Implementing a Tilma Group tourism strategy - what it’s like

What is it like to implement a tourism development strategy developed by Tilma Group?

We strive to provide plans that are realistic and achievable and suit the capacity of a region's human resources to deliver (or identify where potential sources of funding or partnerships can support implementation).

Case study: Central Highlands Visitor Economy Strategy

Just over a year ago Tilma Group developed a Visitor Economy Strategy for Central Highlands Development Corporation (CHDC) that is project-based for easy implementation.

When our director Linda Tillman presented it to the Central Highlands Regional Council highlighting how achievable it was, the Councillors were so excited - they could see they’d be able to realise it.

Central Highlands Regional Council Mayor Kerry Hayes and CHDC Tourism Development Coordinator Paul Thompson with the Central Highlands Visitor Economy Strategy 2020-2022 which was launched at the 2019 Tourism and Events Forum in Emerald. Photo: CHDC

Central Highlands Development Corporation is the not for profit lead economic and tourism development agency for the Central Highlands region of Queensland around Emerald. Tourism contributes over $235 million annual to the local economy and it is the region's third highest employment sector.

The strategy is a three-year vision to develop a thriving visitor economy for the Central Highlands.

‘Visitor economy’ broadly refers to the economic impact on a local economy by leisure tourists, and people visiting friends or relatives, or for business, sport, work, or education. It includes industries that directly serve them, such as hotels, transport providers, tour companies and attractions, as well as intermediaries and those involved indirectly such as retail and food production.

The Central Highlands Visitor Economy Strategy 2020-2022 sets out how the local industry can collaborate to attract more overnight visitors, increase income across the year, and enhance the appeal of the region for work and play.

Project based

The strategy consists of six priority project activation plans, including

• creating a brand story

• modernising visitor engagement

• developing tourism experiences, and

• working towards becoming an official RV Friendly region.

Implementation

Over the past 12 months, CHDC have been referring consistently to their strategy, working through the projects one at a time.

The plan’s implementation has been supported by 12 months of strategic mentoring, with Tilma Group providing quarterly strategic workshops to assess progress and work on any potential barriers. The focus is 100% on outcomes!

Project 1: Brand development

The first project undertaken was the development of the region’s brand story, which CHDC secured funding for. The brand development was undertaken by Media Mortar.

CHDC Tourism Development Coordinator Paul Thompson launched the new tourism brand at the 2020 CHDC Tourism and Events Forum. Photo: CHDC

The Central Highlands as a tourism destination has been re-named Central Queensland Highlands, with the tagline ‘explore more’. There is also a new logo and colour palette reflecting the region’s diverse landscape, and a social media hashtag #exploreCQH.

CHDC Tourism Development Coordinator Paul Thompson calls the new brand a watershed moment for the local tourism industry.

“The brand story overcomes what have been major challenges in promoting the Central Highlands region for a very long time,” he says. “The name Central Queensland Highlands instantly tells the tourism audience our geographical location and sets us apart from other locations around the world that are called Central Highlands.

“The ‘explore more’ tagline draws into a unifying, core message the many experiences the region has to offer and it’s a direct invitation for visitors to extend their stay.”

A marketing toolkit is available to support local tourism businesses to incorporate the brand into their own marketing.

“It’s about strength in numbers – if we all embrace and deliver the same message, it’s going to make a huge difference in building brand awareness and putting us front-of-mind when people are planning a holiday,” Mr Thompson explains.

Project 4: Experience development and marketing

The 2020 forum also launched the region’s new regional events platform, part of another priority project from the Visitor Economy Strategy to keep tourism operators updated on future events so they can plan, collaborate and cross-promote accordingly.

“Having secured funding for the brand story and regional event platform, this means we can now progress through the rest of the Central Highlands Visitor Economy Strategy pretty much on track,” says Mr Thompson.

“I can only thank you once again for your work for our region. I pretty much refer to the document daily, so it is definitely not sitting on the shelf gathering dust.”

Project 2: Visitor Engagement

The CHDC team has also hosted the first of their new visitor servicing pop ups at identified visitor hotspots.

Pop up visitor information centre outside a popular visitor amenity: a grocery story

Working with Tilma Group

“From our first phone call with Tilma Group, I knew they knew their stuff and were fully engaged in what we wanted to achieve.

“It was only an initial chat for me to touch base but their enthusiasm for regional tourism was infectious and this initial chat went on for hours into the evening.

“When we asked Tilma Group to quote on our three-year tourism strategy, they came back to us with proposal for an activation plan we could implement and achieve. That was right on the money - all of our previous strategies have sat on the shelf and were never achieved.

“Tilma Group’s proposal outlined a consultative process that included engagement with our tourism community, businesses and stakeholders, but also, more importantly, our whole community as well - exactly what we needed to get our whole region on board and achieving together.

“Tilma Group’s proposal was not only the most thorough we received, but also the most comprehensive. Tilma Group offered us significant in-region consultation and engagement which was just what we needed. Nobody else offered anything close.

“Now we have a pathway and road map to achieve great things over the coming years.

“The Visitor Economy Strategy developed for us is the perfect strategy for us. Our tourism businesses have labelled it the best one we have seen for decades, and are now very excited to get stuck in and achieve it.

“We are confident that Tilma Group can help you achieve your goals. From the outset and now as we move to the next stages, they have helped us achieve ours. Their regional tourism and events knowledge is very thorough.

“Their ability to engage with operators, Council and all stakeholders is helping us to achieve outcomes we did not even know were achievable.

“Our work with Tilma Group produced the best outcomes, and was also the most cost effective tender.

“Tilma Group understood our needs and produced our Visitor Economy Strategy, not just a rehashed document from another region.”

- Paul Thompson, Tourism Development Coordinator, Central Highlands Development Corporation

Learnings

Don’t plan for the sake of planning - make your tourism development planning realistic and achievable and aligned with your capacity to implement it.