Industry - Newsletter

Tourism Talk Edition 248

DOING TOURISM BUSINESS BETTER

Tourism Tasmania is making fundamental changes to the way it does business.  The organisation is repositioning itself to improve the way it delivers services to the Tasmanian tourism industry and, more importantly, in the way it distributes Tasmanian tourism product to the world.

Tourism Tasmania’s Chief Executive Officer, Felicia Mariani, said tourism operators have witnessed rapid change in tourism and travel trends over the past decade including major shifts in consumer behaviour.

“Over the last few years, Tourism Tasmania has worked hard to  improve its relevancy in leading the industry to jointly deliver marketing and development  programs that will  drive benefits for all Tasmanians.

Speaking at the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania conference in Launceston, Ms Mariani said, “accordingly, Tourism Tasmania has been considering its ongoing role in the way it takes  Tasmanian tourism product to the market. 

“This has involved a comprehensive evaluation of future trends of distribution and wholesale businesses globally and consideration of the effectiveness of Tourism Tasmania’s current role in these markets.

“We have  determined that in order to be as effective as possible in our role to distribute Tasmanian product globally, we need to broaden our distribution mix so that it no longer relies on wholesale as the primary  channel through which to take Tasmanian tourism product to  market.  Wholesale distribution is still a very important part of the mix in connecting with consumers in their holiday choices.  But it is just that, a part of the mix - and Tourism Tasmania must engage across all channels where today’s savvy consumers are searching for their holiday options.

“Over the coming months, Tourism Tasmania will be introducing a range of new and exciting initiatives including an open exchange booking platform for www.discovertasmania.com; new partnership arrangements with our  travel trade that are jointly developed to achieve agreed objectives; and furthering our online capabilities through the consumer website by clearly establishing discovertasmania.com as the portal for ‘All Things Tasmania.’

Ms Mariani said it was important to note that the organisation was building on its wholesaling capabilities – not replacing them.

“We are simply broadening our mix of distribution channels to better meet the needs of our customers.”

NEW TOOLS TO HELP INDUSTRY

In keeping with the theme of the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania Conference – A Sustainable Future – Tourism Tasmania has launched new programs and market intelligence to further empower tourism operators to grow their business and, in turn, strengthen the future of the industry as a whole.

Start Point

Start Point is aimed at providing intending, existing and new tourism operators with an online resource giving access to information relevant to industry’s needs.

Start Point is also designed to assist in the development and sustainability of tourism product. It provides information on the resources available, details helpful tools and lists organisations to contact for information, guidance and assistance.

It contains six subject areas tailored to meet the needs of the tourism industry including:

  1. How to get started in tourism
  2. Where to get assistance in writing an effective business plan
  3. What regulatory issues you need to be aware of
  4. Where to access research resources to identify and connect with customers
  5. Where to go to find out about distributing and marketing your product
  6. What opportunities exist for professional training to equip you with the skills necessary to succeed?

For more information visit industry.tourismtasmania.com.au/startpoint or contact Tourism Tasmania’s Manager Regional Development, Bridget Walch, at Bridget.Walch@tourism.tas.gov.au or phone (03) 6230 8358.

Building Visitor Experiences

In an incredibly competitive industry, the quality of the visitor experience is the key to success. It’s what sets businesses, tourism products and regions apart – and it’s what delivers the brand promise for you and the Tasmanian tourism industry.

A new website has been created to help support you and your business to develop and grow. You will have access to training and workshops, case studies, resources, and an on-line forum (coming soon) so that we can help you create exciting new visitor experiences and refresh existing ones.

For more information visit industry.tourismtasmania.com.au/bve or contact Tourism Tasmania’s Manager Experience Development, Nicky McKibben, at Nicky.Mckibben@tourism.tas.gov.au or phone (03) 6230 8154.

Industry Performance Analysis Tool (IPAT)

This is an online tool that captures, analyses, reports and shares key performance data for the travel and tourism industry.  Importantly, it allows operators to easily generate a variety of business reports, analyse and their own performance and compare it with that of similar businesses.

IPAT was developed by the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism and adapted for use in Tasmania by Tourism Tasmania.  The data from individual operators is held confidentially and cannot be accessed by any other operator.

For more information about IPAT contact Tourism Tasmania’s Sue Dobson at ipattas@tourism.tas.gov.au or call telephone (03) 6230 8231.

Insights Program

This program provides regular meaningful updates of current issues, trends and challenges facing the tourism industry.  The insights – which provide critical information about  consumer behaviour, the future visitor market, the products, services and experiences being sought by our visitors – is designed to help all operators make appropriate decisions about their business.

The latest insights information can be viewed at www.tourismtasmania.com.au/research

If you would like to have a presentation on the detail at your next Local Tourism Association meeting, contact the Coordinator Industry Development in your area:

South: Gill Parssey at Gill.Parssey@tourism.tas.gov.au or (03) 6230 8310

North: Rebecca King at Rebecca.King@tourism.tas.gov.au or (03) 63363233

North-West/West: Wayne Bolton at Wayne.Bolton@tourism.tas.gov.au or (03) 6431 6285