Published on Tuesday, 15 July 2025 at 3:52:49 PM
The Esperance Promise has been officially shortlisted for the Bravery and Innovation Award at the prestigious 2025 Mumbrella Travel Marketing Awards, recognising its values-led approach reshaping tourism through responsible marketing.
This category recognises standout ideas that challenge convention and offer meaningful lessons for the broader travel industry. It aims to celebrate bold innovation that prompts the response, “I wish I’d thought of that.” Among this year’s 51 shortlisted entries across 13 categories, the Esperance Promise distinguishes itself with a brave, community-first approach.
The Esperance Promise was created along with the Esperance In Your Element brand in 2024 by Australia’s Golden Outback and the Shire of Esperance. The initiative responds to increasing visitation impacts and aims to help visitors to Esperance travel safely and responsibly.
Central to the campaign is a two-minute film featuring stunning local imagery by photographer Dan Paris and narrated by a young Esperance local. The message is simple yet powerful: a heartfelt request to ‘care for this special place we call home.’ Through the Visit Esperance website, visitors are invited to make a non-contractual promise to travel responsibly, supported by consistent messaging across digital platforms, businesses, signage, and touchpoints throughout the region.
“The Esperance Promise tells visitors, ‘We want you here, and we want you to care for this place as much as we do,’” said Annabelle Hender, Esperance Tourism Development Manager.
“Moving away from aspirational picture-perfect promotion, we chose to highlight the region’s challenges and empower visitors to ensure their visit is a positive one.”
In an industry that has long prioritised the visitor over the host, the Promise flips the model, placing community and visitor relations at its centre. In a world where overtourism is on the rise, Esperance proves that inspiring people to care is not just an important message, but a powerful marketing tool to support a more harmonious and sustainable tourism sector.
Shire of Esperance President Ron Chambers expressed delight at news of the nomination, saying “the work put in last year by Australia’s Golden Outback, our dedicated Esperance Tourism Development Manager, local tourism operators and stakeholders to workshop the Esperance In Your Element branding and the Esperance Promise has really paid off – congratulations to all!”.
“We want visitors to explore our amazing region responsibly and enjoy more than sightseeing – our fantastic tourism operators and community offer opportunities to form genuine connections with the land, its people, and its stories.”
The Esperance Promise initiative has already had a wider impact beyond its borders, inspiring others to rethink responsible marketing. In 2025 key insights on the campaign were shared at the City Nation Place Conference in Sydney and the Regenerative Tourism Conference in Perth. Internationally The Esperance Promise has been recognised by Purdue University as an example of responsible tourism and featured in Travel With Care as a case study.
The 2025 Mumbrella Travel Marketing Awards will take place on 28 August at Crown Sydney, following the Travel Marketing Summit. As a finalist for the Bravery and Innovation Award, the Esperance Promise offers a valuable example for the tourism industry: small destinations can make a big impact when they have the courage to lead with their values.
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