ANNUAL www.murrayregionaltourism.com.au2020REPORT-2021 Murray River Region Tourism Ltd. ABN 12 150 739 647 www.visitthemurray.com.au#visitthemurray @visitthemurray
Acknowledgment of Country We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land and waters that surround the Murray River. We acknowledge and respect their history, culture and continuous connection to country. We pay our respects to elders – past, present and emerging who have cared for this country for over 60,000 years.
This landscape, rich in story and opportunity, plays a pivotal part in our visitor economy and we thank Victoria and New South Wales First Peoples for sharing this with us all.
1 4 5 6 8 15 18 22 CONTENTS Chair’s Report Board and Team Visitor Economy Snapshot Advocacy and Leadership Regional Marketing Industry Development Product GovernanceDevelopment&Sustainability
CHAIR’S REPORT 1
and various parts of the country again going into lockdown, working from home became the norm, domestic visitors were unable to come to the Murray as borders on both sides of the river closed, and many businesses and their staff felt the impact.
As the pandemic grew and the enormity of what we were facing started to become apparent, numerous initiatives were undertaken, including our crisis management committee and sector specific business round table groups across the region and participation in various state government and industry representative bodies Advocacycollectively.andastrong voice for our region was paramount in every aspect of our combined efforts. The strength of the region’s visitor economy is a shared responsibility with many government and industry stakeholders working together and these partnerships have never been more important than the past 18 months. Importantly we committed significant time and resources toward the common goal of protecting and assisting our Withcommunity.ourregion
We all worked under extreme pressure, involving ourselves in a range of issues and concerns that were often outside our usual core focus in an endeavor to find solutions for our cross border community. Like the rest of the country and the world we must learn to live with the virus and now when we safely open up we control the virus and not let it control us. We are seeing it as a disease of the unvaccinated and urge anyone who has not had their jabs to do so.
It has been an unprecedented year for our tourism industry and the Murray River community, a year that started with hope we had seen off the impacts of the bushfires and COVID-19 as we began the journey through recovery. Then came the catastrophic events associated with the deepening pandemic as the delta strain surfaced with associated border closures and ongoing Importantlyrestrictions.
The year began with Murray Regional Tourism (MRT), as the key cross border driving force for supporting and growing the visitor economy across the Murray region, contemplating a path to economic recovery with tourism a key driver for our region.
though a year where we collectively have shown great strength and character as together we have offered support to our community, local businesses, the industry and more broadly each other.
Unfortunately, the Murray region found itself in the unenviable position of being in the crossfire of decisions made by both the Victorian and NSW governments which still has unintended consequences on the border and led to the Murray visitor economy being decimated by border closures and restrictions lasting 35 weeks, the highest and most severe of any destination in the country.
MRT redirected its resources to where they would best serve our partner and industry needs and continued to review operations to match business conditions.
We were looking forward to a strong spring and summer season with the aim to rebuild consumer and business confidence and little did we know of the profound effect the deepening COVID-19 crisis would have on all our lives and businesses.
Our board and team worked hard to establish the 2020-21 strategic recovery plan centered on five key pillars with a range of objectives aligned to delivering a strong pathway for our partners and industry to move forward and reactivate the visitor economy.
For the year ending June 2021 the region welcomed 4.5 million visitors down by 15.9 per cent on the previous year which had also been impacted with COVID in the country since March 2020. These visitors spent $1.2 billion in the Murray region which was down 26.0 per cent on the previous year, together with a considerable reduction in employment.
has been more important than ever to continue to review and adapt our financial and governance systems. With the current health and economic situation and the uncertain future, there is the need to contain our overheads and improve cash flow wherever possible. Mitigating risks is an exercise in protecting the business in the longer term as we learn to live with coronavirus.
Despite all these challenges, we continued to deliver both a response and recovery program which has mitigated, where possible, some of the impacts and has established a strong foundation from which to relaunch when the environment is right.
MRT continues to benefit from our energetic, dedicated and highly skilled board and I sincerely thank you all for your incredible work and passion that has helped guide us through such difficult times. The level of commitment shown by all board members has been remarkable during the past year. I also want to acknowledge the long-standing contribution of Philip Smith who retired in late September. Phil was a valued board member over the past seven years in a range of areas including finance, audit and risk and strategic matters. His knowledge, experience and professionalism were so important to our strategic processes and Phil should be truly proud of his efforts. We wish him every success for the future.
