Tourism Talk Edition

261 - 10 January 2009

Cooperative Marketing Opportunities For 2009

Tourism Tasmania invites all tourism operators in Tasmania to take advantage of its revamped Marketing Together program.

Marketing Together was developed in early 2007 as a way to encourage and assist co-operative marketing between Tourism Tasmania and industry operators.

The revised program now offers access to quality marketing opportunities for the tourism industry and works proactively to encourage Tasmanian operators to participate in national and international marketing activities. This includes consumer print publications, travel trade publications, online marketing, and engagement with Tourism Tasmania in our key marketing campaigns.

The program features a list of co-operative marketing opportunities from which operators can make business choices. It enables operators to plan and allocate their marketing budgets in a manner which best suits their individual needs.

Marketing Together is also designed to complement the seasonal campaigns Tourism Tasmania runs as well as maintain marketing efforts during less intensive periods. This in turn benefits Tasmanian operators in the shoulder and off-seasons.

The opportunities available to operators are detailed in the Marketing Together prospectus and will also be made available online. The online service will be updated as new opportunities arise and will feature opportunities in which operators can lodge Expressions of Interest (EOIs), ensuring that future communications between Tourism Tasmania and operators will only address the areas of interest highlighted.

Further information, including the prospectus of opportunities see Marketing Together

New Zone Holiday Planners

Tourism Tasmania, in conjunction with Tasmania’s five Zone Marketing Groups, has released the first holiday planners based on the new zones. The planners are motivational collateral that provide consumers with information on the unique attractions of each zone and include accommodation and other travel information.

The holiday planners are the result of a new collaborative approach to the marketing of Tasmania.

Extensive consumer research revealed that many visitors, although aware of our natural wilderness, didn’t have a depth of knowledge about Tasmania or its many other diverse offerings. The zone marketing strategy, developed in response to these findings, saw the creation of five marketing zones that better reflect the way visitors perceive the state.

This collaboration between Tourism Tasmania and the Zone Marketing Groups enables a greater targeting of financial resources as well as a better, more effective approach to the marketing of the state’s diverse experiences.

The holiday planners are available off the home page of Tourism Tasmania’s consumer website at www.discovertasmania.com

Climate Change And Tourism

Today’s traveller wants to feel confident they are experiencing the best of their destination without having a negative impact on the environment, and tourism operators must be able to respond to this need. This is particularly true for Tasmania where our unique natural and cultural assets are the cornerstones of our tourism brand.

While some operators have already taken steps to mitigate their environmental impact, others often find it difficult to sift through all the available information and decide what’s relevant to them. Tourism Tasmania’s new climate change website addresses this information overload by providing selected resources designed specifically for tourism operators.

The website features checklists of low cost measures that can be initiated in every business, advice on how to run a green event, fact sheets and tools to help operators reduce their environmental impact and information on eco-certification schemes and consultants who can assist them meet their goals.

The website can be found off the home page of this website or go to Climate Change

For further information, contact Aletta MacDonald, Manager of Infrastructure Development. Aletta.Macdonald@tourism.tas.gov.au Ph. 6230 8127

Hawthorn Football Club Community Camps

Members of the Hawthorn Football Club recently travelled around Tasmania as part of the 2009 AFL Community Camps Program. While in Tasmania Hawthorn Football Club players and officials hosted youth forums, coaching clinics and fundraising activities for local initiatives and engaged with groups such as Camp Quality, Stepping Stones Children’s Services and Down Syndrome Tasmania.

The camps are just one example of the many benefits gained for Tasmania by the state sponsorship arrangements with the club. A recent independent evaluation of the second year of the State Government’s five-year sponsorship of the Hawks showed a net benefit of $15 million to the state’s economy in 2008.

The Hawks will play their first Tasmanian home game of the 2009 AFL Premiership Season on ANZAC Day, Saturday 25 April 2009. The game against West Coast will kick off at 5.10pm and will be the first AFL game under lights at Aurora Stadium.

Tasmania Wins Travel And Tourism Awards

A string of national and international accolades awarded to Tasmania in recent months continue to prove that the state is maintaining its edge as a must-visit destination.

Tasmania received four awards in the Australian newspaper’s recent Travel and Tourism Awards. They were Best Lodge Accommodation: The Lodge at Tarraleah; Best Eco-Wilderness Experience: Bay of Fires Walk; Best Heritage Tourism: Port Arthur Historic Site and Best Food Experience: Stillwater Restaurant and the Mill Providore, Launceston.

The Travel & Tourism Awards also featured a prestigious best-of-the-best Winners' Circle of recipients who have won their respective categories for two consecutive years. Included in this year's assembly, as winners in 2007 and 2008, were Bay of Fires Walk, The Lodge at Tarraleah, and Stillwater Restaurant and the Mill Providore, Launceston.

Meanwhile, highly respected lifestyle publication Travel + Leisure Australia ranked the Tasmanian wilderness number three in its top 10 regions list; one of five categories in the print and online magazine’s list of the “50 Greatest Destinations”. And Tasmania gained further recognition recently with the Bootsn All travel network ranking Tasmania in its top 10 list of destinations for independent travellers in 2009.

Tt Line Leading Tourism Growth In Tasmania

Spirit of Tasmania’s Chief Executive Officer Charles Griplas has announced that TT- Line will promote a new fare initiative intended to increase visitation to Tasmania over the upcoming autumn months.

“Business confidence over the past few months has declined in the tourist sector and our focus for 2009 is to strengthen our position in the market. I believe we can assist the industry and operators by providing specific targeted offers which will lead to a boost in interest and visitation to the state” said Mr. Griplas.

Passengers will be able to purchase a day sailing ticket for $65 per person each way and take their car from just $65 each way as well. Bookings at this price will only last for three weeks starting January 25 and conclude Feb 14 2009.

TigerTOUR Update

Here are the latest additions to the TigerTOUR database.

Accommodation

Manfield Alonnah

Attractions

Hobart City Council Wildlife Tours Hobart

Tourism Tasmania’s Product Consultants can assist you to update your business details, email: TigerTOUR@tourism.tas.gov.au or phone: (03) 6230 8229.