June 2006 Edition
Regional Tourism News
Regional Brand Development Branding a region is about making a promise to our customers. It is identifying the unique attributes of the region and building on these to provide an experience that will develop a relationship with our key target markets, a relationship that will encourage repeat visitation and strong customer loyalty and referrals. To undertake a successful regional branding exercise requires a strong commitment by the tourism industry to deliver the products and services in a manner consistent with the brand. Uptake of the brand advertising and promotion by the industry will attract more customers, particularly those to whom our promise is appealing, but unless we can deliver on the promise when people arrive our success will be short lived. Cradle Coast Authority, with the assistance of International Consultant Rachel Piggott and working with our Industry Steering Committee has finalised a tourism brand profile for the region. Within the next few weeks we will be appointing a design company to work with our consultant to interpret that brand. Having finalised the design elements we will be in a position to progressively implement the branding in all our marketing collateral. We are planning to launch the Cradle Coast brand at our regional conference at Tall Timbers on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th September 2006, and we will be inviting you to embrace the essence of the brand into your businesses promotion and service delivery. For further information contact Ian Waller (03) 6431 6285 or iwaller@cradlecoast.com
Regional Tourism Grants Program Minister for Tourism, the Hon. Fran Bailey recently announced the opening of Round 3 of the Australian Tourism Development Program. The Australian Tourism Development Program (ATDP) is a highly competitive merit-based grants program that aims to assist in the development of a continuous tourism experience across Australia. It does this by supporting initiatives that will: • • • • •
promote tourism development in regional and rural Australia. contribute to long term economic growth. increase visitation and yield throughout Australia. enhance visitor dispersal and tourism expenditure throughout Australia. increase Australia's competitiveness as a tourism destination.
There are two separate categories of the grant: Category 1: Tourism Projects Category 2: Integrated Tourism Development Projects Round 3 of ATDP opened on 28 April 2006 and closes on 28 June 2006. You can find a range of information, including a fact sheet, application forms and guide, on the AusIndustry website or by contacting the Tasmania State Office on (03) 6230 9900 or the Launceston Regional Manager on (03) 6331 4183.
Cradle Coast Regional Tourism Forum The Cradle Coast Tourism team is excited to announce the dates for our 2nd Regional Tourism Forum, "Capturing the Edge". The forum begins with a special welcome function on the night of Wednesday the 6th September and will carry through to Friday the 8th September 2006. We are delighted to be holding this year’s forum at Tall Timbers – Smithton in Tasmania’s far Northwest, in conjunction with the Circular Head Tourism Association. This year’s forum is promising to be a very exciting and important event for the tourism industry along the North West Coast with the unveiling of a new regional tourism brand for our region, an event not to be missed! Please note the dates for the regions major tourism industry occasion in your calendars and we look forward to releasing further information on the forum in the near future.
Peoples Choice Award March 2006 There is a new winner of Peoples Choice Award for the March 2006 quarter, Peter and Janet Hanson the proprietors of “Alexandria” at Wynyard. Peter and Janet have regularly featured in the Tourism Council of Tasmania’s feedback forms for providing a high level of customer service but this month the commendations were too good to be ignored. Well done Peter and Janet. You will receive 12 months subscription to 40o South and the opportunity to be considered for the state award that will be announced at the Tourism Awards in November 2006. For further information or resupply of nomination forms please contact Jonathon Taylor (03) 6224 1930 or jtaylor@tctas.com.au
2
TVIN Regional Meeting Cradle Coast Authority convenes meetings of the managers of travel centres throughout the region on a quarterly basis. These meetings provide an opportunity to discuss common issues and share ideas to provide improved services to visitors and in the process support the local tourism industry. Most centres reported increased patronage during the March quarter and expected continued good figures up to and including the Easter break. The centres regularly report that some tourism businesses quote net rates and expect the travel centres to add their commission. This is not an acceptable practice as it invariably puts the centre staff in a difficult situation of not being able to discuss the pricing with the operator because they have the client in front of them. Travel Centres are expensive to run and they need to recoup some of their costs through commission. If you are not prepared to pay a 15% commission, don’t expect them to promote your business. The state network of visitor centres is currently investigating the potential of implementing a state wide electronic booking system for the coming season. Expect to hear more about this in the coming weeks. Closure of the State accommodation license agency has meant that each visitor centre needs to validate the status of each of the properties they do business with. This provokes considerable red tape and effort on behalf of both the centres and the businesses concerned. The network is to investigate ways of streamlining this requirement, perhaps by using the accreditation system and/or TigerTour. Devonport will be hosting the state TVIN Conference on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th July, 2006 at the High Tide Waterfront Restaurant, 17 Devonport Road, Devonport. All visitor information managers & staff are welcome irrespective of your centres accreditation status. Registrations forms will be available shortly. For further information or to provide input into any of these issues please call Wayne Bolton (03) 6431 6285 or wbolton@cradlcoast.com.