CHAIR’S REPORT
• Delivery of the Murray River Adventure Trail Stage 1 business case and detailed design project in collaboration with various government partners and made possible through the investment from the Victorian government. Importantly this program secured a significant $10.3 million commitment to implementation by the state government
• Adopted the Murray region 2021-2024 Strategic Plan which is designed to lead the industry and our partners through COVID -19 recovery and beyond
• Developed and delivered a range of innovative domestic marketing campaigns on behalf of our partners and region including the very successful Love the Murray program
The region continues to suffer from the effects of the pandemic and while at the time of writing the report there is great hope as we see restrictions gradually easing, the economic damage of the pandemic will be felt by our Murray River community and local business for years to come.
• In collaboration with Destination Riverina Murray (DRM) delivered a highly engaging and effective destination inspiration industry capacity building program
To this end, I would like to highlight some of the key initiatives over the year:
• Worked extensively with both Destination New South Wales (DNSW) and Visit Victoria (VV) on securing and leveraging a range of marketing programs and opportunities for the Murray region
• Secured a range of funding to deliver both demand driving and strategic intervention projects in 2021-2022.It
• Our expansive research program which has provided reports across a range of strategic areas and insights critical to our advocacy program to governments on behalf of the region
Finally, I acknowledge the incredible tenacity of everyone involved in the region’s tourism industry and our river community, the businesses that quickly transformed with the onset of COVID-19 to keep themselves open and all their teams.
I am very pleased to report that Greg Roberts, Deputy Chair, is being recommended for reappointment to the board. He has always been an extremely strong and committed team player with a great understanding of the cross border challenges as an operator across both sides of the river.
Sincere gratitude also goes to our partners without whom we could not deliver the outcomes for our unique cross border region. In a year full of such challenges, it has been really pleasing to see the strength of the regional approach come to the fore and we are thankful for the long term commitment made by our 13 local government partners along with our state government agencies as collectively we rebuild the visitor economy.
The Victorian government funding will assist our region deliver on the Regional Tourism Review and the Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan and ensures the region maintains a strong entity to advocate for the Murray region across government, industry and community.
It has been, and continues to be, a time where we must all work together for our fabulous cross border destination. The winners will be those who adapt to life’s new constraints and opportunities. Despite all the challenges I am still amazed by the strength and commitment of the people who make up our industry and I have no doubt we will recover from this current crisis stronger and more successful.
I wish you all well and know that the Murray region can look forward to a prosperous future. I am incredibly proud and very humbled to be involved in this fabulous region where the mighty Murray region plays such a vital part as a lifeline to so many communities.
An enormous thank you to our Chief Executive, Mark Francis, and our small and passionate team for your extraordinary efforts. The year has been extremely tough, and we have seen some changes to the team over this time. Now we must provide some stability, and greater support with resources, to ensure our region is given the best opportunity to recover and rebuild and provide a brighter future for everyone.
Wendy Greiner
CHAIR’S REPORT
Chair Murray Regional Tourism 3
Long term funding support has been secured with the Victorian government agency Tourism, Events and Visitor Economy (TEVE) and we are confident that in June 2022 when our funding agreement with the NSW government expires they will again support our cross border activities through our successful partnership with DRM.
I would also like to welcome Natalie Ajar, a skills based board member who is director of communications and engagement with GOTAFE. She will be a welcome addition with strong social media, strategic and education skill set that will be advantageous to us. Both positions are subject to approval at the Annual General Meeting by our stakeholders.
I also want to acknowledge the efforts of our two cross border commissioners, Luke Wilson (Victoria) and James McTavish (NSW) who have worked tirelessly with us on a myriad of issues throughout the pandemic and this will continue as we work through the rebuilding program.
