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Industry - Newsletter
Tourism Talk Edition 244
IMPORTANT CHANGES TO TOURISM TASMANIA’S DISTRIBUTION BUSINESS
The new financial year will see some important changes and improvements to operations at Tourism Tasmania’s Launceston-based Distribution Office, which incorporates Tasmania’s Temptations Holidays.
The changes, which will take place from 1 July 2008, are aligned with Tourism Tasmania’s three-year business strategy, New Directions, and come after a comprehensive analysis of our distribution business, its activities and responsibilities.
The new Distribution structure will see three new areas created – Industry and Trade Support, Operations, and Business and Financial Management – which will streamline and improve the way we do business.
What do the changes mean?
- For you the industry, this change realigns our resources into more active support for your distribution and development needs, no matter what size of business or level of experience in tourism operations.
- For our trade partners it aligns with the newly created Business Development Team, announced in Tourism Talk last week, who will work directly with retail and wholesale agents who promote and sell Tasmanian product and experiences.
- For our staff it provides continuity and stability. The realignment of current positions will deliver better role clarity to meet the changed needs of the industry, trade and consumers.
This structure positions us better to serve you, our industry today, with a keen eye on what lies ahead in the future.
If you have any questions about how the new structure will work or how you can better engage with our Distribution team, please contact Jan Ross, jan.ross@tourism.tas.gov.au or (03) 6230 8153.
GET BEHIND A TASSIE AFL TEAM
Tasmania’s push for a team in the AFL has received a great boost with the launch of a new website where you can register your support for the State’s AFL bid.
The site – www.tassiefootyteam.com.au – was launched by the Minister for Economic Development of Tourism, Paula Wriedt, on Monday and is part of a broader strategy to get a Tasmanian-based AFL team.
The website features the latest news on the bid, the history of football in Tasmania, endorsements from some of Tassie’s sporting greats, as well as the chance for you to contribute your great ideas on how our bid can be enhanced.
It is hoped the website will help the State Government understand the level of individual and business support for a Tasmanian AFL team: so far support has been very strong.
The website is a key to showing the AFL that Tasmania can generate the necessary business support and membership base – two of the criteria set by the AFL for the Tasmanian submission.
To show your support, register online at: www.tassiefootyteam.com.au.
JAPAN-HONG KONG VISIT REINFORCES TASSIE’S TOURISM & TRADE POTENTIAL
Tasmania’s profile in North-East Asia has received an enormous boost following a nine-day visit by a Tasmanian delegation, headed by the Minister for Economic Development and Tourism, Paula Wriedt.
The visit focused on Tasmania’s tourism and trade opportunities in Japan and Hong Kong, and included meetings with influential travel trade and media, and the official launch of INCAT Tasmania’s latest catamaran.
Japan and Hong Kong are Tasmania’s largest and second-largest export markets respectively, and the State enjoys steady holiday visitation from the two markets.
Following on from the huge success of ‘The Last Paradise’ television series, Tasmania has become a new and exciting destination for Hong Kong travellers.
The five-part travel series was broadcast in February and March to an audience of over 2.1 million people in Hong Kong and generated enormous consumer interest in Tasmania as well as considerable media attention.
The Hong Kong visit also gave the Minister and the Tasmanian delegation the opportunity to meet with some of the renowned chefs that toured the State earlier in the year.
It’s hoped that more of Tasmania’s excellent produce will be featured on the menus of Hong Kong’s top restaurants soon.
The Japan-Hong Kong visit reinforced the benefits of the new Economic Development and Tourism partnership, and the many joint-promotional opportunities for Tasmania’s trade and tourism offerings.
NEW LOOK FOR HERITAGE HIGHWAY ONLINE
Tasmania’s iconic Heritage Highway touring route has two new websites dedicated to promoting the region’s experiences online.
Both the Northern Midlands and Southern Midlands Councils launched new websites recently, with www.heritagehighwaytasmania.com.au and www.heritagehighway.com.au providing local operators with a valuable marketing tool and visitors with an interactive planning resource.
The Northern Midland’s Council tourism body, Heritage Highway Tourism Region Association (HHTRA), fully funded the new website, which features stunning imagery and intriguing stories, events and packages to connect with visitors.
The new site – www.heritagehighway.com.au – links directly to the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse, which allows site visitors access to relevant products, services and attractions for their destinations of interest and contact the operators directly.
Heritage Highway Tasmania, which markets the Southern Midlands region, officially launched their new website on Monday.
The new site www.heritagehighwaytasmania.com.au features updated images and content, places and events that shaped the history of our region, and also links to attractions and accommodations.
Heritage Highway Tasmania received a $5,000 grant from Tourism Tasmania’s Tasmanian Visitor Information Network (TVIN) Grant Program, towards creating the new site.
ZONE MARKETING PREVIEW
Next Thursday 15 May, Tourism Tasmania and the Minister for Economic Development and Tourism, Paula Wriedt, will officially launch the new Zone Marketing Program.
