Tourism Talk - Industry Newsletter

Issue 286 - 9 February 2010

Industry Briefings on Marketing Opportunities 

Tourism Tasmania would like to thank all those operators who attended Tourism Tasmania's  industry briefings held recently across the state.

The briefings aimed to inform operators of Tourism Tasmania's  upcoming Autumn-Winter campaign and the many marketing opportunities it offers. The tour was a great success with briefings held in Hobart, Bicheno, Launceston, Flinders Island, Burnie and Strahan.

The briefings demonstrated the value of participating in cooperative marketing activities and included presentations from representatives from the Tasmanian Industry Council of Tasmania as well as Tourism Tasmania’s Director of Marketing.

All attendees received a handout describing the three different steams of marketing activity available throughout the campaign: the Discover Tasmania TV program; the expansion of on-line marketing opportunities; and the new Winter of Festivals.

A prospectus with the details of the different opportunities available to industry will be available on this website on Friday 12 February.

With positive rewards seen from those operators who participated in last year’s successful Spring Campaign, we look forward to an even bigger and more successful campaign for 2010.

Tourism Promotion Plan Final Report

In late 2006, the State Government released a $16 million plan to bolster Tasmania’s tourism marketing, optimise the performance of Spirits of Tasmania I and II, and encourage more holidaymakers - including Tasmanians - to explore regional parts of our island.

The Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania worked closely with Tourism Tasmania and TT-Line to develop and implement a range of initiatives and funding programs under the plan.

Products and experiences that benefited from funding support available through the plan included the Agrarian Kitchen at Lachlan, the Cherry Shed at Latrobe, the Tarkine Wilderness Historic Hotel at Corinna, the Nant Distillery experience at Bothwell and improved interpretation infrastructure at Launceston’s Cataract Gorge.

In addition to supporting new and improved experiences, the Tourism Promotion Plan has advanced Tasmania's tourism industry’s ability to connect with consumers through additional co-operative marketing campaigns that include e-marketing and digital distribution initiatives.

The final report of the Tourism Promotion Plan explains events leading up to the release of the Tourism Promotion Plan and summarises the achievements of its individual programs.

The report is available in the publications section of the Tourism Tasmania website at www.tourismtasmania.com.au

New Online Marketing Opportunities

Tourism Tasmania is leveraging the marketing exposure available through online social networking channels and user generated content with the launch of the Tasmanian Experiences area of our consumer website www.discovertasmania.com.au.

Coming soon, the new site will feature posts by celebrities and well-known international travel writers and will encourage travellers to leave comments and share their Tasmanian experiences with a global audience.

Tourism Tasmania is inviting operators to advertise on the website during February 2010.

Advertisements cost $300, are valid for two months and can be booked at any time.

When launched, Tourism Tasmania will also encourage people to visit the Tasmanian Experiences website through social networking channels such as Facebook and Twitter, and a range of marketing activities including public relations, search engine optimisation and Tourism Tasmania's major marketing campaigns.

Events Tasmania Grants and Event Development Programs

Events Tasmania’s 2011 Grants and 2010 Event Development Programs are now open.

Organisations such as sporting groups, recreational bodies, cultural associations, special interest groups, car clubs, and organisers of bicycle and motor cycle events can now apply for the grant programs for events being held in 2011.

Local event organisers can also benefit from a range of workshops, scholarships and resources offered through the 2010 Event Development Program. 

The programs are designed to encourage event organisers to consider Tasmania as the location for their next event or championship, and to support Tasmanian event organisers in their event development.

The programs also support many of Tasmania’s home-grown events and motivate a wide range of national bodies and organisations to select Tasmania as their next event destination. 

This year, the State Government’s Event Grants Program is funding more than 110 events state-wide that are expected to attract up to 30,000 event participants to Tasmania.

The State’s $450,000 investment in the programs will inject an estimated $35 million into the Tasmanian economy.

Applications for the 2011 National Championships, Special Event and Touring Incentive funding programs close on Friday 14 May 2010.

Event organisers can obtain booklets by contacting info@eventstasmania.com  or by telephoning 03 6233 5946.

Copies of the program booklet are also available from Events Tasmania or can be downloaded from the Events Tasmania website.

Hawthorn Community Camps

The Hawthorn Football Club recently spent a week in Tasmania participating in the 2010 AFL Community Camp.

The program is an annual event that brings players from the 17 AFL teams to fans and their communities across Australia.

