Published on Monday, 1 September 2025 at 11:16:44 AM
The Esperance Promise has been recognised with the Bravery and Innovation Award at the prestigious 2025 Mumbrella Travel Marketing Awards, held in Sydney on Thursday night. This national accolade celebrates the campaign’s values-led approach to reshaping tourism through responsible marketing, highlighting Esperance’s commitment to authenticity, sustainability, and meaningful community engagement.
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.” Judges commended the Esperance Promise for its brave, community-first approach to destination marketing.
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.
“This recognition is a moment of pride for Esperance and for everyone who helped shape the Promise. It demonstrates that a small regional destination can stand on a national stage and lead the conversation about how tourism can be done differently” said Annabelle Hender, Esperance Tourism Development Manager.
“It also highlights the power of inviting visitors to take part in protecting this place - sharing a story that is both important and meaningful.”
In an industry that has long prioritised the visitor over the host, the Esperance 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 Bravery and Innovation Award, 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 2025 Mumbrella Travel Marketing Awards were held on Thursday 28 September at Crown Sydney, following the Travel Marketing Summit. Out of 51 shortlisted entries across 13 categories, two Western Australian destinations featured among the winners. The Kimberley region was also recognised, with Fred&Co Digital Advertising taking out Breakthrough Destination of the Year alongside Leonards Advertising Media and Big Head Digital for their campaign Give the Kimberley a Crack.
For Esperance, the award provides validation of the Esperance Promise and its values-led approach. The recognition not only celebrates the work achieved to date but also builds momentum for the next stage of implementation, reinforcing its role as a practical tool to deliver positive outcomes for both community and visitors.
The Esperance Promise is an initiative that has already had a wide impact, 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.
Winning the Bravery and Innovation Award cements Esperance’s position as a leader in reimagining destination marketing, proving that even small communities can inspire global change when they have the courage to lead with their values.
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