May 2007 Edition
Regional Tourism News
Today Show in Town Cradle Coast Authority with the support of local associations and suppliers coordinate the Today Show weather cross for the week commencing 23rd April 2007. Steve Jacobs did six crosses from Stanley on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday morning Jenny Cox entertained the viewers with the local youth choir from the recently completed Surf Club building that now houses new eateries Fish Frenzy and the Bay View Restaurant. On Wednesday morning the crew sampled the regions produce while doing wildlife crosses from Trawunna Wildlife Park. Thanks to Jason Clare, Jenny Cox, the local schools that participated and all those who helped make the show a success.
Tarkine Plan Proceeding The preparation of a tourism development plan for the Tarkine is proceeding. Project Manager Jenny Evans likens the process to “peeling an onion, every time we peel back a layer we find another layer, it’s a most rewarding though slightly frustrating process”. Jenny would now like to hear from anyone who may have ideas for the development of a tourism experience within or adjacent to the Tarkine, that may not have been picked up with the extensive research that has been undertaken. It is important that we have all the information to input to the plan before we finalise the document and move into the implementation phase. To contact Jenny, ring the Cradle Coast Authority (03) 6431 6285 or email jevans@cradlecoast.com.au
Places still available in Thematic Interpretation Workshops Thematic interpretation is a proven way of making your product memorable. The key is to communicate with purpose. This is your last opportunity to attend a one-day Introductory Thematic Interpretation Workshop supported by Tourism Tasmania. The interactive sessions will be held in Launceston on Friday 8 June and in Hobart on Thursday 21 June under the guidance of an expert facilitator trained by Professor Sam Ham, Deputy Director of the Tourism Research Unit of Monash University.
To register your interest, telephone Robyn Geason on 6230 8360 or email her at Robyn.Geason@tourism.tas.gov.au. The $60 fee includes workshop materials and lunch.
Tourism 21 Industry Workshops For 10 years, Tourism 21 has guided improvements in the performance, competitiveness and structural efficiency of the Tasmanian tourism industry. The success of this joint industry and Government blueprint has been a direct result of the vital role played by tourism operators in shaping the document and their strong commitment to its goals. Every three years, Tourism 21 is reviewed to ensure it addresses new trends in Tasmania’s domestic and international tourism markets and remains relevant for guiding our future direction. The first round of industry consultations for the current review of Tourism 21 were held in December 2006. The Tourism Industry Council Tasmania and Tourism Tasmania invite you to the next phase of this planning, which will be broken into two segments: 1. Hear the very latest research into changes in consumer behaviour as they relate to domestic holidays and visitor perceptions about Tasmania as a holiday destination; and then 2. Participate in facilitated discussion on the content and direction of the next 3-year Business Plan for T21, our joint blueprint for the continued growth of tourism in Tasmania. SESSION TIMES AND LOCATIONS: BURNIE 2-5pm Tuesday 22 May 2007 Bayview Restaurant & Lounge Bar On the Beach 1st Floor North Terrace Light refreshments will follow. Please RSVP to Fiona Rhodes by phoning 6230 8163 or emailing Fiona.Rhodes@tourism.tas.gov.au by Friday 18 May.
