Tourism Talk

Issue 290 - 12 April 2010

Tourism Australia Market Briefing – 14 April

Tourism Australia are holding a market briefing in Hobart this Wednesday, 14 April.

The briefing will inform operators of issues and trends that affect international and domestic tourism, changes in consumer behaviour and expectations for the next 12 months. Speakers from Tourism Australia and Tourism Tasmania will present information to assist with planning for ATE.

The briefing will start at 9.00 am and finish at 12.30 pm.

See the Full agenda [PDF 49KB]

Register your interest [TA website]

Energy Effectiveness for Business Seminar – 14, 15, 16 April

The Business Boost Program is holding a free seminar titled Energy Effectiveness for Business.

The seminar is organised by the Department of Economic Development Tourism and the Arts and the Tasmanian Climate Change Office, and is funded by the Business Boost Program.

Participants will have the opportunity to understand the changes in the national and Tasmanian energy markets and what these could mean for their business; have an opportunity to map their business’s energy profile and identify cost-saving improvements; hear from and find out what energy suppliers have to offer; and lots more.

The seminar is suitable for any small and medium-sized Tasmanian businesses that may be affected by the changes to the Tasmanian energy market and increases in energy costs or climate change.

The seminar will be held on Wednesday 14 April from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at Hi-tide, Devonport; Thursday 15 April from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm at The Boathouse, Invermay; and Friday 16 April from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at Tasmanian Technopark, Derwent Park.

See the full program and registration form [PDF 154KB]

Lumina – A Winter of Festival

The recent launch of Lumina - A Winter of Festivals has attracted huge interest from operators keen to get involved in the many marketing opportunities provided by the festival.

A range of online and print media opportunities were rapidly taken up by operators keen to gain maximum exposure of their product in this exciting new marketing campaign.

Lumina - A Winter of Festivals will feature popular current and new events including the exhilarating tarmac rally Targa Tasmania, epicurean festivals Savour Tasmania and Tastings at the Top, musical extravaganzas Festival of Broadway and Festival of Voices, AFL football at Aurora Stadium and two events making their debuts in 2010 - the Australian Shakespeare Festival and the edgy Junction Arts Festival.

A dedicated microsite lets visitors browse the line-up of events by date, region and genre, as well as provide them with the tools to plan and book their accommodation and travel arrangements.

There are still ways operators can get involved in the campaign. Operators can promote the Festival by placing a festival badge on their website. Using this badge on your home page or other webpage will associate your product with the awareness generated by the marketing campaign.

We suggest you also link the badge to the Lumina website to create a more interesting experience for your visitors. Badges are free and come in three sizes to suit all websites.

Hawks Break Tassie Membership Record

The Hawthorn Football Club has become the first Victorian AFL club to record over 50,000 members for more than one season.

The Hawks recently smashed through 50,000 members for the second consecutive season, with their sights now firmly focused on their target of 55,000 members in 2010.

The Hawks also recently broke through their Tasmanian membership record (2009: 7,300) with over 7,572 Tassie members already on board.

With a target of 10,000 Tasmanian members in 2010, the club looks well on the way to achieving this with the Hawks set to take on North Melbourne on ANZAC day for their first Tassie match of 2010 in Round 5.

See the Hawks website

Qantas adds Direct Services to Launceston for 2010 AFL Season

Qantas has announced that it will add 14 one-off direct services to Launceston to meet team and supporter travel demand during the 2010 AFL season.

The flights will coincide with the four games Hawthorn Football Club is scheduled to play in Launceston between April and August.

The additional return flights will operate from Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth direct to Launceston, with the first from Melbourne on 25 April, ahead of the Hawks’ game against North Melbourne.

The extra flights will provide a timely capacity boost into Launceston for the busy AFL season as well as give visitors more opportunities to travel to Tasmania during the autumn and winter period.

The additional Qantas flights will also meet extra demand for flights to Tasmania with the inaugural Lumina – A Winter of Festivals taking place from May to the end of August.

The new flights are in addition to QantasLink’s regular 17 weekly direct return services between Melbourne and Launceston operated by the airline’s 74-seat Q400 aircraft.

For further information call Qantas on 13 13 13.

Tasmanian Experiences Website Opportunities

Tourism Tasmania is continuing its digital evolution by moving into the world of online social travel networks.

Tourism Tasmania has developed a Tasmanian Experience website within Tourism Tasmania's consumer website Discover Tasmania. 

