In the wake of the bushfire crisis, Cue girl Erin Boutros along with her friends Eleanor Baillieu and Elise Mason wanted to think of an idea to help recover local tourism and support local businesses in the affected communities. So they found a way by creating a social movement for foodies and adventurers alike - @emptyesky. The idea was simple, encourage people to plan a road trip to towns affected by the fires, many of which depend on the usual influx of summer tourists and “bring an empty esky” to fill up with local delights. Affectionally called taking the Empty Esky pledge!

Literally overnight the campaign went viral! @emptyesky has an impressive 50.2K followers with people using the #emptyesky to share their travels and finds – racking up an impressive 8000 tags to date. 

Erin told us that “so many businesses have reached out to us saying the Empty Esky campaign has saved them from closing up shop or declaring bankruptcy.”

The campaign has also caught the attention of the state and federal government with many politicians taking the Empty Esky pledge and supporting the campaign long-term. #emptyesky will be an ongoing tourism initiative to support Australian towns impacted by crisis, whether that be a bushfire, drought or even floods. Erin wants people to be considered shoppers: “We want people to shop with meaning and see how much of an impact they make when they spend locally and invest money into Aussie communities!”.

We are proud to share that Erin has been part of our Cue family in Victoria for over three years whilst completing a Bachelor of Management majoring in Psychology at Deakin University.

We want to take this opportunity to champion her incredible initiative as it’s likely that you, or someone you know was affected by Australia’s 2019-2020 unprecedented bushfire disaster. Too many lives, wildlife, homes and businesses were tragically lost this summer and we urge you to do what you can to support the communities who are rebuilding their lives.

Why not plan a road trip and take an #emptyesky?

Get involved @emptyesky