Tourism Talk – Industry News

Issue 295 – 22 June 2010

In this edition:

Tasmania Wins Bid to Host International Wine Symposium 

Tasmania had been selected to host the 2012 International Cool Climate Wine Symposium to be held in Hobart on 1 – 4 February 2012. The symposium will bring world leaders in their field in the wine industry to Tasmania, helping to build the knowledge of our local viticulturists and winemakers. The symposium will also provide a platform to share the ground breaking research that is being conducted in Tasmania with cool climate viticulturists and winemakers, and learn from other experts from similar regions around the globe.

The symposium is expected to bring around 300 delegates to Tasmania, and with pre and post-event tours for both business and pleasure, is a great opportunity to showcase everything that Tasmania has to offer – our produce, our lifestyle, our visitor experiences, our business appeal, and the island itself.

For more information see the media release.

Latest Visitor Statistics

The latest figures from the Tasmanian Visitor Survey (TVS) showed a two per cent increase in total visitors on scheduled air and sea services compared to the same period in the previous year. In the 12 months to March 2010, a total of 912,600 people visited the State, with the TVS figures also showing a 17 per cent increase in the total number of nights these visitors spent in Tasmania and an eight per cent increase in their total visitor spending – taking spending to $1.5 billion.

For more information see the full Snapshot to March 2010

Zone Marketing Groups Membership

With another successful year of Zone Marketing drawing to a close, there exists an opportunity for new members to join their local group and take an active role in the promotion of their region. The Zone Marketing Groups are skills-based committees of volunteer members who contribute to the groups’ marketing outcomes and as such, marketing experience and leadership are important qualities to bring to the position. Your representation on the committee is first and foremost as a champion in your region and to take the message of Zone marketing to your local operators and encourage their participation in our programs.

Zone Group members attend monthly Zone Marketing meetings and contribute actively in the advocacy of their region. To ensure the broadest representation across each of the five Zone Marketing Groups, expressions of interest will be assessed by the Chairs in conjunction with Tourism Tasmania and the Zone Project Managers.

To find out more about becoming a member phone Jennifer Fitzpatrick on 03 6230 8172 or email jennifer.fitzpatrick@tourism.tas.gov.au. Memberships applications close Friday 2 July 2010.

Winter Events a Tourism Boon

Lumina – A Winter of Festivals is proving to be a fantastic platform for local tourism operators who organise and promote their own events with many seeing an increase in trade due to their involvement with Lumina. Just some of the events that have benefited from the extra exposure include Quamby Estate Food and Wine Gourmet Weekend and Tastings at the Top at Cradle Mountain Lodge, while bookings for the Nant Distillery Whisky Dinners have increased by 19% and all dinners are now fully booked each month. These positive results demonstrate the success of the Lumina campaign and highlight the potential of events to drive conversion. Lumina – A Winter of Festivals is an initiative of Tourism Tasmania that brings together more than 100 events and festivals across Tasmania from late April to August 2010.

For more event and ticket information including contacts for all participating events see www.luminatasmania.com

Event to Revive Tasmania’s Motorsport Heritage

A new event for Tasmania will celebrate Longford's fascinating motor-racing heritage and aims to re-establish the town as a motor-racing destination, with sections of the legendary 'Flying Mile' sure to attract motorsport legends and enthusiasts from Australia and overseas.

The Longford Revival Festival will become the third event managed each year by Octagon Australia in Tasmania. A new three-year agreement between the State Government and Octagon will see the State Government provide $350,000 each year to Octagon to manage and promote three annual motoring events a year in Tasmania. The Longford Revival Festival will stand alongside Targa Tasmania and Targa Wrest Point in Tasmania’s prestigious motor-racing event calendar.

More on the Longford Revival website.

Tasmanian Tourism Conference - 6 July

Registration is now open for the Tasmanian Tourism Conference 2010. The theme of this year's conference is Explore, Unwind, Engage and Taste – The Tasmanian Experience.

Hosted by the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania (TICT), the conference provides an invaluable experience for all tourism operators to attend informative presentations, find about new products and gain networking opportunities in a relaxed environment. Tourism Tasmania CEO, Felicia Mariani, will be speaking at the conference, and taking the opportunity to launch Tourism Tasmania's Strategic Plan 2010-2013.

For further information contact Cassandra Smith at the TICT on 6224 1930 or cassandra.smith@tict.com.au

Isle Of Spirits - Tasting Event

Drysdale’s annual Isle of Spirits is an educational event that consists of premium spirit tastings. This year will incorporate food matching with products from the Tasmanian distilleries : The Lark Distillery, Nant, Tasmania Distillery, Strait Drinks and Hellyer’s Road.

The event provides the opportunity to match Tasmanian spirits with food, sample distiller products, meet all the distillers in one place, learn about the range of spirits by the above producers and network and meet other people in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry. A master class ($40) will run from 5:45pm-7:15pm and general session ($10) from 7:30pm-9:30pm. The event will be held on Monday 26 July at Drysdale House, 59 Collins Street, Hobart. 

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

Festival of Voices 

Australia's annual festival of choirs
Wednesday, 7 - 11 July 2010
Hobart - Multiple Venues 

See all events