Linked directly from the homepage of www.discovertasmania.com, the content of the Tasmanian Experience site is generated primarily by travellers with a love and preference for holidaying in Tasmania, and who regularly chat on other social networking channels such as Twitter and Facebook.

The Tasmanian Experience web pages also features posts by celebrities and well-known international travel writers.

The personal stories these travellers post on the Tasmanian Experience pages are taking Tasmania's authentic and unique visitor experiences to a much wider audience than ever before.

Tourism Tasmania encourages operators to advertise within the 'Latest Offers' of the new Tasmanian Experience pages. Each advertisement on the Tasmanian Experiences pages costs $300 and is valid for two months. You can book at any time. 

Each experience is displayed by its category - such as fishing, walking, food and wine, or wilderness - allowing us to match your product advertisement with the Tasmanian experience.

Tourism Tasmania is driving consumer traffic to the Tasmanian Experience pages 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.

Register Now for ATEC Symposium 2010

The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) is holding its annual conference - Symposium 2010, in Hobart this year.

The Symposium is Australia’s largest inbound tourism conference, with more than 600 inbound professionals attending the four-day event.

Tourism Tasmania has designed a package of benefits available to all operators that register to attend the conference as a delegate.

Tasmania Tops Gourmet Experiences List

Tasmania has cemented its reputation as a foodie haven, taking the top spot at the recently revealed '100 Greatest Australian Gourmet Experiences' list, compiled by Australian Traveller magazine.

The Tassie-based Agrarian Kitchen was named the Greatest Australian Gourmet Experience by the list’s esteemed judges, adding to a fantastic year for the Agrarian Kitchen. Former Australian Gourmet Traveller food editor Rodney Dunn opened the Agrarian Kitchen in January 2009. Rodney was a successful applicant for funding under the Tasmanian Government's Tourism Promotion Plan.

In addition to The Agrarian Kitchen, six other outstanding Tasmanian Gourmet Experiences also made the list, including Tasmanian cheese makers, Pyengana Dairy Company (#9) and Bruny Island Cheese (#49), the Taste of Tasmania festival (#51), a kayaking and crayfish experience at the luxurious, award-winning Henry Jones Art Hotel in Hobart (#72), lunch at Daniel Alps at Strathlynn in Rosevears (#82) and fresh oyster tastings at the stunning East Coast’s Freycinet Marine Farm (#97).

The winners were judged by a panel including chefs Alla-Wolf Tasker, Jacques Reymond, Michael Ryan, Peter-Russell Clarke, Maggie Beer, Matt Moran and renowned food expert, Simon Johnson.

This is a great accolade for the winning producers and proof that Tasmania produces some of the best food experiences in Australia.

Pricing Your Tourism Product for Better Profit – 12 May

You work hard…but are you getting enough profit? Are your products priced appropriately to sustain your business in the long term? Do you understand the cost structure of your business? And do you know what the profit drivers are in your business? The answers to these questions will tell you just how good a financial manager you really are.

Pricing Your Tourism Product for Better Profit is a dynamic half-day workshop, tailored to the tourism industry. The workshop will help you analyse your business, review its costing and pricing structure and create enhanced opportunities for generating profit at a level that your hard work deserves.

The workshop will be presented by experienced management consultant, Malcolm MacDonald, Principal of Malcolm MacDonald & Associates. Malcolm has enjoyed a long association with the tourism industry as a former banker and financier, and now consultant and educator.

The workshop will be held in Launceston at Tourism Tasmania on 12 May from 1.30pm – 4.30pm, and in Hobart at the Old Woolstore on 13 May from 1.30-4. 30.

For further information or to express your interest to attend conctact Nicky McKibben on 6230 8154

Tourism Talk Fax to End

Tourism Tasmania will no longer be delivering Tourism Talk in fax format after this edition.

With the emergence of the new communication technologies, Tourism Tasmania believes that the distribution of a fax version is no longer needed, as the vast majority of operators now have an email address.

Operators and organisations currently receiving a fax version of Tourism Talk should resubscribe on the Tourism Tasmania corporate website to receive Tourism Talk as an email newsletter.

So why not resubscribe now?

TigerTOUR Update

There have been no new products added to the Tourism Tasmania TigerTOUR database.

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

Hawthorn v North Melbourne - AFL
Round 5 of the AFL Premiership Season
Sunday, April 25 2010

Targa Tasmania
Tarmac rally across Tasmania with 300 of the world's finest cars
27 Apr - 02 May 2010
Tasmania - Multiple Venues

See all events

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