Aiming to better market T-QUAL Accredited operators, Tourism Australia has announced a new partnership with TripAdvisor that will see the micro site feature Australian tourism products carrying the T-QUAL Tick.

Launching today, Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy explained the agreement would help drive some of the 44 million TripAdvisor consumers to learn more about the Australian products awarded with the symbol of quality.

“Word-of-mouth advocacy is incredibly powerful in destination marketing – whether it is the endorsement of high profile celebrities or grassroots advocacy through channels like TripAdvisor, Facebook, Twitter or Wiebo in China,” Mr McEvoy said.

“The highest quality products will be promoted through the best form of advocacy – visitors who have experienced the products, and will further get the message out to Australians that the best holiday experiences are in their own backyard.”

T-QUAL will help travellers to make more informed choices based on the accreditation of Australia’s best tourism products and services, giving them the confidence in booking with the knowledge that they will be taken care of.

Backing the new initiative, the tourism Group added that it is looking to unveil a new T-QUAL Tick Tour early hosted by celebrity chef Matt Moran early next year as well as offer T-QUAL products preferential listing on Australia.com.

“It is fantastic to have Matt Moran on board with the T-QUAL Tick Tour,” Mr McEvoy said. 

Already up on TripAdvisor, accredited operators include EcoCertified Tourism, Earthcheck, AAA Tourism, Respecting Our Culture (ROC), Australian Tourism Accreditation Program (ATAP) and Caravan, RV & Accommodation Industry of Australia, with a further 12 000 operators to join them.