Agritourism Development Program
Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council
Cootamundra-Gundagai
Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council near Wagga Wagga in NSW’s food bowl, the Riverina region, is one of Australia’s leading Councils for proactively developing agritourism.
The region’s agriculture ranges from broadacre cropping and cattle in the north around Cootamundra to smaller landholdings, wineries and sheep in the south around Gundagai, and rich Wiradjuri agricultural history across the region.
Project purpose
In 2018, Council developed a Rural Land Issues Paper on the opportunities of agricultural tourism.
Based on the Paper’s findings, in 2020, Council secured a grant to create an Agritourism Development Plan to guide Council’s activities to grow agritourism offerings and visitation to the region.
Project overview
To develop the Agritourism Development Plan we began by developing an audit of existing, past, and potential agritourism experiences to help Council understand what kinds of experiences are already on offer, and be able to connect with the farmers delivering them.
The Plan identified a need for an ongoing agritourism development program to build the capacity of farmers to develop new, or grow existing, agritourism experiences - to elevate and expand agritourism offerings in the region.
In 2022, Council secured further funding and in 2023, hired Tilma Group to develop and deliver an agritourism development program.
We researched thoroughly what content should be included to help farmers understand the opportunities of agritourism, understand the tourism industry’s key players and what support they provide, and how to develop a new agritourism experience.
Project outcomes - several Australian firsts
To our knowledge, this project was an innovative first in Australia; we know of no other
Council that secured funding for, planned, and delivered such a comprehensive, multi-faceted local capacity building and agritourism development project.
‘One stop shop’ for farmers, particularly NSW farmers, to find all the information they needed in one place to support the development of an agritourism offering on their farm (There were none at the time the project was begun.)
Agritourism mentoring program that has been so comprehensive and generous, with up to twelve hours of one-on-one personalised mentoring by a regional tourism development expert.
Agritourism mentoring program where the skills of Council staff to support agritourism development were improved simultaneously with agritourism operators and farmers.
Agritourism mentoring program delivered remotely as this was using video conference technology.
The project could be considered best practice though its use of
Comprehensive research to inform inclusions, such as Service NSW for Business’ report on the pain points of farmers in developing agritourism and types of farmers who offer agritourism experiences, and statistics on agritourism visitors available, such as through Tourism Australia and Destination NSW (and much more!).
Consultation of local agritourism operators and farmers in the development of the inclusions of the Program.
The agritourism development guides include
How to develop a business case (including a business case template)
Risk management (including a risk management plan template)
Marketing (including a marketing plan template)
With agritourism being a rapidly growing sector, and new support being made available regularly, these graphic-designed guides were designed as Word documents so Council could update them as new resources for agritourism development become available. In fact, during the course of delivering this project, new resources became available from Destination NSW.
We then delivered a 10-week mentoring program. Nine participants from eight farms worked on a wide variety of offerings:
New agritourism events, including seasonal local produce lunches, farm open days, and potentially a sunflower festival
New farm stay short term accommodations
Marketing tactics to deliver business objectives such as attract a new market (midweek visitors and weddings), increase occupancy, or launch a new experience
A new farm tour and art workshops
A new night wildlife spotting tour with astrology and storytelling.
A new self-guided Wiradjuri tour
A new plant nursery with coffee
The different needs of the established agritourism operators and new-to-agritourism farmers, as well as the differences in the products being developed, required a flexible, tailored approach to delivering the business coaching.
Each mentee ended the program with an action plan, and other support, depending on their needs, such as a marketing plan or a risk management plan.
At the end of the mentoring, Tilma Group delivered a series of webinars of inspiring case studies, with guest presenters showcasing different best-practice agritourism offerings, with learnings for farmers developing or growing an agritourism offering.
The recorded webinars were added to Council’s online agritourism development portal.
Referee
Linda Wiles
Manager Business
Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council
1300 459 689
linda.wiles@cgrc.nsw.gov.au
New Tourism Experience Development
Barcoo Way
Barcoo Way
The Barcoo Way region is based around the Barcoo River which flows north-west from Tambo in Central Queensland, before turning south towards Windorah. Tambo is 850km northwest of Brisbane, west of Bundaberg and the Carnarvon National Park, and north of Charleville. Towns along the Barcoo Way include Blackall, Isisford, Yaraka, and Windorah. A 156km-long railway line between Blackall to Yaraka was closed to trains in 2005.
Project purpose
Tilma Group were contracted with project partners JJ Strategic Consulting and Lucid Economics to develop a business case to determine the viability of using the defunct railway corridor as a multi-use rail trail (cycling, hiking, and horseriding) as a compelling tourism experience attracting adventure-seeking visitors to this unique part of Outback Queensland, and improving liveability for local communities.
This project was made possible by funding from the Department of Transport and Main Roads, and was a joint project of the Blackall-Tambo, Longreach, and Barcoo Councils as part of their membership in the Barcoo Way collaborative tourism initiative.
