Tourism Talk – Industry Newsletter

I June 2009

Tas e-Connect Showcase Series Starts Today

Tourism Tasmania is providing the opportunity for operators to see and compare the different reservation management systems currently integrated, or soon to be integrated, to the Tas e-Connect open exchange.

Representatives from Frontdesk, RMS, Fidelio, Respax, JBS and Roamfree will present to you and be available to answer your questions.

The Tas e-Connect Showcase comes after the recent announcement by the Roamfree Group that it will be integrating to the Open Booking Exchange and, therefore, provide access for a range of booking systems including BookEasy, Levart, Charts and Channel Manager.

Hobart, Monday 1 June 2009
2.00 – 5.00pm
The Old Woolstore
1 Macquarie St

Burnie, Tuesday 2 June 2009
2.00 – 5.00pm
Burnie Civic Centre
Wilmot St

Launceston, Wednesday 3 June 2009
2.00 – 5.00pm
Country Club Tasmania
Country Club Ave, Prospect Vale

For more information, please call the Tas e-Connect Help Desk on 1300 303 259 or email taseconnect@tourismtasmania.com.au

Discover Tasmania TV Series Rates High

The second series of Tourism Tasmania’s television program, Discover Tasmania is proving to be very popular in both its Thursday 7.30pm and Saturday 5.30pm timeslots.

The half-hour episodes, which began on 23 April are hosted by Better Homes and Gardens chef Ed Halmagyi, and actor Jack Campbell from All Saints Medical Response Unit.

Given the great success of the first Discover Tasmania TV show, produced and aired last year, a second series of the show was produced by Southern Cross Television in partnership with Tourism Tasmania.

In the Thursday timeslot Discover Tasmania comes head to head with the nationally produced travel show Getaway on WIN Television. Each of the first five episodes of Discover Tasmania has convincingly beaten Getaway.

Episode five was watched by a combined audience of 147,000 viewers, 48,000 more than the highest rating episode of series one.

This indicates that Tasmanians are beginning to turn their attention away from overseas and domestic holidays, and are looking at what they can do locally.

The latest figures show that Tasmanian tourism is performing strongly during a highly volatile period for our industry in fact, to record high levels. This is in stark contrast to the national figures which showed an overall decline in total trips and a slight increase in total visitor spending.

Tourism e-Kit Upgrade

Operators interested in becoming e-enabled, or simply learning more about online marketing and distribution, can find a wealth of information in Tourism Tasmania's Tourism e-Kit.

The Tourism e-Kit has recently been expanded to include four new chapters. The new titles are Videos for Your Website, Converting a Prospect into a Guest, Online Distribution and Online Distribution Advanced.

The e-Kit is a complete suite of tutorials that covers everything from the basics of developing a good web site to the more complex issues of Google ad words, search engine marketing and online product distribution.

If you don't have an online presence for your business or have one that is not performing to you or your customer's expectations, then take a look at the Tourism e-Kit, available off the home page of the Tourism Tasmania corporate website .

Tasmanian Hotel named in 'It List'

The Priory Country Lodge, Bothwell, was named in the prestigious Travel + Leisure ‘It List’ 2009.

This unique property, built in 1848, reopened as a five-star heritage lodge in October 2008 and is the only Australian property to appear on the list, in Travel + Leisure’s ‘Africa, Middle East and the South Pacific’ category.

The ‘It List’ is selected by Travel + Leisure’s editors, and is one of the most coveted lists of the world’s best new hotels. Through this recognition, The Priory will feature in the annual hotels and resorts issue of Travel + Leisure, (on newsstands on June 22) and online at www.travelandleisure.com.au/itlist.

The Travel + Leisure ‘It List’ represents the very best of travel experiences the world over, and the listing of the Priory shows that Tasmania is continuing to grow its reputation as a premium holiday destination.

