Visiting Journalist Program

The Visiting Journalist Program (VJP) brings carefully selected media from key national and international markets to Tasmania to experience our tourism products firsthand and in turn to create high quality editorial.

Hosting media through the VJP provides a very cost-effective marketing tool.

Editorial is seen as more credible and reliable than advertising – it reinforces advertising messages and adds the ‘proof ’ of the advertising claims and the validation consumers often need to galvanise their interest into action.

Industry who participate in the Visiting Journalist Program often see significant coverage of their product and subsequent increased business.

In 2008 Tourism Tasmania’s Visiting Journalist Program arranged 167 media visits. As a result articles appeared in many prestigious publications including Gourmet Traveller, Condé Nast Traveller magazine, Qantas, Jetstar and Tiger Airways in-flight magazines, Donna Hay, Islands (US), Wanderlust (UK), The Times (UK), The Sydney magazine, Vogue Entertaining and Travel, Luxury magazine (NZ) and ABC Life.

Filming of a number of television programs was also arranged including Travel OZ with Greg Grainger, Food Trail with Paul Mecurio, Jack Hanna’s into the Wild (USA), Australian Geographic Film, Diary of a Foodie (USA), Bill’s Holiday with Bill Grainger, My Aussie Adventure (Malaysia), Today Show, Getaway and The Last Paradise (Hong Kong).

To participate, you must:

• Have, or be working towards, accreditation in a recognised tourism accreditation scheme. For international visits accredited properties only and operators should also be members of Team Tasmania or working towards this.
  
• Be prepared to offer your product free of charge during the off season (June – August), a significantly discounted rate in the shoulder season (September – November and March – May) and a negotiated discount in the peak periods from December to February and during Easter and school holidays.

For further information contact:

Manager, Travel Communications, Destination Promotion
T: 03 6230 8174
E: shellie.vincent@tourism.tas.gov.au