“Tilma Group were great to work with on the Barcoo Way - they have a wealth of tourism knowledge and an understanding of our remote region. The team was full of innovative ideas and suggests on how we can progress this project, and address the challenges and hurdles!”
Project overview
The project established the
feasibility of the rail trail
stakeholder aspirations for the project
market demand analysis
strengths, challenges and opportunities (SWOT) of the existing infrastructure along the proposed trail to support visitor use and the trail’s financial sustainability
operational requirements for development, management and maintenance of the trail and any associated built infrastructure
The project outcomes were maximised by
supporting product and events that will activate the new trail infrastructure and foster sustainable growth of the region
giving voice to the locals, engaging the tourism industry, local communities and government on their aspirations for the project
positioning the three local government areas to attract public and private sector investment to support sustainable development of the project
The project approach was to consult with a broad range of stakeholders, review best practice case studies of similar successful rail trails, review the process of rail trail development, before synthesising learnings into a business case.
Project outcomes
There is support for an approach of two phases, starting with product and experience development to grow visitation and demand, and then development of the rail trail, in full or in stages.
If both stages of the plan are developed, the rail trail will offer the following experience.
There is no other rail trail in the Queensland Outback, so there is an opportunity to have an experience that is not available in other destinations, but well-designed interpretation and quality product experiences alongside are critical to offer a sufficiently compelling experience. This is because the region does not have the advantage of stunning scenery (as with the Larapinta Trail in Alice Springs, for example), or easy conditions to cycle in, and closeness to source markets, as many other Australian rail trails have.
Referee
Alison Shaw
Previously Arts & Cultural Officer
Blackall-Tambo Regional Council
alison@therightgrant.com.au
www.barcooway.com.au
Mentoring on Creating Transformational Experiences
Tourism & Events Queensland
Tourism & Events Queensland
The state tourism organisation, Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) recently re-branded Queensland with a new ‘Travel for Good’ brand.
Travellers are actively seeking experiences that enrich, awaken and transform them. They want to ignite something new within themselves by consciously connecting with and appreciating our extraordinary planet, its people and cultures.
TEQ developed The Ultimate Transformational Experience Guide which focuses on seven steps to creating better value for guests and businesses. The aim is to enable operators to transform their experience offering and business to meet and exceed the needs of the travellers, helping to put Queensland’s operators at the forefront of a global travel movement and increase their bookings and revenue.
The guide provides operators and event organisers with insights and knowledge about
what Queensland’s new brand means in practice
the changing needs and expectations of travellers
the Five Stages of Travel that guests go through
how to design and deliver exceptional transformational experiences through each of the stages
how to deepen engagement with guests
ways to differentiate an experience through innovation and enhancing the competitive advantage.
Project purpose
TEQ ran an PILOT Experience Design Program to help businesses implement the learnings in The Ultimate Transformational Experience Guide, understanding that the most effective results are realised through one-on-one mentoring.
Project overview
The program involves up to ten hours mentoring and about twenty hours additional commitment over a two-month period to complete the Experience Design program:
Preparation work such as a basic review of operator’s website and social media and Best of Queensland Experiences Program Report provided by TEQ using a standardised template provided
An initial face-to-face meeting to discuss the details of the guide, review the mentee’s self-assessment results, and identify key areas of focus
One or two follow up video conference meetings to review progress, and identification of three to five actions to enhance the mentee’s visitor experience/s
A brief report to TEQ on the outcomes of the mentoring using a standardised template provided.
Project outcomes
Tilma Group has been impressed with the level of commitment of program participants, and their willingness to evolve, and plan for a strong future.
We are offering pragmatic support around how participants can align with Queensland’s Travel for Good principles.
We are taking a deep dive into the travel journeys of their visitors and identifying what they can do at each stage to enhance or add things that will bring the brand principles to the forefront.
The biggest gap has been in sharing – the participants had not recognised the importance of sharing when they do something good for the community, the environment or humanity.
“I wanted to congratulate you – well done – absolutely nailed the brief on TEQ’s Experience Design Mentoring Program! Keep up the great work!”
Referee
Alex Perpich
Events and Experiences Specialist
Tourism and Events Queensland
GPO Box 328, Brisbane QLD 4001
07 3535 5612
Alex.Perpich@queensland.com
www.teq.queensland.com
Experience Development Program
Brisbane Economic Development Agency
Brisbane Economic Development Agency
Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) is the regional tourism organisation for the Brisbane Region which includes the urban areas of Brisbane, Ipswich, and City of Logan, the coastal areas of Moreton Bay Region, and Redlands Coast, and the rural Scenic Rim and Somerset.
Project overview and purpose
Tourism & Events Queensland’s Best of Queensland Experiences (BOQE) guides operators on how to develop and deliver exceptional transformational experiences, and also provides operators with an annual report based on consumer reviews. Those experiences rated ‘best’ are included in TEQ’s database accessed by staff when planning marketing and activity, as well as other benefits.