Murray Regional Tourism Team Murray Regional Tourism Board WENDY GREINER Chair NATASHA CALLEWAERT CommitteeFinance GREG ROBERTS Deputy Chair JOHN DALTON Chair Audit & CommitteeRisk JOHN MCLINDEN Murray River Group of Councils PHIL SMITH CommitteeFinance CAMERON SUTTON Audit & CommitteeRisk KEVIN MACK RAMJO MARK FRANCIS Chief Executive Officer ROCHELLE VAISANEN Social Media Manager MAUREEN BENNETT Industry NAOMI HOENIG Administration Assistant RACHEL MINOGUE Digital Project Manager JAKE MORRIS Projects 4 BOARD & TEAM
Total Domestic Travel YE June 21 Domestic Daytrip Travel YE June 21 Domestic Overnight Travel YE June 21 5 Domestic Travel to Murray Region - July 2020 to June 2021 VISITOR ECONOMY SNAPSHOT
Additionally, the research program provided a range of data and insights from which the regions future recovery plan has been developed to guide the collective efforts to build back the visitor economy in a living with COVID-19 environment. research Regional
• Advocate for government funding assistance for the region.
• Continuously evolve and provide guidance and support in implementing the region’s crisis management plan in response to COVID-19
ManagementCrisisCommitteeenacted ADVOCACY & LEADERSHIP
Key StrategicOutcomesResearch
Goal To provide clear direction for growth and development in the Murray region through strong leadership, advocacy and industry engagement. Priorities
Given the evolving situation it was critical to have up to date information across the impacts on our businesses and region along with key insights to assist decisions made by MRT, our Local and State government partners along with industry.
• Continue to be the leading cross border entity for tourism industry advocacy, research and support
Our research program enabled us to advocate to government in relation to impacts associated with health directions, border closures along with measures such as additional support for the industry and region.
Highlights6 9 Researchdeliveredreports 60% Open rate on
Strategic
In responding to and planning for recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, our research program for the year was significant.
correspondencereport 41 UpdatesCOVID $540,000 Directly COVIDinvestmentadditionalsecuredforrecovery 1
• Coordinate access to timely and relevant research with shared benefits that can be adopted widely by the community
• Partnered
LEADERSHIP
• Various
Crisis Response
• Participated in various State government and industry working groups in the development of future strategies and initiatives
• Advocated on key issues impacting the visitor economy including workforce development and planning, river management and telecommunication blackspots and service deficiencies, regional funding requirements and priorities.
Other Activities
• Continued to lead and support whole of Murray strategic initiatives to deliver region wide benefit for industry and community
ADVOCACY &
• Extensive
It is also important to acknowledge in responding to the crisis, the outcomes were not always what everyone desires, however during the year
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• Murray
As part our advocacy and leadership role we also:
Over the course of the year we delivered a range of research programs including: Murray region and sub region Visiting Friends & Relatives research region and sub region visitation quarterly reports and profiles COVID-19 economic impact assessments aligned to lockdowns and border restrictions with VTIC and Victoria University in the development of the Building the Resilience of Tourism Destinations to Disasters research project consumer sentiment COVID-19 tracking reports Industry COVID-19 impact survey research
• Various
In a year dominated by COVID-19, MRT invested significant resources in our response and recovery
• Murray
MRT has maintained our unwavering commitment to the region's response and is proud of the ongoing partnerships which will assist as we continue to work through COVID-19 implications.
As part of our work, we continued to engage with our local government partners through the region’s Crisis Management Committee, formed industry sector working groups to address sector specific issues, engaged more broadly with the industry through workshops and surveys, resourced our communications processes and added COVID-19 updates along with engaging with a wide range of government agencies to highlight the impacts and issues of the industry.
• Secured a long term funding agreement from the Victorian Government which remains critical to facilitating the cross border role and delivering our goals and objectives for the region
• Supported both local government partners and the private sector with a range of State and Federal grant applications to secure investment in key strategic infrastructure projects
Aprogram.keyfocus for the year has been to provide industry with whole of region leadership to address the everchanging cross border challenges which emerged in crisis. We worked collectively with Federal, State and Local governments along with industry partners with a solutions based approach to articulate and elevate key issues and create positive outcomes for the sector and industry.