Zone Marketing is a new, collaborative approach to the marketing Tasmania. It’s about using market knowledge and insights to provide regional Tasmania with new growth opportunities and consumers with a more logical and accessible holiday offer.
Stay tuned over the coming weeks for more information on Zone Marketing and how your business will benefit from this new approach to marketing our diverse range of visitor experiences.
CONSUMERS, TRADE & MEDIA SAMPLE TAMAR VALLEY’S BEST
Northern Tasmania Development and its industry partners are toasting another successful Tamar Valley Fine Wine and Food Expo following last Sunday’s event at Melbourne’s Federation Square.
Eighteen industry operators from the Tamar Valley region travelled to Melbourne for the Expo, which is organised by Northern Tasmania Development (NTD) in association with the Launceston Tamar Valley Tourism Association and the three Launceston Tamar Valley councils – Launceston City, George Town and West Tamar.
The expo, which ran for over five hours, is a key marketing exercise for tourism businesses in the north seeking to promote to the Victorian market.
For the first time, a special invitation was issued to Victorian wine writers who were impressed with the range and quality of the region’s wineries. The published results of this initiative are expected over the coming months.
NTD will now turn its focus now to the upcoming Good Food and Wine Shows in Melbourne (30 May-1 June) and Sydney (20-22 June).
REMINDER: NEW DATE FOR TOURISM AUSTRALIA MARKET BRIEFING
Tourism Australia’s free market briefing in Hobart has been rescheduled for Tuesday 27 May at the Hobart Function and Conference Centre, Elizabeth Street Pier.
This briefing will deliver the latest intelligence on Australia’s top tourism markets, expectations for the next 12 months, Tourism Australia’s activities for 2008, analysis of issues and trends that affect international and domestic tourism as well as information to assist with planning for the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE).
If you had previously registered for this event your registration will automatically be transferred over to the new date.
For more information on the Market Briefings and to register, visit www.tradeevents.australia.com.
TASSIE PRODUCERS IN VOGUE
Three Tasmanian producers have been chosen as finalists in the 2008 Vogue Entertaining + Travel Produce Awards, which are dedicated to discovering and celebrating the finest food suppliers in the country.
These awards are for primary producers whose harvest is the result of dedication, passion, knowledge and regard for the environment, across four categories: Earth, Sea, Dairy and Paddock.
The Tasmanian finalists are Spring Bay mussels (Sea), Woodbridge smoked salmon (Sea), and Miellerie honey (Earth).
The finalists were selected after two days of extensive judging by some of Australia’s leading chefs, including Matt Moran, Philip Johnson and Tasmania’s Chris Jackman.
Winners will be announced in Sydney on 12 May 2008, together with the winners of other awards including Best New Product and Outstanding Use of Regional Produce by a Chef in Each State.
See the Vogue Entertaining + Travel Produce Awards website for more details.
TASSIE A HIT FOR U.S. TRAVEL AGENTS
Seven delegates from major North American travel agent consortium Virtuoso farewelled the State this week after a six-day familiarisation visit.
The Virtuoso agents, who focus on deluxe and luxury travel, were part of a specialist group of agents formed to sell Australian tourism product to the US market. Tourism Tasmania, through its partnership with Tourism Australia, targeted this prestigious group of agents to promote the State’s unique offerings.
Escorted by Tourism Tasmania’s North American Regional Manager, Daryl Hudson, in partnership with Swain Tours, the familiarisation took in key destinations such as Strahan, Cradle Mountain, Port Arthur, Richmond and Hobart, experiencing the State’s high-quality tourism products.
For many of the agents, this was their first visit to Australia and Tasmania far exceeded their expectations. They praised Tasmania’s unique and rich experiences, saying the State has so much to offer.
Next week Tourism Tasmania will host a familiarisation for American Express retail travel agents and a group of VIPs from American Express Travel and AMEX Publications.
INNKEEPERS TO CARBON OFFSET FUEL VOUCHERS
Tasmania’s largest state-wide accommodation group, Innkeepers, this week announced an exciting new initiative designed to reduce the company’s environmental footprint in Tasmania.
Innkeepers has joined forces with CO2 Australia – a Greenhouse Friendly™ approved abatement provider – to offset carbon emissions resulting from Innkeepers’ free petrol voucher, which will be provided to Innkeepers customers as part of their Tasmanian holiday packages from May to December 2008.
The offsets will be achieved through tree plantings established and maintained by CO2 Australia, which produced high-quality carbon offsets by establishing long term Mallee Eucalypt plantings. Through this initiative, CO2 Australia will plant trees to offset 85 tonnes of carbon emissions each year resulting from the Innkeepers free fuel vouchers.
Innkeepers CEO, Ian Rankine says the fuel emissions offsetting is just one of the ways the company is looking to reduce its impact on the environment: minimising water wastage and discharge of detergents, reducing paper waste, and installing energy saving lights.