Right now there is so much government investment via grant funding to revitalise domestic tourism, particularly for regions recovering from bushfire and drought, in addition to COVID-recovery. This is the time to prepare ‘shovel-ready’ projects for grant applications that will be announced in coming months.

We are so proud of all the regional tourism operators who entered the NSW Regional Tourism Awards. It is exciting to follow along on social media to celebrate their successes!

Image by Regional Tourism Awards

New accreditation, category descriptors, marketing and sustainability sections, NSW Regional Tourism Awards now include all regional Destination Networks, and a hall of fame for the People’s Choice in the Queensland Tourism Awards.

(We couldn’t help sharing the photo from our local Australian Tourism Award winner, Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers!)

Twelve months ago, I was very fortunate to be selected as one of 100 Rare Birds to receive a 12-month business mentoring program.

I cannot believe that it took me ten years to finally get myself a business mentor. Now I keep kicking myself for not doing it as soon as I started in business.

Linda shares the human story behind one of our state's diverse small businesses highlighting her unique business experience and inspiration as Tilma Group turns ten years old!

As a small business and working in tourism which is made up of small businesses, of course we are celebrating Queensland Small Business Week 28 May-1 June with two tourism industry workshops: How To Plan Your Marketing To Generate Sales and Optimising Your Digital Assets and Online Listings.

There is a new guide of specific simple actions rural and regional communities can take to gain more benefits from tourism. 

Sometimes an awful lot of money is wasted in regional tourism.

Here are some examples of the kinds of waste we see, and a couple of ideas on the benefits of critically considering choices and seeking out more options.

Tourism and Events Queensland is doing something incredibly smart that every Queensland tourism operator and event needs to jump right on board with – now. Do not miss this boat!

TEQ has created a way to identify Queensland’s best tourism experiences based on consumer reviews. 

To be included, your business must be listed on the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) by 13 November and fulfil a few other requirements. Read on...

Tips about how to write and plan content and who for, insights into social media platforms and trends, SEO, how to write blogs, and leveraging partnerships.
A ton of useful info packed into one blog - we didn't want to break it up because it's all from a digital marketing workshop provided by our regional tourism organisation for free!

Storytelling is an inexpensive way to innovate, connect with customers, and differentiate your business from your competitors. Here are tips about how to create stories, and to create and edit videos on your phone to share on your social media.

Having fun, being vulnerable, sharing our stories, getting emotional - tips on connection from our regional tourism industry conference. 

Tips about digital content creation from our local tourism industry conference

Tilma Group’s Linda, Claire and Kushla joined Start Up Weekend Tourism & Events Toowoomba run by Start Up Toowoomba to support local entrepreneurs to develop viable business plans in just 48 hours! Read about our adventures (and who won!)...

Want to know how you could leverage Tourism Australia to get more attention for your tourism business - read on for tips from the horse's mouth.

(IC: Tourism Australia)

A clear, simple checklist of what to do to improve your digital presence. 

Our Regional Tourism Organisation’s conference was excellent value for regional tourism operator attendees. 

Deloitte has identified five “super-growth" sectors in Australia: agribusiness, gas, tourism, international education and wealth management. So what happens when you bring two ‘super-growth’ sectors together? Agribusiness + Tourism = an exciting Agritourism partnership!

Writing a tourism award submission can be a very intense, time consuming yet rewarding process. Before you start writing your submission, it is important to spend some time planning and preparing to ensure your responses are clear, to the point, and can be backed up with evidence. 

Here are the top 5 things we recommend doing before you begin drafting your submission.