Congratulations to The Priory’s owner Greg Peacock, on this richly deserved recognition of his commitment to the provision of a unique and luxurious accommodation option for travellers to and in our state.

New Research on Backpacker Market

Tourism Tasmania has arranged a briefing on new research recently undertaken on the backpacker market. The briefing will include a presentation by Dr Eric Brymer, Queensland University of Technology, on the new backpacker research. The research addresses topics like:

  • Travel itinerary and route planning
  • Transport and accommodation choices
  • Booking and purchasing arrangements
  • Existing and emerging activity patterns

The workshop is open to all operators interested in this market.

The material presented will also be available, on request, to operators not able to attend.

When: 16 June from 2.30 to 4.30.

Where: Hadleys Hotel, Bowen Room, Hobart

Those interested in attending or requesting the presentation material should email or ring Sarah Hunter on 6230 8123 or Frank Hussey on 6230 8199.

Tasmania recognised at National Travel Awards

Tasmania has rated highly in the annual Australian Gourmet Traveller magazinetravel awards, announced recently at the Sydney Opera House.

The Maria Island Walk on Tasmania’s east coast has again been recognised as one of Australia’s top innovators in ecotourism.

The four-day, guided walk in the Maria Island National park was the only operator in the country to feature in three separate award categories in this year’s awards.

Owner Ian Johnstone was runner-up in the travel innovator award, while in the two ecotourism categories, the walk was voted in the top three in Australia in both the readers’ popular vote category and the expert judges’ panel category. The Maria Island Walk is a previous winner of both awards.

Two other Tasmanian ventures, Cradle Mountain Lodge and the Port Arthur Historic Site, were named Australia’s best, and four more were named as runners-up in the awards.

Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain Lodge was awarded the Readers’ Choice Award for Australia’s Best Lodge Accommodation and inducted onto the honour roll of repeat winners.

Port Arthur Historic Site was once again named Best Heritage Tourism destination by a panel of travel industry experts, earning it a place on the honour roll.

More than 33,000 votes were cast by the public in the Readers’ Choice Award categories, with a panel of experts also selecting their pick of the best Australian travel experiences.

The following Tasmanian tourism operators were runners-up in their respective categories: Best Small Luxury Hotel – Islington, Hobart; Best Adventure Tourism – Cradle Mountain Walk; Best Eco-Tourism – Maria Island Walk and Best Tourism Innovator – Ian Johnstone, Maria Island Walk

The Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine is arguably the country’s premier travel and food magazine with an overall readership of 300,000.

Australian Government TQUAL Grants program to close 11 June

Applications will close on Thursday 11 June for funding under the TQUAL Grants program, formerly known as the Australian Tourism Development Program. The program is a competitive merit-based funding program aimed at stimulating sustainable growth in the Australian tourism industry.

There are three categories of funding:

Category 1: Innovative tourism projects. Three options of funding to assist in the initiation, planning and implementation of innovative tourism projects. Grants of $5,000 to $100,000 are available.

Category 2: Integrated tourism development projects. Projects funded under this category should be large scale, collaborative, multi-faceted activities that involve a number of regions and collaborative partners. Grants of $100,000 to $500,000 are available.

Category 3: National or sectoral tourism initiatives. Provide strategic support to the Australian tourism industry by funding national or sectoral peak bodies to develop national projects that offer leadership to industry. Grants of $25,000 to $500,000 are available.

Applications close at 5pm local time on Thursday 11 June 2009.

Details about the requirements for each category of grant and how to apply can be found in the relevant customer guide. These documents are available at www.ausindustry.gov.au/tourism. Follow the links to TQUAL Grants.

Alternatively, contact the AusIndustry hotline on 13 28 46 or by email at hotline@ausindustry.gov.au.

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.

TigerTOUR Update

There are no recent additions to TigerTOUR.

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

Antarctic Midwinter Festival
Ten days of Antarctic celebration
Friday, June 19 - Sunday, June 28 2009
Hobart

See all events