Our key takeouts from the 2020 Australian Regional Tourism Convention
As we see a flurry of domestic travellers heading into regional destinations it is critical that operators have the skills and the tourism products and experiences to satisfy their needs. Many visitors are replacing their overseas holiday with a domestic holiday, and their expectations may not be what regional destinations are used to…
Road trips! This is where smaller communities can benefit. Think about road trippers and how you can support their needs and aspirations…itineraries, drive routes, etc
Don’t think short term - while some regions are experiencing record visitation, it is critical for regional destinations to take a long-term view and set themselves up for a sustainable and long future in domestic tourism…
How do we make it easier for people to spend money before they even leave home? Good websites, bookable product, packaging, etc… if your region is not busy yet, get these in order so you are ready to leverage the opportunity
There are loads of grant opportunities for regional tourism and more will come online soon… Are you ready to grab these opportunities for your projects and infrastructure development?
Check out the Tourism Lexicon - the words most commonly used by politicians to talk about tourism (perfect for slipping into grant applications…). Our industry should use a particular vocabulary to connect with tourism stakeholders and better illustrate the value of destination organisations.
Credit: Destinations International Foundation
Thought provoker from Andreas Weissenborn at Destinations International Foundation (USA):
Who are the customers of destinations and tourism organisations?
It is not visitors, suppliers, or stakeholders but the residents of the community
Our customers are local families, our friends and neighbours - our community
Developing opportunities and building quality of life to benefit all residents of a community is an essential investment
‘Common good for the greater good’
We need to be flexible, dynamic and nimble
Everyone is looking for certainty and clarity
Be as visual and transparent as possible with crisis communications (internal and external comms) - facts only!
Focus on the things you can control
Over to you
What were your key takeouts? Be sure to comment (with #ARTC20)