delilah and The Sapphires), worked closely with nine Indigenous tourism operators from four States and Territories across Australia.

The film will be shown in Australia and a number of Tourism Australia’s key international markets, including China, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the UK and the USA where it is expected to be seen on TV, online and in cinemas by more than 50 million people over the next few weeks.

The film has already received strong backing from the tourism industry, including airports (Sydney Airport), international airlines (Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia) and hotel groups (AccorHotels Australia and IHG) who have all agreed to provide a platform to show the film to their passengers, guests and employees.

Click here to view the film and please let us know what you think in the comments section below. Does it accurately portray indigenous experiences? Would it be a useful tool in encouraging your clients to include an indigenous experience in their programs?