AUGUST EDITITION DIGITAL

ARTICLE John Fitzgerald

Our research tells us that there are increasing numbers of people who travel to a destination in order to pursue their passions or interests. With this opportunity in mind, the team at Tourism Tasmania has developed a marketing program that will position Tasmania as a leading destination for fly fishing, mountain biking, golf and walking. Tasmania has a clear competitive advantage and we believe our pristine wilderness and stunning scenery makes it one of the best places on earth to enjoy these outdoor activities. The Unordinary Adventures program will position Tasmania as a destination that elevates these experiences beyond just the ordinary and will inspire passion seekers and enthusiasts to visit the state, travel throughout the regions and contribute to our local communities. The program will begin to roll-out later this year and we will be using targeted marketing to capture the attention of these enthusiasts. The last few months have seen some great exposure for Tassie as a result of our media hosting program. Tourism Australia regularly partners with us to enable celebrities or well-known personalities to immerse themselves in Tasmania and share the experience with audiences in key international markets Earlier this year Chinese movie and television actor, Duan Yihong shared highlights of his trip to the state with his five million social media followers. During his stay, he visited Cradle Mountain, Cataract Gorge, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, Sheffield, Hobart, Mt Wellington, the Tasman Peninsula and Mona. The New York Times Travel Magazine (China edition) featured a six-page story describing Duan’s visit with Tasmania featured on the cover page. The magazine is distributed across mainland China and has a circulation of 900,000. While he was in the state, Duan also shot an advertisement for the luxury watch brand Glashütte Original, this type of endorsement from well-known personalities is an influential means of targeting travellers and also increases the appeal of Tasmania as a premium destination. In addition to Duan Yihong’s visit, we recently brought three Australian personalities to Tasmania to promote the Western Wilds drive journey. Singer-songwriter Xavier Rudd, retired professional surfer Taj Burrow and Australian actress Marny Kennedy visited Tasmania for five days and were challenged to disconnect from social media, in order to truly connect with both Tasmania and each other.

A film crew captured a series of videos of their travels, forming part of a Qantas marketing campaign that will target younger Australians with an interest in nature and outdoor adventures. We have just released the latest visitation data with our visitor economy continuing to look strong. The most recent Tasmanian Visitor Survey results revealing a record visitor spend of $2.49 billion, up five per cent and visitation growing with 1.32 million visitors, up 3 per cent over the year to March 2019. The Tasmanian Visitor Survey, managed by Tourism Tasmania, provides insights to support our marketing program. It’s also a valuable asset for the Tasmanian tourism industry, providing important visitor data measuring what people do on their visits, where they go, how much they spend, demographic characteristics, booking behaviours and satisfaction. To complement this research and gain more meaningful insights into the true movements of visitors as they travel around the state, Tourism Tasmania has embarked on a new tourist tracking study. Visitors arriving at Tasmania's four main airports and on board the Spirits are being encouraged to participate in the study via a TasmanianVisitorResearchapp.The technologywill askparticipants questions during their trip that will assist in understanding why visitors are choosing to do the things that they do. The research will assist in understanding where visitors go, why, for how long and what routes they take. After leaving, participants will have access to a detailed online map of their trip which can be shared on social media. A better understanding of the travel patterns of our visitors is important to inform government and industry planning for future product and infrastructure development. It also helps informTourism Tasmania’s marketing efforts to encourage visitors to disperse more widely across the state and invest in our local communities. Lastly, you may be interested in checking out some online content from our latest winter campaign partnership with SBS. The video forms part of the series Local vs Mainlander, following Matthew Evans and Poh Ling Yeow’s visit to Sally Wise’s Cooking School in the Derwent Valley. The video and article is available at www.sbs. com.au.

August 2019 www.tha.asn.au

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