Tourism Tasmania Report JOHN FITZGERALD CEO, Tourism Tasmania
Last month the 2017 Tasmanian Tourism Awards were held at Wrest Point and what a fantastic event it was. With 18 regional operators winning gold out of 23 categories, it is great to see so many regional businesses recognised for their contribution to our industry. The awards are a great opportunity to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of businesses that are providing a benchmark for industry best practice. For Tasmania to flourish as a travel destination, these businesses are essential. The Tourism Tasmania team congratulate all the finalists who won an award and wish the gold award winners the best of luck at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards in February next year. On that note, we are thrilled that Launceston will be hosting the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards in 2019. The event was last held in Tasmania in 2013 so we can’t wait for the opportunity to showcase the northern region to the rest of the country’s tourism leaders. Tourism Tasmania will work closely with the organisers to ensure the event successfully promotes our Tasmania brand and sends our guests home talking about Launceston, northern Tasmania and the great experiences on offer. Last summer, Tourism Tasmania launched #TassieStyle, a social media-led campaign that encouraged industry, locals and visitors to share their distinctly Tasmanian experiences on their own social media channels. The campaign was a great success and we are reactivating the next phase of the campaign this summer. Research shows that word of mouth is a powerful way to promote Tasmania and I urge you to get involved and encourage your guests to share their experiences online with #TassieStyle. This is also a great opportunity for your business to gain widespread exposure to a large domestic audience of potential customers. So, whenever you feel you have captured one of those quintessential Tassie moments share it on your business, or personal social media page with the hashtag TassieStyle. Find out more at www.tourismtasmania.com.au. Last month Jetstar kicked off direct flights between Adelaide and Hobart and has already proved immensely popular with 15 000 seats already sold, including 5 000 in the first 12 hours of going on sale. This month Tigerair begins its new direct service from Gold Coast with four return flights a week. This opens the door for new opportunities in tourism and hospitality and gives Queenslanders added incentive to tick Tassie off their bucket lists. Since Tigerair’s announcement, we have been running extra campaigns in Queensland to help keep these additional airline seats filled.
Access is critical to the future growth of our visitor economy so it is great to see the airlines responding so well to new opportunities. The T21 Tasmanian Visitor Economy Strategy progress report is due to be released this month. Two years on, we are making strong progress with record-breaking visitor numbers and increased visitor expenditure. It’s pleasing to see industry and Government working so well together to achieve common goals for the state. As always there are areas to work on such as increased access, new products, experiences and services that support regional visitor dispersal. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the progress of T21 so far. The hospitality industry plays a tremendous role through its work in building skills, industry capability and customer service. For those in the hotel business, I want to remind you that the Tourist Accommodation Refurbishment Loan Scheme is still open for applications and is a great opportunity for those that are looking to refresh their business. The Tasmanian Government is offering the loans to eligible accommodation operators to improve and upgrade existing facilities. The Office of the Coordinator-General has also recently completed accommodation demand studies for Hobart, greater Hobart and Launceston. The studies assess the status of tourism demand and identifies the extent of accommodation supply required to meet future demand. You will find more information about the accommodation demand studies and the loan scheme at www.cg.tas. gov.au. Last edition I mentioned that we underwent a realignment at Tourism Tasmania to better support our future marketing approach and our Corporate Plan. We are settling in well to our new teams and are looking forward to getting stuck into some exciting new projects in our domestic and international markets. It’s been a great year with lots happening in our growing visitor economy. No doubt there will be more great projects and news to come in 2018. As we head into the festive season, the Board, Tourism Tasmania team and I wish you a wonderful Christmas and a fruitful season ahead.
December 2017 www.australianhotels.asn.au
25
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker