I’m not a Dancing With the Stars fan but I love Robert Irwin and Australia so after attending a tourism brunch the day before, I decided to tune in. I didn’t regret it because Robert definitely made his late father, his family and his country proud with his performance. You can watch it below.
If you watched the show too, then no doubt you saw the Tourism Australia commercial that featured the 21-year-old Irwin as it played at least a couple of times during the show.
During our media brunch, we got a preview of the commercial, which is embedded above and is the second chapter of Australia’s campaign titled: Come and Say G’day.
It not only features Australian wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin but the country’s animated brand ambassador Ruby, the Souvenir Kangaroo.
Chris Allison, Tourism Australia’s Vice President, The Americas & New Zealand, said their new campaign “is a bespoke invitation to American travelers to visit Australia and experience a vacation that lasts a lifetime.” Robert Irwin commented on his role and said something similar: “I’m such a proud Aussie so it’s a real honor to be working with Tourism Australia on the next chapter of the Come and say G’day campaign. I’ve dedicated my life to protecting the natural world so I’m excited for international travelers to experience our incredible wildlife and wild places. A trip to Australia is a vacation that will stay with you for a lifetime.”
As someone who has traveled to Australia at least seven times, including last Thanksgiving when I brought my wife and our two children (then ages 5 and 8), I can confirm that the Land Down Under is the trip of a lifetime.
This past trip, we went to Sydney to stay overnight at the Taronga Zoo and then flew an hour north to Brisbane to check out Bluey’s World, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Tangalooma Island Resort on Moreton Island.
On past trips, I’ve been fortunate to visit much of the country including Melbourne, Uluru, Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree Rainforest, Byron Bay, Noosa, Fraser Island, Hamilton Island, Hayman Island, Orpheus Island, Wolgan Valley, Adelaide, Barossa Valley, Kangaroo Island and even took the historic Ghan train from Darwin to Alice Springs. Oh, and I saw the Los Angeles Dodgers play the Arizona Diamondback in the first official MLB game Down Under. BTW: The L.A. Rams are playing in Melbourne in 2026 and I hope to score tickets to that game as well.
By the way, Australia has welcomed more than eight million international visitors in the last year and 714,200 travelers came from the United States.
Hi Johnny,
We love Australia, too, but we’ve only been once – a lifelong dream trip for my 70th birthday in 2019. We spent a day at the Australia Zoo which was fabulous. Am I allowed to admit that I am envious that you have been 7 times? How I wish…… :)
I also don’t watch Dancing with the Stars, but did you know that Robert’s sister, Bindi, won it in 2015? How cool is that?
;-)
I learned that she won last night while watching the show. I think he might win too (I hope so)