Goal To be a dynamic marketer of the Murray region in partnership with key stakeholders and the industry. Strategic Priorities • Facilitate access to timely consumer research to help industry make informed business decisions • Implement reactivation marketing campaigns to drive visitation • Develop a region wide program to increase yield from the Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) market • Provide inspiration and information to connect visitors with the destinations and experiences they seek Highlights 951,714 Love the reachMurray 641,916 176.45% Views visitthemurray.com.auon 19 Media stories with reach over 10 million and $600KexceedingAdvertisingValueEquivalent #1096 ATDW Listings 8 REGIONAL MARKETING4 Journalist and influencer familiarisations Content Shoot to Campaign 25 Professional content and editorialcreatedimages
9 Key ConsumerOutcomesWebsiteand Social Channels Over the year, significant focus was directed to driving visitation and an ongoing improvement to user experience and inspire visitors through curated content and information. Key activities included: • Revising content seasonally • Developing dedicated campaign landing pages and associated content • Implementation of road trip itineraries and functionality • Creation of dedicated Travel Blogs • Refreshed social media strategy developed • Focus on building audience and reach • Curating content by season and key experience pillars The approach and investment have achieved excellent results, some of which are highlighted Highlightsbelow: 34711,000+ Facebook Paid Page Reach 92% Facebook Organic Post Reach 10,000 Murray Travel Planners Distributed 570 Travel Planner Online Page Views 21.6% InstagramReachAudience 22,685 Leads OperatorsTo 3 mins+ Blog Avg Time On Page 70% FacebookGrowthAudience 104% Facebook Organic Page Reach 140 NewListingsATDW 220,724 195% Users 277,671 196% Sessions 131,478 182.99% Organic Search 1.17 mins Average Time On Page 641,916 176% Page Views REGIONAL MARKETING
REGIONAL MARKETING Love the Murray Campaign
• Development of the Love the Murray creative and branding
With the continued high level of uncertainty and travel restrictions, MRT took the lead in developing and funding a whole of Murray region reactivation campaign to support our partners, maintain awareness and build desire.
• Over 120 hero images were branded with the Love The Murray creative
• Digital paid media campaign implemented across three phases using the branded hero images
• To increase reach and support industry a dedicated campaign industry toolkit was developed with branded images provided to each LGA partner to share across their social channels.
Campaign highlights included:
The campaign was delivered across three phases adapting messaging across the travel phases from inspiration to visit now as we worked within the constraints of the various restriction levels and border closures.
• Working with every destination to secure up to 10 hero images of their region that highlighted the region’s content pillars – food and drink, outdoor adventure, nature and big skies, family fun, golf and arts, culture, history and heritage.
DNSW Co-operative Program Partnership with Destination NSW and Destinations a co-operative campaign was delivered across the year. The campaign was designed to build awareness, engage with key audience segments and curate new content which could be used in future marketing activities. DNSW Love NSW Co-op Content program highlights included: • Outdoor advertising was in market with two large format billboards located on major roadways leading out of Sydney’s domestic airport • Double-page spreads in Good Weekend insert in the Age, with a total readership of 389,000 • Article about The Murray published in the Guardian to highlight road trip experiences • Australian Traveller Magazine and We Are Explorers promoting road trips and highlighting Mighty Murray River Drive • More than $1 million worth of editorial and marketing value delivered as part of Albury Wodonga and MRT investment into the Love NSW campaign • 2.1 million combined reach of Traveller activity across print, online, newsletter and social media • 6 x editorial features on Albury, amplified through social media and EDM • Tyson Mayr Familiarisation, reaching audience of 4.7 million including a story in Escape • Time Out articles delivered • New content captured by The Design Files • Influencers and content creators Sibella & Chris Court REGIONAL MARKETING