Throughout the week the Hawthorn players participated in fundraising events, community activities, football clinics and sports expos held across the state.

The Community Camp program shows that the Hawthorn-Tasmania partnership extends far beyond just football. It includes other initiatives like the Hawks in Schools Active Kids Program, the NEC Tassie Hawks Cup, and the Success 4 Life program.

The partnership gives Tasmanian kids the chance to see their heroes up close, to develop their footy skills and be inspired to be the next great footballer from our State.

Tasmanians have embraced the Hawks as their AFL club and show their support with Tassie members making up 15% of Hawthorn’s total membership so far in 2010.

A Launceston Tamar Valley Tourism Association survey released last week indicated that 90% of businesses in the Launceston region felt they received financial benefit over the weekends when AFL matches were played at Aurora Stadium. Additionally about 70% of respondents said they received a direct financial increase during AFL weekends.

The Hawks will start the 2010 NAB pre-season series playing Richmond at Aurora Stadium in a twilight game on Saturday 13 February 2010.

Huon Valley Green Tea Sustainability Project

In 2008, the Huon Valley Kingborough Tourism Association partnered with the world’s largest certifier of sustainable tourism businesses, EC3 Global Together, to develop an environmental program that would address the unique needs of businesses along the Huon Trail.

Dubbed Green TEA (Tourism Environmental Audit), the program aimed to help a group of operators conduct their own sustainability audit and collectively increase their operational efficiencies in their use of energy, water and waste.

After two years, EC3 Global is again working with the region’s Tourism Association to ensure the program continues beyond the funded life of the original project.

The newly named 'Green Tourism' program will consist of three stages, each requiring a higher level of commitment by the operator and matched by greater benefits. The approach includes a low-level entry stage of commitment and assessment of sustainable practices; something achievable by most operators.

The program links in with existing benchmarking and verification programs such as Earthcheck Lite, providing participants with a means to measure and manage their environmental footprints.

In 2010, the group will take the three-staged program to other operators along the Huon Trail and make it available to Local Tourism Associations throughout Tasmania.

The program demonstrates that all tourism operators, regardless of size or structure, can contribute to improving tourism sustainability in the State.

No Leave No Life TV Series

An exciting new lifestyle and travel program was aired across Australia over the past 7 weeks.

No Leave No Life, hosted by Ernie Dingo, motivated viewers to take a break from their busy lives by showcasing inspirational Australian holiday destinations.

In each episode, Ernie surprised someone who had accumulated excessive amounts of annual leave through their dedication to their job and whisked them away to a place where their only job is to relax and have fun.

Through Tourism Tasmania, the Tasmanian Government together with Tourism Australia dedicated an entire episode of No Leave No Life to the world-class experiences on offer in Tasmania.

Episode 7, featuring Tasmania, aired on Saturday 16 January and was number one in its timeslot with a total of 805,824 viewers.

It was the fifth watched program of the night and was the number one light entertainment program for the night.

Adventure Racing World Championship

Tasmania was recently selected to host the 2011 Adventure Racing World Championships after beating competitive bids from France and Poland.

The World Championships are the annual finale of a series of nine qualifying adventure events held around the world.

The championships culminate in a multi-discipline, competitive endurance event that sees teams of four tackle mountain-biking, navigation, kayaking, abseiling, and walking and running to traverse a course of approximately 700km.

The 2011 championships is expected to attract over 60 teams to Tasmania, including the winners of all the qualifying events as well as invited place-getters and other competitors who meet the exacting standards.

The event is expected to add in excess of $1 million in direct spending to the Tasmanian economy while the exposure generated through international media coverage and the production of a high-definition TV documentary will be priceless.

The World Championships will reinforce the state’s reputation as an adventure racing hot spot and boost Tasmania’s status as the premier adventure sport destination in Australia.

TigerTOUR Update

The following products have recently been added to TigerTOUR, our product database.

Accommodation:

  • Island Eden – Triabunna
  • Newdegate House - North Hobart
  • Moving Image Boutique Guest House – Sheffield
  • Coles Bay House – Coles Bay
  • Campania Hills - Campania

Tourism Tasmania’s Product Consultants can help you update your business details. For more information email TigerTOUR@tourism.tas.gov.au or phone: (03) 6230 8229.

Coming Events

Festivale

Three day celebration of food, wine, arts and entertainment
Fri, 12 Feb - Sun, 14 Feb 2010
Launceston

See all events