Elle Macpherson's visit to Kalgoorlie fulfils Minister's promise

8/10/98

Tourism Minister Norman Moore said that the arrival of supermodel Elle Macpherson in the Goldfields today fulfilled a promise he made to the region.

Elle will be in Leonora and Kalgoorlie to shoot one of her latest series of four tourism commercials for Western Australia.

"The Goldfields knows the value of Elle's first TV campaign for tourism in Western Australia," Mr Moore said in Kalgoorlie.

"So I made a commitment that if she came back to make a second round of commercials, the Goldfields would be included in the new series.

"I was born and bred in the Goldfields, so I am delighted to welcome her here."

Mr Moore said the new commercials continued the fresh, free, natural and spirited theme of the earlier series.

"Elle reflects all these personallity traits our research has identified as being uniquely Western Australian," he said.

Mr Moore said he hoped the new commercials would encourage more international, interstate and local visitors to travel to WA, and the Goldfields in particular.

"The Goldfields is a popular destination for Australians to visit," he said.

"We would like to attract more international tourists here and I believe that the Brand WA commercials featuring Elle Macpherson will do so.

"Last year's campaign in the United Kingdom shows what a powerful marketing influence Elle can be.

"Over three months it directly resulted in 5,886 tourists coming to Western Australian and spending more than $7 million during their stay."

Mr Moore said he was confident the new series would benefit the Goldfields during the three years in which the campaign would run.

Elle and the crew filming the commercials will arrive in Leonora this morning to shoot a scene at nearby Gwalia.

This afternoon they will shoot another scene on the Golden Mile in the heart of Kalgoorlie.

Media contact: Hartley Joynt 9321 1444