REGIONAL MARKETING Visit Victoria Co-Operative To improve the quality of tourism experiences in the Murray region through industry education and support. • Space Magazine full page advert featured in Herald Sun • Content development partnership developed with Broadsheet creating custom content - Albury Wodonga - Echuca Moama - Mildura - Yarrawonga • Content Partnerships with Time Out - Mildura – live but not yet amplified - Swan Hill – live but not yet amplified • The Murray featured in Visit Victoria EDM Golf Activity In partnership with Visit Victoria we developed a Golf Activity which included the following: Golf Digest Double Page Spread - Featuring Blackbull Qantas Magazine 15 Greatest Hits - Featuring The Murray - Tocumwal, Mildura & Blackbull SOCIAL InterstateMEDIASocial Media Campaign Instant Experience including Murray content – Spring/ Autumn 2021 Link12,170Clicks 181,393Reach Impressions941,500 A Golfing Great – Interstate Social Media Campaign The Murray Dynamic Ad Link1,132Clicks 56,598Reach Impressions152,808 A Golfing Great – Interstate Social Media Campaign Youtube Ian Baker Finch Fly Over Videos Black Bull Video Link87,353Clicks Thruplays9,972 Impressions202,477 Golf Digest EDM – May100% Murray Golf Digest EDM sponsored by VV 5203 opens (17% open rate) 2.7% CTR (139clicked)people Total243Clicks
REGIONAL MARKETING 13 Victorian Caravan and Camping Virtual Show Despite the challenges of lockdowns leading to the postponement of several consumer activities, MRT partnered with Caravan Industry Association of Australia to attend the Victorian Caravan and Camping Virtual Show This created a unique way to remain engaged with consumers and provided an innovative way to build awareness and increase our audience reach. Public Relations Program This year we worked very closely with the public relations (PR) teams at Destination NSW and Visit Victoria to secure and capitalise on PR opportunities designed to assist recovery and build awareness. Familiarisations YouTube • Ash London & The Polish Club – The Long Road trip – 7 minute youtube • Tyson Mayr – 5 days on Australia’s longest river –3 minute youtube Radio • 3AW – weeklong competition culminating in an outside broadcast, promoting Yarrawonga Mulwala and the opening of Sebel Yarrawonga 20Pressfull page and double page spreads were published during this period featuring the Murray destinations and tourism product in a variety of publications including: • Travel Trade magazines • Daily Newspapers across Australia • Health & Wellbeing • Auto • Airline Hosted Famils • Christine Middap • Sue Wallace • Dennis Anthony • Tyson Mayr Television • Sunrise Morning News – Crosses featuring Sebel launch • Channel 9 News – Evening weather crosses with Lavinia Nixon in region for three days total of 9 crosses • Channel 7 Morning Show – 10 minute Road Trip crosses, with Larry Emdur & Kylie Gillies a Week on the Murray road trip - campaign partnership with Caravan and Camping Industry NSW 72,350 Registrations 4380 Brochure Views 1728 Generated Leads 4 mins 46 secs Average Session 2346 Video Views
• Produced Moama Lights EDM Takeover distributed through MRT channels to targeted audience of 6,500
• Coverage secured in various articles and outlets, including best swim spots, Valentines Day ideas
•
Additional general coverage:
Business Events During the year we continued to generate brand awareness and support the region’s business event sector in partnership with Business Events Victoria and Destination NSW’s Regional Conferencing Unit. Through these partnerships, business event facilities and services were promoted to corporate, government and association audiences through a range of online and direct sales activities.
In partnership with Visit Victoria, MRT secured a range of media coverage and exposure for the Moama Lights event activation.
•
• Murray region highlighted through a number of conversion partner campaigns
- Wotif campaign developed to promote accommodation deals from May to June 2021
•
REGIONAL MARKETING Moama Lights Event Support
- TripAdvisor intrastate campaign part of NSW Road Trips campaign and to run until 14 March, specific TripGuides for the Murray feature bookable products and points of interest
Coverage secured included: A feature article in the Age The Weekend Today (Ch 9) show came to promote the Moama Lights event There were 6 weather crosses generated promoting Moama Lights and surrounding Echuca Moama region activities, Visit Victoria social media team attended the event, posting several posts and reels across Visit Victoria social channels.
