Remote Control Tourists Tom and Lucy wear helmets fitted with a camera and microphone. Photo: Wayne Taylor
Tourism Victoria is starting a $3.6 million "go before you go" campaign to attract tourists from Sydney.
When the campaign is launched at 10am on Wednesday, four young bicycle-pedalling, so-called Remote Control Tourists - two men and two women wearing helmets fitted with video cameras - will be available to help social media devotees get a virtual tour of Melbourne's hot spots before they go there.
The would-be tourists can send the Remote Control Tourists to Melbourne's laneways, bars and cafes before deciding to visit the city.
The objective is to attract the interest of digital-savvy young "opinion leaders" to visit Melbourne, which is renowned for its culture, coffee and cool, though the Remote Control Tourists plan may puzzle those who are not entirely conversant with social media.
The Remote Control Tourists' territory will be cover trendy, inner-city suburbs such as Collingwood, Fitzroy, Prahran and Carlton.
Footage of the exploits of the Remote Control Tourists will be streamed live on remotrecontrol tourist.com and beamed in real time to tablets, mobiles and laptops.
The Remote Control Tourists will be available between 10am and 8pm each day until Sunday. Their video cameras have been tested for night vision in case they need to shoot inside the city's murky laneway bars.
Louise Asher, Victoria's Minister for Tourism and Major Events, said: "We want to spark curiosity and encourage people to tap into their sense of discovery."
Social media is increasingly important in promoting domestic and international tourism with taxpayer-funded tourism bodies spending millions to inspire Twitter and Facebook fans to visit their destinations.
Melbourne is now Australia's most popular destination, surpassing even Sydney, and the Gold Coast in terms of total visitor nights.
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