Tourism Talk

Issue 294 – 8 June 2010

In this edition:

Tasmania on Show to the World

Tasmania’s tourism products and experiences were on show to hundreds of international travel buyers at the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) in Adelaide last week. ATE is the largest international travel trade show in the southern hemisphere, attracting Australian tourism businesses, airlines, tourism wholesalers and retailers from around the world.

This year, 15 of Tasmania's top tourism operators joined Tourism Tasmania’s international marketing team to promote their businesses and Tasmania as a world class destination. As part of the promotion, Tourism Tasmania hosted two networking events at ATE and a special ‘Friends of Tasmania’ dinner, in partnership with Pure Tasmania.

Tasmania will be further promoted internationally when Tourism Tasmania and a team of Tasmanian tourism delegates travel to North America in mid-June for a six-day program of trade and media events in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver. The delegation will give product updates, reaffirm our relationship with established operators and raise awareness of Tasmania as the leading destination for soft-adventure, wilderness and wildlife, and food and wine experiences.

Tassie Tourism Ventures Named Australia’s Best

Maria Island Walk and the Port Arthur Historic Site were named Australia's best in the prestigious Australian Gourmet Traveller Travel Awards, announced in Sydney last month. Port Arthur Historic Site was again named Best Australian Heritage Experience by a panel of travel industry experts, securing its position as the country’s foremost heritage site and a must-visit destination for visitors to Tasmania.

Maria Island Walk was voted Best Eco Adventure in the Readers' Choice Awards, adding to its impressive list of major tourism awards. More than 34,000 votes were cast by the public in the Readers' Choice Award categories, with a panel of experts also selecting their pick of Australia’s best travel experiences.

Are you Accessible?

Did you know that one in five Australians have difficulty accessing cafes, restaurants, activities, and accommodation or that almost four million Australians have access requirements or other disability? As well, there are those with temporary disabilities resulting from sporting injuries and medical conditions, seniors with mobility issues and families with young children in prams.

People with access requirements still want new and exciting travel and tourism options and they provide a significant opportunity for organisations that have accessible environments. An accessible business is used by more people more often – simply because it is easier for people to get to and easier for them to use. As a result, they can stay longer, spend more, and are more likely to return with friends and family. Being accessible is also a great way to show that you are customer-oriented and aware of the needs of individuals.

You can now find out how to make your business more accessible with the new Accessible Tourism Toolkit on the Tourism Tasmania corporate website. The toolkit contains fact sheets, tips, tools, techniques and reference websites designed to help you assess, develop and market your products and services more effectively to this largely untapped market. For more information see the Accessibility Toolkit.

Historic Heritage Tourism Workshop

Tourism Tasmania and Heritage Tasmania invite you to a free workshop that will highlight opportunities in the Historic Heritage Tourism sector and help you build experiences that engage your visitors.

The keynote presenter is Richard Offen, Chief Executive of Heritage Perth, the ground-breaking heritage organisation in Western Australia. Also presenting is Dr. Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, international expert in Tasmanian convict history who will talk about a global project with implications for heritage tourism in Tasmania. The workshop will also include examples of heritage tourism experiences, a presentation on innovative digital marketing tools and a facilitated workshop session.

The workshop will be held on Monday, 21 June at Quamby Estate, 1145 Westwood Road, Hagley and on Tuesday, 22 June at Cascade Visitor Centre, 140 Cascade Road, South Hobart. Both workshops will commence at 10.00am and finish at 3.00pm with lunch supplied. Participants will also have the opportunity to tour the premises after their workshop.

For more information contact Frank Hussey at Tourism Tasmania on 6230 8199 or mailto:Frank.Hussey@toursim.tas.gov.au. To attend a workshop RSVP by Thursday, 17 June 2010 to Robyn Geason on 6233 5569 or email mailto:Robyn.Geason@tourism.tas.gov.au.

Register Now for the Tasmanian Tourism Conference

Registration is now open for the Tasmanian Tourism Conference 2010. This years' theme “Explore, unwind, engage and taste” centres on the strengths of the Tasmanian tourism experience, emphasising the elements of our state that captivate visitors – natural wonders, historical icons, cultural heritage and delicious produce.

The Tasmanian Tourism Conference is hosted by the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania (TICT) and is an invaluable experience for all tourism operators, offering informative presentations, new product displays and networking opportunities in a relaxed environment. Delegates will be inspired by local nature-based business success stories - Pennicott Wilderness Journeys and The Maria Island Walk - and enthralled by Mark Fraser, Curator of MONA, who will give industry a sneak peek into the marvels of the Museum of Old and New Art.

The conference will be held on Tuesday, 6 July at Country Club Tasmania, Launceston. 

Digital Coach Program Gets Results

Tourism Tasmania's Digital Coach Program helps operators learn how to do business online. The program gives participants free access to the services of six experts in online marketing and distribution. A total of 147 operators have joined the program since it began in April this year.

The program's coaches make getting online easy by offering one-on-one support, phone assistance and online forum postings and responses at all hours of the day or night. Coaches and participants have been sharing their experiences on the Tas e-connect online forum, making changes to their websites, moving into social media and finding out how to use the many free Google tools.

Here’s what participant Robyn McCarthy from Play A Round in Tassie, a business that offers golf tours and day tours around Tasmania, wrote about the program: "Hey I am Robyn. Went to the workshop today in Devonport and am excited about joining up with the digital coaching program." Robyn joined the Digital Coach Program to improve her business exposure online. With the help of her coach, she achieved her objective within her first week on the program. Since then she has re-written much of her website, used targeted keywords in the pages and images and best of all, her website's search ranking has moved from 400 to number 10 position.

If you’d like to join the online forum or learn more about the program call the Tas e-Connect help desk on 1300 303 259.

Fast Facts on Tasmanian Tourism

A convenient summary of the latest tourism data can now be found on the Tourism Tasmania corporate website. These Fast Facts provide a short and snappy summary of vital statistics surrounding Tasmania's tourism industry including the industry's contribution to the Tasmania economy and domestic and international visitation numbers. Fast Facts will be updated each quarter to provide you with the very latest research data available from Tourism Tasmania. See the Fast Facts

Tourism e-kit now on video

The highly popular Tourism e-kit is now available on video. Designed specifically for the tourism industry, the e-kit gives operators all the information they need to market and distribute their product online. You can watch the Tourism e-kit videos on the ATDW website.

TigerTOUR Updates

The following new products were recently added to the Tourism Tasmania TigerTOUR database.

Accommodation:

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 Adelaide – AFL
Round 12 of the AFL Premiership Season
Sat, 12 Jun 2010
Launceston

Howard Shelley and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Howard Shelley, conductor and pianist, celebrates 25 years of breathtaking concerts
Fri, 11 Jun 2010
Hobart

See all events