- Trip.com campaign launched 16 February and targeted intrastate and interstate markets to promote accommodation, air fares and attractions in Sydney and NSW with the Murray being one of the featured regions
Dedicated Murray region feature included in February 2021 edition of the DNSW media newsletter Uncovered - Distributed to 1,200 journalists and media partners every month
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• The Murray also included in numerous media pitches distributed to domestic travel, lifestyle and trade print, online and broadcast media
INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT GoalHighlights To improve the quality of tourism experiences in the Murray region through industry education and support. Strategic Priorities • Facilitate a tourism education program to address identified gaps and develop the capability and competitiveness of the region’s industry • Facilitate where appropriate implementation of the Murray Visitor Engagement Strategy recommendations phase one Key TourismOutcomesManagerForums Delivered the Tourism Manager Forum program as an effective means of engaging with our local government tourism leaders to share information, develop region wide responses and initiatives and build leadership capacity across the Murray region. Given the COVID-19 operating environment, the program was enhanced to shift in frequency and delivery model. Over the year we were extremely pleased to facilitate 10 forums with a mixture of briefing sessions, strategic development and education content. 2 Industryprogramsdevelopmentdelivered 10 TourismdeliveredForums 95% Tourism attendanceForumlevel 1 Visitor TrainingServicingProgram 3 InspirationDestinationworkshop 135 Attendees participated in InspirationDestinationworkshops
As identified in the strategy, the delivery of face to face information is changing through a combination of evolving customer needs, delivery approaches and technology and the training was delivered to ensure the Murray region remains at the forefront of visitor servicing. intensive program consisted
The
The program was developed to build customer capability of the Murray region visitor information centre staff and volunteers. It was delivered to better equip the team through increasing knowledge, skills and expertise to assist with the activation of the Murray region Visitor Engagement Strategy.
INDUSTRY EDUCATION & TRAINING Visitor InformationServicingtoInspiration Program
of: 7 ModuleContentCourse fromGuidancecustomerexperts 58 Number participantsof 15 Number workshopsofdelivered Combination of delivery through webinars, workbooks and drop in sessionsgroup 16
Industry Education & Training Destination Riverina Murray and Murray Regional Tourism partnered to launch this industry mentoring program. The main goal of the program is to support the creation of new visitor experiences for the Riverina and Murray regions. Program Objectives Other Training Continue to promote a range of industry training initiatives delivered online to support industry through hibernation and re activation. A number of online training webinars, and short courses have been communicated to industry including Communicating with your Customers whilst in Hibernation, Facebook and Instagram, range of programs across broad range to topics developed by Destination NSW, VTIC, Business NSW & Restaurant, Caterers Association. DESTINATION INSPIRATION INDUSTRY MENTORING 3 Workshops across the Murray Audience of over 135 participants 15 businesses selected to participate in dedicated product development training program • Stimulate tourism investment in the Riverina and Murray regions; • Support development that addresses product gaps and aligns to priority experience themes in the Riverina Murray and Murray Destination Management Plans
Highlights PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Goal To facilitate investment in infrastructure, new products and experiences that revitalise the Murray region’s tourism offering. Strategic Priorities • Facilitate development of driving / touring routes aligned to key experiences and visitor demand • Maximise opportunities from ne markets through a focus on visitor experiences • Develop stage one of the Murray River Adventure Trail business case 42 Businesses supported through acrossdevelopmentexperienceprogramsHotelEnergyUpliftProgram,NSWRefreshandRenewProgramandExperienceEnhancement 6 Road Trip developedItineraries 70 Murray River Road product completedauditsand businesses identified for initial phase 1 development DetailedCompletedDesign Murray River Adventure Trail Stage 1 Business Case and detailed design completed $10.3 million Secured to implement elements of Stage 1 of the Murray River Adventure Trail Project $2.2 million Secured for River3enhancementthetoPortsofMurrayexperiences 1 New Ports to the Murray Experience developed with Tocumwal Aviation Museum constructed 3 Key EngagementVisitorstrategicprojectsdeveloped 18
