Tourism Talk – Industry Newsletter

Tourism Tasmania Adopts Online Booking Technology

Visitors to Tourism Tasmania's consumer website www.discovertasmania.com are now able to search the availability and rates of all bookable Tasmanian tourism products that have selected discovertasmania.com as a distributor. Consumers can then transact that booking instantly online in a few easy steps.

Individual product pages have also been redesigned to feature the search and booking functionality, and will present each available point of booking that is connected to the open booking exchange and that has selected discovertasmania.com as a distributor.

Consumers will also benefit from improvements to the website's search tools that make it easier and quicker to find products and experiences and convert their interest into a booking.

The introduction of a prominent online booking capability is part of Tourism Tasmania's broader Tas e-Connect digital distribution initiative. The initiative aims to grow the number of Tasmanian tourism products bookable online while also increasing the number of online distribution channels selling Tasmanian products.

The inclusion of the online booking technology reinforces the website's position as the leading source of motivational and informative content on Tasmania and enhances the reputation of the site as a key destination for booking Tasmanian holidays online.

If you’re interested in getting your tourism product bookable on www.discovertasmania.com then you may wish to attend a Tas e-Connect workshop in your region. The workshops are part of a second series of Tourism Tasmania state-wide roadshows starting this week.

The full program and a downloadable discovertasmania.com prospectus are available at www.tourismtasmania.com.au/taseconnect or contact the Tas e-Connect Help Desk on 1300 303 259, email taseconnect@tourismtasmania.com.au.

Tas E-Connect Roadshows

If you’d like to hear about the exciting new opportunities on www.discovertasmania.com for your tourism business or you’d like to find out more about the Tas e-Connect initiative, then attend Tourism Tasmania’s second round of Tas e-Connect Roadshows.

Starting on Tuesday 21 April in Burnie, the Tas e-Connect team will then travel to Ulverstone, Launceston, Hobart, Woodbridge, Queenstown and Strahan.

The workshops will be kept to small groups and include an introduction to Tas e-Connect as well as new information on the distribution opportunities of Tourism Tasmania’s Discover Tasmania website, now adapted to include online booking technology.

There will also be a dedicated question and answer session.

Numbers are limited so please contact a Tas e-Connect team member now to reserve your place on 1300 303 259 or email taseconnect@tourismtasmania.com.au.

Reservations close strictly 24 hours prior to the commencement of each workshop or as soon as all places are taken.

Note that due to low numbers the workshop planned for Stanley on 20 April has been cancelled.

A list of workshops can be found on our corporate website.

New Grants Program to Boost Tourism Quality and Innovation

The Australian Government recently launched Tqual Grants– an $8.5 million competitive grants program to promote strategic investment in quality and innovation in the Australian tourism industry.

The grants replace the previous Australian Tourism Development Program.

Tqual Grantswill support initiatives that develop innovative product, services or systems within the tourism industry; contribute directly to long-term economic development in the host region or; develop or support high quality visitor services and experiences.

The size of the grants will reflect the strategic benefit of the application:

  • Innovative tourism projects will be eligible for grants between $5,000 - $100,000
  • Integrated tourism development projects are eligible for grants from $100,000 - $500,000
  • National or sectoral tourism initiatives are eligible for grants from $25,000 - $500,000

If you intend to apply for a grant you are encouraged to contact an AusIndustry customer service manager before completing the application form. Contact AusIndustry’s Tasmanian Office in Hobart 6230 9900 or Launceston 6331 4183.

Workshops

AusIndustry will run free information workshops on the TQUAL Grants:

Hobart: Monday 4 May 2:00pm-4:00pm
Bahá’i Centre of Learning for Tasmania 1 Tasman Highway

Burnie: Tuesday 5 May, 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Wellers Inn 36 Queen St

Launceston : Wednesday 6 May 9.30am – 11.30am
Tailrace Centre, 1 Waterfront Drive, Riverside

To register your attendance for one of the workshops, please RSVP to AusIndustry on 13 28 46 or by email: hotline@ausindustry.gov.au by Friday 1 May 2009.

Further information on Tqual Grants can be found at: www.ret.gov.au/tourism .

Applications and Customer Guides are available at www.ausindustry.gov.au/tourism

Importance of Tourism to the Tasmanian Economy

Tourism Gross State Product (GSP) in Tasmania was estimated to be worth $1.024 billion, or 4.9 per cent of total industry GSP.

This is well above tourism’s national share of GDP at 3.7 per cent. In other words, Tasmania is a tourism intensive State. The figures were revealed in the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest Tourism Satellite Accounts and highlighted in a recent report by the Tourism and Transport Forum.

Tourism employed 13,696 Tasmanians or 6.1 per cent of all employment. The fact that this employment proportion is higher than its GSP proportion illustrates that tourism is a highly labour intensive industry. What’s more, the above figures are based on the 2006-7 financial year. Since the Tasmanian Visitor Survey (TVS) shows an increase in visitor numbers over the past 18 months it is very likely that these estimates under-represent tourism’s current contribution.

When indirect impacts are considered, Tourism contributes nearly $1.8 billion to the Tasmanian economy.

Australia’s international tourism performance in recent years has been poor compared with that of its global competitors. However, Tasmania’s performance has been impressive – increasing its share of all international visitors to Australia from just a quarter of a percent in 2000 to 2.9 per cent in 2008.

During this time, international visitors to Tasmania rose an impressive 37 per cent from 111,000 to 152,000.

For further information see Industry Update [PDF 56KB]

Maria Island Walk Nominated for Travel Award

The Maria Island Walk on Tasmania’s East Coast has again been nominated in the prestigious Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine travel awards.

An expert panel of travel writers, editors, photographers and industry heavyweights nominated the four-day guided walk as one of the six best ecotourism experiences in Australia. The winner will be decided by popular vote.

The walk operates within the Maria Island National Park, unique in Australia because of its convict and early industrial heritage as well as its stunning landscape.

In the past year the walk was named the best adventure tourism experience in the Australian Travel and Tourism Awards and also won that same category in the 2008 Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine travel awards.

The Maria Island Walk has been a regular winner of Tasmanian tourism and business awards since 2004.

Tourism Futures - Market Winning Insights

Tourism Australia, Tourism Queensland and Gold Coast Tourism are staging the seventh National Conference on Tourism Futures from 17-19 August 2009 at the Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa, the Gold Coast.

The conference takes a forward perspective on the industry, looking out over a ten year timeframe and examining opportunities and issues for the future.

The 2009 conference theme is ‘Redefining the Future’ and will examine the ‘over the horizon’ trends and opportunities that are reshaping the future of Australian tourism.

Attendees are provided with extensive opportunities for discussion and interaction with speakers, via facilitated panel discussions. This workshop is for all tourism marketing practitioners and researchers.

For further information visit http://www.tourismfutures.com.au/theme.html

TigerTOUR Update

There are no new additions to the TigerTOUR database.

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

Coming Events

Targa Tasmania
28 Apr - 03 May 2009
Multiple Venues

Tasmanian Heritage Festival
01 May - 31 May 2009
Multiple Venues

See all events

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