The 2021 BOQE results for Brisbane Region identified an opportunity to increase the number of tourism products in the region becoming eligible for TEQ’s initiatives.
BEDA wanted a program developed to increase the number of BOQE products across the region, as part of BEDA’s global readiness program; a capability pathway to develop skills, grow businesses, and align to the destination’s brand pillars. The goal was to develop more exceptional and transformational experiences across the region.
Project outcomes
With JJ Strategic Consulting, Tilma Group developed a tailored and innovative Best of Brisbane Region Experience support program for operators of the Brisbane region.
A handbook and 13 self-paced online modules were developed to increase conversion of eligible tourism experiences into TEQ’s BOQE program. A business’ annual BoQE report helps the business owner identify modules to focus on.
Referee
Cathie Johnston
Experience Development & Partnerships Manager
Brisbane Economic Development Agency
0406 314 454
cjohnston@brisbane-eda.com.au
www.brisbane-eda.com.au
www.visitbrisbane.com.au
Tourism Development Grant
Narooma Mountain Bike Club
Narooma Mountain Bike Club
Narooma is on the far south coast of NSW near the Victorian border between Bateman’s Bay and Eden, 220km southeast of Canberra, and 350km south of Sydney.
Local mountain biking enthusiasts together hand built 30km of trails over 4 years, then sought grant writing support from Tilma Group to secure funding to add another 50km of trails and a trailhead to develop a world-class trail network and mountain biking hub.
Project purpose
The Narooma Mountain Biking Hub would form the central hub of a South Coast regional network of mountain biking (MTB) trails from Bateman’s Bay south to Tathra and Eden and inland in Cooma - the biggest MTB region in Australia - lifting the region’s appeal for multi-day, interstate, international and year-round visitation by high-value visitors.
This would smooth highly seasonal visitation, create jobs, future-proof the local economy against shocks, and support the Black Summer bushfire-affected community’s physical and mental health with recreation, access to nature, and social bonding.
Narooma Mountain Bike Club applied for funding to build the trails from the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund.
“Tilma Group did a great job getting across the detail of our project for the BLERF application and helped us produce a very professional application, which benefited greatly from their expertise in grant writing.”
Project overview
The Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund would cover 100% of the costs of projects that would support a bushfire-impacted community's economic or social recovery.
This project relied completely on the club’s faith in themselves and their potential trail, as their council, Eurobodalla Shire Council, was applying for funding for a competing MTB trail in Bateman’s Bay (Mogo) that had been identified in several of Council’s strategic plans. Additionally, Eden’s mountain biking club in the neighbouring shire to the south, was also applying for funding to build MTB trails!
The club’s project steering group was adamant that their trail would be the best of all of them in terms of the quality of the trails due to the natural assets of their region, and dispersal of tourists away from the over-tourism mecca of Bateman’s Bay.
Project outcomes
Just 30% of applications to the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund were successful - the grant was significantly oversubscribed, with over 650 applications submitted, and only 195 successful projects.
Narooma Mountain Bike Club secured $3.9 million, twice the average amount for the round. Mogo and Eden trails were also successful in securing funding, quite likely because the president of the Narooma Mountain Bike Club visited the region’s state MP and shared the club’s vision of developing Australia’s biggest mountain biking destination for increased visitation appeal.
In its first year of operations, the Narooma mountain biking hub is predicted to attract 18,200 visitors and $8.1 million in visitor expenditure and create 47 local jobs.
Together with other mountain biking destinations on the South Coast, the Narooma trails will create a large, regional mountain biking circuit that will attract interstate and international visitors - the densest collection of mountain biking trails anywhere in Australia, creating a truly world-class and globally attractive mountain biking destination.
Factors which likely contributed to the success of the grant application include
The club pitched a bigger idea to their State MP (and let him claim the idea as his own).
The club was ready for the grant opportunity: they had received a previous grant that enabled them to have a business case developed by an economist and trail design developed by a top trail designer which were submitted along with their application.
The club showed a very high level of community support by requesting numerous letters of support from a variety of community members, businesses, government representatives and departments (such as the Destination Network), the landowner, the Iocal Aboriginal Land Council, nearby MTB clubs, cycling organisations, users including youth, community groups, and business chambers. They got the story published by the media, and shared clippings with the grant application. They ran a community survey, shared trail usage stats, showed how many volunteers had been engaged in building and maintaining the existing trails, and shared the donations they had received, and even their merchandise sales!
The application clearly showed the project’s public benefit, and how it aligned with numerous local and state government strategic plans, and used quotes from government strategic plans to show the community’s need for such a project.
Referee
Georgie Staley
President
Narooma Mountain Bike Club
PO Box 127
Narooma NSW 2546
0409 224 766
info@mountainbikenarooma.com.au
www.mountainbikenarooma.com.au