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Key ExperienceOutcomesDevelopment Over the period, a strong focus on engagement with our local government partners and the region’s tourism businesses to support product development initiatives including assisting a range of destinations with strategic infrastructure projects and private sector investors with new and enhanced projects. To further assist in advancing projects a dedicated grant assistance program was implemented to support businesses. The program provided one on one dedicated support for businesses in the development and review of a range of grant funding programs BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 42 Businesses registered for support to develop applications - resulting in 30 applications submitted 5 successful applicants through Refresh & Renew program ($10,000 granted) 1 successful applicant through Experience Enhancement ($150,000 granted) 19
Alpaca Maps & Road Trips ALPACA MAPS PAGE VIEWSAVERAGE TIME ON PAGE Murray Farm Gate Trail 345 3:07 Murray Silo Art and Murals Trail 3,464 2:38 Foodies Paradise Trail 187 3:12 Golfing along the Murray Trail 95 2:38 National Park Trail 181 2:03 Corowa History Trail 114 1:29 ROAD TRIPS PAGE VIEWSAVERAGE TIME ON PAGE Heritage Trail 256 1:52 River Experience 274 1:53 Family Friendly 185 2:50 Caravan and Camping 3297 3:17 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Murray River Road Murray River Road is a key strategic project designed to reposition the Murray region to a younger audience. The goal is to increase the number of nights spent in the Murray region through the promotion of end-to-end experience led road trips. The initiative aims to capture a larger segment of domestic visitors that are motivated by our key experiences and core themes covered are ‘best in craft’, ‘seasons and senses’ and ‘passage of time’. During the 2020/21 year, advancements have been made towards releasing the product to market and utilizing the product as a key driver in COVID recovery for the region. 2 Productconductedaudit 70 Hero opportunitiesexperiencealignedtobrandpillar Content gap completedanalysis Phase 1 developedwebsite20Drive/Touring Implementation of Alpaca Mapping itinerary builder into Visit The Murray Website to compliment existing road trips. 9787 OnlineViewsPage 2.11 mins Average Time On Page
• Visitor Information to Inspiration training program delivered to visitor information centre staff and volunteers
Yarrawonga Interpretive Centre
• Murray Visitor Inspiration Point (VIP) framework pilot launched to test the opportunities in both Moira Shire and Mildura region.
• Koondrook Arbuthnot Sawmill
• Tocumwal Aviation Project
Murray River Adventure Trail (Stage 1)
Visitor Engagement Strategy
Key projects advanced in implementing the Visitor Engagement Strategy included:
• VIC Hub design pilot in partnership with Echuca Moama Tourism. Through the program an architect was engaged to develop concepts for the hub as a pilot which could be replicated across the region
In the pursuit of implementing the Murray region Visitor Engagement Strategy, we developed a range of initiatives which were both whole of region and also pilot opportunities for particular destinations.
Implementation
Ports of the Murray River Ports of the Murray River is a key whole of region strategic project with continued progression through the development lifecycle being made for each of the respective projects over the year.
• Echuca Moama Bridge Arts Project
• Wentworth Riverfront Murray and Darling Junction Project
•
Following the Victorian Government’s $500,000 commitment to the detailed design phase, GHD completed the business case, detailed design and trail alignment, cultural heritage studies, interpretative experience development, signage strategy and implementation plan. Through this detailed work, $10.3 million in funding was secured from the Victorian Government for construction of Stage 1 of the trail.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Goal To be a sustainable, transparent and effective organisation focused on making a difference. Strategic Priorities • Oversee on behalf of the region the COVID-19 reactivation plan response in an agile and adaptive manner • Establish industry advisory committees or focus groups as necessary to inform planning and coordination and respond to the evolving operating ecosystem During the year MRT continued to deliver outcomes that support the achievement of our long term vision for the region and rebuilding a strong and vibrant visitor economy. Key Outcomes • Implemented the Murray Regional Tourism 2020-21 COVID-19 Strategy and associated reactivation plan to assist our local government partners and industry manage the pandemic and prepare for recovery • Constantly reviewed and adapted with our partners and industry through the continuously evolving operating environment • Embedded key strategies into the organisation to align with our State tourism partners’ recovery plans • Strengthened relationships with key partners and external stakeholders • Refined business processes to enhance our sustainability and deliver long term benefits GOVERNANCE & SUSTAINABILITY Highlights $ Secured long term VictorianinvestmentGovernment # Delivered the 2020-21 StrategicCOVIDPlan Responded to COVID impacts in partnership with Visit Victoria, DNSW and 13 StrategicGovernmentsLocalpriorities Developed 2021-2024 Murray StrategicRegionPlan Partnership with 13 LocalsecuredGovernment 22
Murray Regional Tourism Board PO Box 357, Echuca, Victoria 3564 p. (03) 5480 7110 e.info@mrtb.com.au w. murrayregionaltourism.com.au w. visitthemurray.com.au
