Tourism Tasmania - Supporting our Industry Rebuild

SUPPORTING OUR INDUSTRY’S REBUILD

THROUGH ENTICING TASMANIANS TO EXPLORE THEIR OWN BACKYARD

We all know Tasmania is a special place but no matter how well travelled some of us may be within our island home, there’s always more we can explore, uncover and enjoy. Our job, as Tasmania moves through the phases of recovery, is to encourage Tasmanians to get out safely and do just that.

John Fitzgerald CEO, Tourism Tasmania

The tourism and hospitality industry has been impacted greatly by the controls that have been put in place to control the spread of COVID-19. As restrictions ease, we are now challenged to ensure that the hard work we have all done has not been in vain.

The Premier has spoken about a phased recovery over the coming months. For this approach to work, we must all continue to do the right thing to reduce the risk of outbreaks.

This path will not be easy but there are signs of hope that we are on the way to recovery for our community and industry. Tasmanians will soon be able to travel around the state and accommodation will be able to reopen. Our hospitality businesses are already slowly increasing in the number of patrons they can serve.

Image credit: Luke Tscharke

Our traditional interstate and international markets are not available to us right now so encouraging Tasmanians to spend money and support our tourism and hospitality businesses has become one of Tourism Tasmania’s primary focuses. Consumer attitudes to travel and non-essential activities have been impacted by the experiences of the past few months. Our research and insights tell us that safety will be key consideration for people. So from mid-June, subject to public health advice, we’ll be launching: Tasmania – make yourself at home The Make Yourself at home campaign will remind Tasmanians of what makes

the state so special and encourage them to explore the state and take their holiday in Tasmania this year. It provides a call to action to enjoy our regions, destinations and experiences and take a well-deserved restorative break after these unprecedented times. We know Tasmanians like to travel and the insights from data collected preCOVID show that Tasmanians travelled out of the state on around 273,000 trips with an average length of 10 nights during July to September 2019 alone. In the same period, Tasmanians undertook around 1.85 million day trips and around 339,000 overnight trips within the state. We are currently undertaking research with local company EMRS to understand the intrastate market in more I truly believe Tourism Tasmania has a core responsibility to support our industry at every stage of recovery, even in the intrastate market which is normally not within our remit. Our Government has supported us to do this and we remain committed to working with our regional tourism organisations to represent our regions and bring whatever support we can do you during this difficult time.

John Fitzgerald CEO, Tourism Tasmania

depth in a COVID-19 world, including attitudes to travel, size and expenditure intentions. We will share this when we have it. We’re also working on a separate but complementary campaign to encourage Tasmanians to support our local pubs, restaurants, cafes and hospitality businesses, to support their local venues when they are able. We understand that the intrastate market is not a full market opportunity for all businesses. Some of you may choose to reopen for this market, while others will not.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, THIS IS WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW TO PREPARE?

1. If you wish to reopen, you are required to comply with minimum standards of the COVID-19 Safe

Workplaces Framework. 2. Seek assistance from the Business Tasmania hotline or the free Collins

SBA service if you have questions around any

COVID-19 financial assistance you are currently receiving. 3. Register your business on the Buy Something

Tasmanian website, currently being developed to support the campaign and the tourism industry with enhanced functionality and campaign landing pages.

Image credit: Lusy Productions

4. Determine what you will offer the intrastate market (deals, special experiences, value-adds etc). 5. Select or prepare product image/s that reflect the current restrictions for use in your marketing activity 6. Many consumers will search for information online so ensure your business information and operating hours are up to date on Google for Business and on the

ATDW which will update your listing on Discover

Tasmania and other travel websites. 7. Information on a campaign conversion channel (website) will be confirmed shortly where you can register your details and any special offers.

8. Stay tuned to Tourism Talk for an industry toolkit and more information on how you can be involved in the campaign. I will stress that our entry to market will be subject to public health advice and Tasmanian Government guidance. Until then, we’ll be communicating as much as possible about how you can prepare. More information for operators about the campaign and how to prepare is available at www.tourismtasmania.com.au and subscribe to Tourism Talk for updates, further insights and an industry toolkit that will be available in the coming weeks.