Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) has launched a new brand platform, ‘That Holiday Feeling’, at this week’s Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE25) event in Brisbane.

The campaign, created in partnership with creative agency Publicis Worldwide Australia, features a reimagined version of the 1980s pop anthem ‘Holiday’ by Brisbane-born singer-songwriter Kita Alexander.

The campaign is supported by an integrated media strategy developed by Dentsu Queensland. It includes a cinematic television commercial showcasing Queensland’s iconic destinations such as the Great Barrier Reef, Surfers Paradise, and the Daintree. The brand platform aims to reflect Queensland’s spirit, natural beauty, and emotional appeal, inviting travellers to reconnect with their ‘holiday self’.

TEQ Group Executive Marketing, Kim McConnie, described the initiative as “not just a new campaign, it’s a whole new creative direction for Queensland.” “We wanted to capture what a Queensland holiday actually feels like – that moment when you stop checking your emails, let your shoulders drop and just soak it all in,” she said. “That Holiday Feeling taps into this truth in a way that’s emotionally powerful, creatively ownable and built to flex across everything we do.”

The campaign is described as a new creative direction for Queensland tourism, aiming to capture the essence of a Queensland holiday. It includes a bespoke design system, visual toolkit, and refreshed tone of voice to unify communications across Queensland’s 13 tourism regions. The campaign is part of a multi-year strategy to position Queensland as more than just a holiday destination, but as a feeling people want to return to.

Executive Creative Director at Publicis Worldwide Australia, Ryan Petie, said: “Queensland is the holiday capital of Australia – the home of the Great Barrier Reef, Surfers Paradise, Heart Reef, the Daintree and lots of other holiday icons… There was no better way to capture Queensland’s epic holidayness than recreating the world’s most famous holiday song.”

Dentsu Queensland Integrated Client Director, Pete Clark, said: “This campaign has impact and scale, but it also has the soul that captures the spirit of this spectacular state… In partnership with Publicis, we’ve built an integrated media approach that takes audiences from where they are and nudges them towards where they’d rather be.”

The campaign is set to roll out nationally, having been launched to a national audience via Channel 7’s Sunrise program.

“This is the first step in a multi-year strategy to position Queensland as more than just a holiday destination – it’s a feeling people want to come back to,” said McConnie. “That Holiday Feeling is an idea big enough to flex across our industry and intimate enough to connect with travellers on a deeply personal level.”