Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council near Wagga Wagga is one of Australia’s leading Councils for proactively developing agritourism.  

Here is what they have achieved with the support of grants and Tilma Group since 2018 - which was recognised with a national economic development award.

Keen to check out the possibilities of agritourism for your farm business or region? Here we outline the support that’s currently available to develop and improve agritourism experiences.

Linda’s key takeaways from the WA Tourism Conference

Takeaways from the Global Sustainable Tourism Summit

A series of Inspiring Agritourism webinars on best practice case studies to support agritourism development.

Never underestimate the power of an anchor tourism product to drive broad benefits across a destination and region.

An Australian-first collaborative approach to acquiring events has resulted in a huge economic benefit for Victoria’s Gippsland region.

Events Gippsland, a collaboration of six Councils to pool resources to acquire events rather than compete and duplicate effort and resources, has provided a return on investment of 80:1 so far.

Are your tourism plans such as your Destination Management Plan, Regional Events Strategy, or Visitor Servicing Strategy living documents that guide what you work on, or have they been kind of forgotten as time passed since they were created?

With government funding shrinking and tighter budgets all round, it is time to look seriously at ‘user pays’ funding models to sustainably support destination management.

The incredible transformation of a small town using an events strategy and the development of an anchor attraction - the journey.

What are the opportunities for regional tourism in 2023?

Tasmania’s new Visitor Economy strategy has some great examples of best practice destination management - here’s what jumped out for us

There are big and small ways Councils can support their region’s event organisers and grow the economic and social benefits events provide to the community.

Agriculture and tourism are Australia’s third and sixth largest export industries. Together, they provide a unique opportunity for growth, explored in Australian Regional Tourism’s Agritourism Convention. Here we share our key takeaways.

The Australian Regional Tourism Convention program was jam-packed with great presenters, insightful conversations, and plenty of networking full of robust discussions and laughter.

Tourism and events are symbiotic

• Events give people a reason to travel to destinations

• Successful tourism strategies increase attendee numbers, and broaden the reach and boost the reputation of events which enhances the visitor experience

The federal government has developed a national strategy for Australia’s visitor economy recovery and return to sustainable growth called THRIVE 2030 (THe Re-Imagined Visitor Economy).

This article looks at what THRIVE 2030 means for regional tourism over the coming eight years.

It’s the perfect time to consider how to develop and grow exceptional Indigenous tourism businesses with Australia’s national tourism strategy, THRIVE 2030, prioritising the respectful embedding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures into the visitor economy through initial partnerships and ongoing inclusion, and the opportunity of growing unique and high-quality products, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experiences.

We are seeing a shift in consumer demand for sustainable travel. Travellers want to support destinations, events and tourism businesses that are being responsible and doing good for their community and the environment.

Insider grant writing tips from tourism grant writers, and from the agencies that provide grants