LARA Bingle is out and movie director Baz Luhrmann is in - and tourism bosses couldn't be happier.

Tourism Australia’s $50 million campaign to boost visitor numbers to our shores will see excerpts of Luhrmann’s movie Australia shown across the globe, focusing on striking examples of Australian scenery.

Far Northern tourism operators yesterday supported the push and were delighted to see Bingle junked.

"Where the bloody hell are you’ was a complete disaster, particularly in markets like Japan," Charles Woodward, chairman of the CaPTA group of companies, told The Cairns Post last night.

"This campaign will depend a lot on whether the movie is a hit or a flop but at least Baz has a successful record.

"Hopefully this campaign will be about the wide expanses in Australia," Mr Woodward said.

The campaign will run from October until the middle of next year, which is peak season for decision making and buying among holidaymakers in most of the world.

It comes at a time when Far Northern tourism is besieged by a strong Aussie dollar, high fuel prices and Qantas flight cuts.

Mr Woodward said it was essential Australia got "back to basics" and focused on nature-based tourism.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Rob Giason said the campaign sounded good but warned of "putting all our eggs in one basket".

"Leveraging off the movie does make good common marketing sense but there needs to be a lot more done to really drive sales," he said.

"There has to be a hard edge and that means making sure we have packages and products that are saleable."

Marehiro Kono, from the Japanese Cairns Association of Tourism Operators, said the Lord of the Rings films proved the value of links between tourism and films.

Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson admitted the Australian tourism industry was struggling in a tough market.

He said the "Where the bloody hell are you?", campaign been a "dismal failure" in markets such as Asia.

"We’ve put ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ in the can, and we see this opportunity that has just jumped out of us … we are piggy-backing off the film to promote Australia. Let’s use it to our advantage as a nation."

Luhrmann said the campaign would reflect the emotion of the movie through a series of contemporary stories.

"What we hope to do is convey an emotional experience that is possible from going the extra distance and coming to this unique special place on the edge of the world," he said.

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