Buckland confirmed as Tourism CEO

Tourism Western Australia’s Board Chairman, Kate Lamont, has welcomed the appointment of Stephanie Buckland (left) as the new CEO of Tourism WA, as advised by the Public Sector Commission today.

Buckland has been acting in the role – which has a remuneration package of $300,000-plus – sinceJanuary last year.

Lamont said Buckland had done an outstanding job as the Acting CEO, overseeing a significant agency restructure, whilst at the same time implementing a range of new initiatives that had advanced tourism in WA.

“She developed our new brand, ‘ExperienceExtraordinary Western Australia’, which showcases the unique experiences WA has to offer which can’t be found anywhere else in Australia or the world,” she said.

“Stephanie also brought the new brand tolife with the very successful ‘Extraordinary Taxi Ride’ campaign, which reached a global audience of 90 million people and generated a $13 to $1 return on investment.”

In addition, Buckland negotiated a significant three-year cooperative marketing agreement with Jetstar, which is linked to a 60 per cent increase in passenger capacity into Perth from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

“Stephanie is well qualified for this role and brings a high level of commercial acumen to the agency,” Lamont said.

Buckland was formerly the Executive Director of Marketing at Tourism WA, after joining the agency from Bankwest, where she was Head of Marketing. Prior to joining Bankwest she worked forPfizer Consumer Healthcare for 12 years, both in the USA and Australia.

“We are very lucky to have her,” Lamont said. “Stephanie is well regarded by our stakeholders in the tourism industry and has adopted a consultative approach to policy development.”