What’s new for the 2021 Australian Tourism Awards plus links to information on your state’s tourism awards

We gathered the top tourism marketing tips from colleagues and tourism industry friends

A snapshot of Australian Regional Tourism Convention 2020

Queenslanders are getting out and about to support their state’s tourism industry now that they are free to travel. Some regions are seeing visitation and forward bookings that are remarkable for this time of year.

Our top tips for how regional destination can take advantage of the current post-COVID lockdown surge ​in domestic tourism

What happens when you bring together a passionate advocate for regional and rural tourism and an out-of-the-box thinker who specialises in learning and development and creating innovative and energetic teams?

A collaboration that supports regional and rural councils to be brave, and think outside the box in paving the way for tourism success…

As travel resumes, regional destinations are poised to benefit if they can stand out in the crowded marketplace and meet the needs of visitors.

This COVID-recovery plan pulls together post COVID travel trends and traveller types, and recommended resources for destinations.

A little mentoring goes a long way – our friend Suzanne from Icon Adventures picked our brains on how to write a media release about the new domestic tours she is doing in response to the COVID travel restrictions.

Her media release immediately got published, and she sold out her first new tour! Learn from our tips

In 2011 a magnitude 6.2 earthquake caused widespread damage across Christchurch. 15,000 families lost their home in 25 seconds. When the dust settled, the community began to re-envision its world.

How rural Coolamon (pop 2,200) increased tourist visitation using a new anchor attraction and a seasonal events campaign, and all the flow on effects…

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.

Team Tilma are fortunate to travel to many regional and rural communities throughout Australia, and are ALWAYS amazed at how much these communities and destinations have to offer.

There are many practical actions regional and rural communities can take to attract more visitors and tempt visitors to stay longer and spend more money in local businesses.

So if you are a community or council that is interested in developing tourism we suggest you read on…

Last week Linda attended her seventh Australian Regional Tourism Convention.

Australian Regional Tourism is the peak body that represents regional tourism practitioners and acts as a hub for collaboration, cooperation, ideas generation, knowledge sharing, networking and more.

This year’s convention uncovered the big challenges for our regions, and explored what is required to compete in an increasingly competitive global market.

Our recent series of articles explored approaches to three key issues that are impacting local governments across regional Australia:

What is the role of local government in a modern and changing tourism industry?

Are we a destination or do we have the ability to become one?

Do we have the capacity, commitment and resources to realise our human potential?

Listen in as Linda Tillman of regional tourism consultancy Tilma Group and Ali Uren of learning and development service Kiikstart discuss these three questions in a short 30-minute webinar.

There is a lot of talk in tourism about collaboration but that talk fails if skills and insight are lacking in the workforce to successfully execute the smartest and best-fitting opportunities.

Let’s ask some of the key questions local government decision-makers must ask before they consider committing to the collaboration path.

Not every town or region is a destination. Some are thoroughfares or ‘tea and wee’ stops and others are business hubs…and that’s ok!

The important thing is that you know which one you are.

Do you know your destination story, and does it connect with your current and emerging markets?

Most regional Councils don’t need another strategic planning process to grow tourism!

They need a supportive process that focuses on pragmatic results, ensuring that time, energy and ratepayers’ investments are not wasted.

Linda Tillman of regional tourism consultancy Tilma Group in regional Queensland and Ali Uren of learning and development service Kiikstart in regional South Australia share the same passion points about regional tourism, particularly that local governments in regional Australia need to take a proactive approach to tourism, with a focus on increased efficiency and stronger outcomes, and less resource wastage.

Tilma Group’s PR specialist, Anna Hayward, recently developed and managed two very successful media familiarisation trips to the South Burnett region inland from QLD’s Sunshine Coast, and rural town Deniliquin near the NSW/VIC border.

We interviewed Anna for her tips…

For the second year I have had the pleasure of participating as a mentor in the Queensland Tourism industry Council (QTIC) Young Professionals Mentoring Program.

This year I had the absolute pleasure of working with Tennille Wendt from the Ironman Group, a young passionate events professional