Peoples Choice Awards The regional peoples choice quarterly award for March 2007 has been won by Gordon River Cruises. Gordon River Cruises has consistently received high praise for the quality of the experience and the excellent customer service they deliver. A wheelchair bound passenger was so impressed with the extra effort put in by staff he wrote, “the staff went the extra two miles and made my wife and my trip very special”. Handling some customers takes an extra effort and it is this extra effort that sets quality businesses apart. Congratulations to the management and staff of Gordon River Cruises. They win a subscription of 40o South and the opportunity to be selected as the state winner in the 2007 awards to be held in November. For further copies of the nomination forms contact Jonathan Taylor, Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania (03) 6224 1930 or info@tict.com.au
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All of Tasmania under one Cover Tourism Tasmania recently announced that the Tasmanian Visitors Guide is to be incorporated into the Temptations Holiday Guide and distributed as the one publication. While this may increase the distribution of the publication the content will need to be edited to fit the new format. Cradle Coast Authority is working with Tourism Tasmania to equitably edit the text to the new format. This change will mean other wholesalers will not be able to use the Visitor Guide to support their own wholesale publications and the regional guides are likely to take on a greater importance as a holiday planning guide and may dictate further changes to the format of these guides. Cradle Coast Authority will be talking to Tourism Tasmania and the other regions to assess the impact of these changes and how this may impact on the regional guides. One thing is sure, operators, particularly those that are not in wholesale programs need to have a presence in the regional guides to direct enquiries to you preferred booking channel. For further information contact Wayne Bolton on (03) 6431 6285 or wayne.bolton@tourism.tas.gov.au
TVIN Grants Open Tourism Tasmania has restructured their relationship with the Tasmanian Visitor Information Network. Traditionally they funded the four major centres and the regional offices received no support. A long and exhaustive study into the Visitor Information network has resulted in a new grant program with a total of $500,000 providing three levels of support available to all TVIN accredited centres. The program has three programs: Strategic Visitor Servicing Projects $30,000 to $100,000 To provide or enhance benefits or services to visitors on a state-wide basis. Eligible to Gateway Visitor Centres that don’t receive funding Regional Visitor Servicing Projects $10,000 to $25,000 Involve multiple centres in a specific geographic area to deliver cohesive seamless visitor services. Eligible to a group of centres or in conjunction with a regional tourism authority Individual Centre Visiting Servicing Projects $2,000 to $5,000 Centre specific grants to improve visitor servicing or facilities Registered Visitor Information network business. Applications close on the 31st May 2007. If you have some ideas as to how your local visitor centre can improve their service delivery, please talk to them.
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Australian Tourism Awards – Nominations Open Some exciting changes have been introduced this year to the entry process including shorter submissions, smaller appendix and revised categories and criteria! For full information, a list of the Awards categories, what to submit, rules for entry etc. please refer to the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania (TICT) web site: www.tict.com.au or contact us on (03) 6224 1930 and we will post you a copy. Alternatively you can attend a workshop proposed for Devonport on Thursday 7th June 2007. Details of time and location will be available shortly. It is important to read the categories and criteria carefully so that you know what is required before nominating as nomination fees are non-refundable. Each category entry costs $90 (inc. GST). The entry form and payment is to be sent to the TICT by post, fax or email by Friday 15th June 2007. The Tasmanian Tourism Awards is the industry’s night of nights and gives operators a chance to come together and celebrate the year’s achievements. Winners of the 2007 Tasmanian Tourism Awards will be announced at the gala presentation dinner on Friday 2nd November 2007 at Wrest Point, Hobart. State winners will then vie for an Australian Tourism Award. Please do not hesitate to contact the TICT on (03) 6224 1930 or info@tict.com.au should you have any questions regarding the Tasmanian Tourism Awards.. For further information contact Elissa Branch at Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania (03) 6224 1930 or info@tict.com.au
