General News
2 July, 2025
Influencers engaged to promote best of Mount Isa
The city is pulling out all stops to improve visitation to the Outback destination.
Mount Isa City Council’s tourism and marketing team is leaving no stone unturned in its bid to bring more people to the Outback.
From Married at First Sight to Karl Stefanovic and the Today show – and even Robbie Katter’s au pair – all measures are being taken to attract visitors to the city.
While spending big bucks on TV advertising is a traditional form of marketing, the council is getting massive bang for its buck by using social media stars to promote the best of Mount Isa.
Mayor Peta MacRae said the tourism and marketing team was getting on the front foot by hitting up those with a prominent social media presence who were already in the region or were potentially coming through.
“The council is not paying them, but we are providing them with free entry to things like the Mount Isa Underground Hospital,” she told North West Weekly.
“Mount Isa has had some pretty poor publicity recently and we’re sick of seeing ourselves in the media for negative things.
“It’s wonderful that young people who are on social media have the chance to highlight what’s great about this place and why we all love living out here in Mount Isa.”
The council’s strategy is already paying dividends.
One video of the underground hospital, created by American travel influencers @moonstonechariot, had 152,000 views, which surpassed engagement on all their other Australian travel posts, including Uluru.
And while the council will continue to reach different audiences – its City of Opportunity ad continues to run in the primetime Farmer Wants a Wife time slot – Cr MacRae said it was important for Mount Isa to pull out all stops to bring people to the North West.
“You only just have to drive around to see the number of caravans on the road,” the mayor said.
“People pass through our city every day. What we want to do is capture them and have them stay one more night and spend some money in our town.
“That is part of our economic development strategy.”
Cr MacRae confirmed that the council was also engaging with Grace Harris, an American who is working part-time as an au pair for Traeger MP Robbie Katter.
With a TikTok audience of more than 77,000 followers under her handle @howsweetthesound, Ms Harris has drawn major views of her clips showcasing life in North West Queensland.
Trips to rodeos and campdrafts, Adels Grove, plus the Northern Territory border, have featured in her social media clips.
The council plans to provide Ms Harris with entry to more events and attractions in the region to showcase the Outback lifestyle.
Tourism and marketing officer Erica Shaw said social media influencers were often used to boost visitation in the tourism space.
“Working in collaboration with social media influencers expanded the council’s social media reach and helped grow its audience,” she said.
“Grace Harris is an example of an unexpected Mount Isa lifestyle and travel influencer.
“Her content around living in Mount Isa has seen her following grow. People are commenting things like ‘I have lived in Queensland my entire life and never thought much about Mount Isa, now I want to visit’.”