TCT State Conference The Tasmanian Tourism Conference 2006 is to be held at the Launceston Tram Shed, Inveresk on Tuesday 18th July 2006. The conference will commence at 8.30 am and conclude with the conference dinner that evening An exciting line up of speakers for this year’s Tasmanian Tourism Conference has been announced. Among the speakers for this year’s conference are the Hon Paula Wriedt, Tourism Minister; Felicia Mariani, Chief Executive Tourism Tasmania; and Shane Crockett, Managing Director VCubed Pty Ltd.
3
As the previous CEO of the Western Australian Tourism Commission, General Manager of Eventscorp and Executive Director of Australia's Round of the World Rally Championship, Shane is rightfully recognised as one of Australia's leading leisure executives. Shane has been acknowledged internationally as having created benchmark strategies for tourism destinations and businesses, as well as having undertaken significant property and event development projects. In addition, he has worked closely with governments on over 30 boards and committees related to the development of the leisure industry. For further information contact Ellissa branch at TCT 6224 1930 or ellissa@tctas.com.au
Local Tourism Development Grants – Open July 2006 Tourism Tasmania's annual Local Tourism Development Grants program opens 1 July 2006 and operators are encouraged to start thinking now about applying. The Local Tourism Development Grants is a small funding program designed to assist tourism development, particularly towards projects that have potential to provide significant benefits to local communities, or towards improving products or services for visitors. The grants are administered in consultation with the three Regional Tourism Authorities (RTAs) – Cradle Coast Authority, Northern Tasmania Development and Totally South Tourism. As a requirement of this program, all applicants must consult with their RTA regarding their application prior to compiling a submission. This is to ensure eligibility and alignment with relevant tourism strategies. Limited funding is available, with grants of up to $5,000 available to approved projects, with a minimum of $2,000 per grant. Preference will be given to projects that have additional funding sources. For more information, including assessment criteria and application forms, please visit www.tourismtasmania.com.au
New Tear off Map for Cradle Valley A new tear off map for the Cradle valley is about to go to the printers and will be available for distribution in the next few weeks. The design is consistent with the Cradle Country Touring Route concept design and will assist visitors to the destination to find all the services and activities available. For bulk copies of the pads please call Patricia de Sousa at the Sheffield Visitor Information Centre (03) 6491-1036 or sheffield@tasvisinfo.com.au
4
Wildlife Tourism A significant number of visitors to Tasmania (37% 2004 TVS) say they viewed wildlife while in Tasmania, more surprisingly only 50% of those who said they visited National Parks did not indicate that they had viewed wildlife. Why? Research indicate that wildlife is not a particularly strong motivator for many of our interstate visitors, however we know wildlife plays a significant role in the Tasmanian brand and positive interaction with wildlife features highly among the most memorable experiences. The diversity and abundance of wildlife is one of Tasmania’s unique attributes yet the wildlife product available is limited and in many cases undersold. Cradle Coast, using funding provided through the Regional Tourism Experience Strategy, has employed John Hepper of Inspiring Place to provide development plans for at least three wildlife experiences that will increase the profile of wildlife viewing and encourage the further development of experiences in the Cradle Coast region. This report is due for delivery in May 2006 with implementation to follow over the next twelve months. For further information contact Ian Waller (03) 6431 6285 or iwaller@cradlecoast.com
Hobart & Tasmania South Touring Guide Preparation for the 2007 edition of the Hobart and Tasmania’s South Touring Route Guide has begun, with the booking forms being sent out at the beginning of this month. If you have any enquiries regarding advertising for next year’s guide, please contact Helene Stewart on 0419 524 388.