TigerTour Reminder TigerTOUR is Tourism Tasmania’s purpose-built database containing information on accommodation, tours, attractions and hire companies within Tasmania. Any tourism business can be listed on TigerTOUR free of charge. The data is distributed for publication on several websites including Discovertasmania.com and travelways.com.au. The product listings in the special bi-monthly tourist newspaper, Travelways, are also sourced from TigerTOUR. According to Tourism Australia’s latest research almost 60% of visitors coming to Australia research their travel plans on-line, up from 22% in 2003. Tourism product accredited with Tourism Industry Council Tasmania (TICT) is sent to the Australia’s national tourism database managed by the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW), for further distribution to a variety of websites including Australia.com, aboutaustralia.com and google maps. Data is also used internally for purposes such as tracking product numbers, identifying development opportunities and industry mail-outs. With so many tourism distributions relying on TigerTOUR it is crucial that information be up-todate. Tourism operators need to check the listing of their product on the Discovertasmania website (www.discovertasmania.com) on a regular basis and advise Tourism Tasmania of any changes. Contact can be made with the TigerTOUR team on the following; 4
Email:
tigertour@tourism.tas.gov.au
Phone:
03) 6230 8229
Fax:
03) 6230 8353
With the increasing number of national distributors of our product it has become very important to present data with a consistent content and style. Following an extensive national review a number of mandatory rules will be introduced to the database to enable our data to be accepted on the ATDW. For example by the end of December 2007, all product must have at least one image (but you can have up to three images plus a logo) or the product will not be displayed. Product descriptions will have minimum and maximum word limitations and must be written to a particular style. Tourism Tasmania is currently updating records to meet these standards, but assistance from operators by proactively forwarding images and advising changes is essential if we are to meet our targets. For further information contact Paul Leitch or his staff on 03) 6230 8229 or tigertour@tourism.tas.gov.au
2007 Tasmanian Tourism Conference The 2007 Tasmanian Tourism Conference will this year be held at Country Club Tasmania, Launceston on Tuesday 19 June. The conference offers tourism operators the opportunity to hear from a range of exciting speakers presenting the latest developments in aviation, tourism trends, Tourism Tasmania marketing activities and business improvement topics. We have secured Alan Joyce (Jetstar CEO) as one of our keynote speakers this year with more speakers to be announced soon. The conference will offera number of networking opportunities, as well as educational business sessions, during the lunchtime/trade show and Conference Dinner to be held at the Country Club banquet hall. To obtain further information or to register for the event log into: http://www.tict.com.au/snapshots/2007_conference_registration_form.pdf. Alternatively you can contact Jonathan Taylor on 03 6224 1930 jonathan.taylor@tict.com.au
Blooming Tasmania Publication Blooming Tasmania is putting the finishing touches to the 2007 – 08 publication that will again be distributed through the Gardening Australia magazine, numerous garden shows and the Visitor Information network. This publication offers great advertising value and even better if you are member of Blooming Tas Inc. While the deadline is past you may not be too late if you contact Jenni Chapman (03) 6344-6233 or nat_trustpromo@vision.net.au
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Coming Events
May – July 2007
FSB CORAL MEMORIAL SERVICE & REUNION HOBART 2007 Cenotaph & Grand Chancellor Hotel Hobart 12 May 2007 Allied Pickfords Melbourne Kestrels v Sydney TAB Swifts Silverdome, Launceston 12 May 2007
2007 Austalian Superbike Championships Symmons Plains International Raceway, Launceston 19 May 2007 Australian Golf Heritage Festival Tasmania - Multiple Venues, Hobart 24 May 2007 29 May 2007
Hawthorn v West Coast Eagles - AFL Aurora Stadium at York Park, Launceston 26 May 2007 NIDA heads to Tasmania St Michaels Collegiate Performing Arts Centre, Hobart 04 Jun 2007 10 Jun 2007
Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow 2007 Princess Theatre, Launceston 20 Jun 2007 21 Jun 2007 Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow 2007 Theatre Royal, Hobart 22 Jun 2007 23 Jun 2007
Ross Noble Devonport Entertainment & Convention Centre, Devonport 03 Jul 2007
Ross Noble - Fizzy Logic Princess Theatre, Launceston 04 Jul 2007
Ross Noble Theatre Royal, Hobart 05 Jul 2007
Festival of Voices Salamanca Place, Hobart 05 Jul 2007 08 Jul 2007
The National Careers and Employment Expo - Hobart Derwent Entertainment Centre, Glenorchy 13 Jul 2007 14 Jul 2007 Mercure Launceston 10 Launceston CBD, Launceston 22 Jul 2007 Devonport Jazz Devonport - Multiple Venues, Devonport 26 Jul 2007 29 Jul 2007
Hawthorn v Kangaroos - AFL Aurora Stadium at York Park, Launceston 29 Jul 2007
Slava and Leonard Grigoryan Devonport Gallery & Arts Centre, Devonport 29 May 2007
Tastings At The Top Cradle Mountain Lodge, Cradle Mountain 23 Jun 2007 25 Jun 2007 Mersey Art Exhibition and Sale Latrobe Memorial Hall, Latrobe 06 Jul 2007 08 Jul 2007
Chocolate Winterfest, Latrobe Latrobe - Multiple Venues, Latrobe 07 Jul 2007 08 Jul 2007
Aztec Chocolate Festival House of Anvers, Latrobe 08 Jul 2007
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