Events Tasmania Xchange 2006 The 2006 Xchange is a one-day event to be held on Saturday 15th July at the Hobart Function and Conference Centre, 1 Elizabeth Street Pier, starting at 9am and finishing around 6pm with keynote speakers including: • • •
Sue Nattrass will present her paper "Arts, culture and events in Sullivans Cove" prepared for the Sullivans Cove Waterfront Authority. June 2006 Edward Geldard, The Sponsorship Unit, Melbourne will present on "Seeking Sponsorship" - looking at techniques for selling sponsorships and servicing your sponsors’ expectations. Naomi Daly, Event Director the Falls Festival, who will talk about the Festival, how it has developed and the challenges along the way.
Xchange delegates will also have the opportunity to select from 3 different workshop streams according to their specific interest. 5
To download a PDF outlining full program and workshop details, please see the link below. A special feature of the 2006 Xchange is that it coincides with the final performances of the "Festival of Voices", for which conference registrants will have access to discount tickets. For more information regarding the "Festival of Voices" program please access their website on http://www.festivalofvoices.com.au/pages/events.html
The 2nd Australian Wildlife Tourism Conference The first wildlife tourism conference was held in Hobart in 2004, the second is planned for Freemantle in Western Australia from Sunday 13th to Wednesday 16th August 2006. The conference entitled “Getting Real About Wildlife Tourism” will feature world class speakers and field trips to significant wildlife experiences in the region. For further information refer to the web site www.promaco.com.au/confernce/2006/wildlife Or ring the organisers on (08) 9332 2900
Regional Events Assistance Program (REAP) The 2007 round of funding for REAP has been released. The REAP has been designed to assist the sustainability of regional festivals and events that demonstrate the ability to attract intrastate visitors and deliver regional benefits. The REAP is an initiative of Events Tasmania, the Cradle Coast Authority, Northern Tasmanian Development and Totally South Tourism, to contribute to the growth of the Tasmanian tourism industry. Applicants are now invited for festivals and events being staged during the 2007 calendar year. For further information please contact Ben Bovill on (03) 6431 6285 or bbovill@cradlecoast.com. Application forms can be obtained from www.eventstasmania.com/reap. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………….
Hawthorn v Richmond - AFL Aurora Stadium at York Park, Launceston 18 Jun 2006
Celtic Force 2006 Burnie Civic Centre - Town Hall, Burnie 24 Jun 2006 Orana Country and Western Concert Sulphur Creek Hall, Sulphur Creek 02 Jul 2006 Hotel Sorrento Devonport Entertainment & Convention Centre, Devonport 05 Jul 2006
The Four Kinsmen Burnie Civic Centre, Burnie 22 Jun 2006 Tastings At The Top Cradle Mountain Lodge, Cradle Mountain 23 Jun 2006 - 27 Jun 2006
Chocolate Winterfest Latrobe - Multiple Venues, Latrobe 08 Jul 2006 - 09 Jul 2006 St Kilda v Port Adelaide - AFL Aurora Stadium at York Park, Launceston 23 Jul 2006 Devonport Jazz Devonport - Multiple Venues, Devonport 28 Jul 2006 - 30 Jul 2006
Newsletter of the Cradle Coast Authority – Tourism Division This newsletter is circulated to the Cradle Coast Tourism Industry on a bi-monthly basis For further information or to submit information for subsequent editions please contact Wayne Bolton on (03) 6431 6285 or wbolton@cradlecoast.com
6