Tourism WA & Australia’s South West hosted the 2024 Regional Roadshow on 28 February. The event provided an opportunity for local tourism businesses to hear from a range of representatives from Tourism WA, Tourism Australia, Australia’s South West, Tourism Council WA and WAITOC. The updates provided details on the work these organisations are doing to support tourism in our region and the industry more broadly.
Below is a quick recap of topics covered and where you can find out more information. We encourage you to check out each of the resources to gain more details on how to work with these organisations and leverage their efforts to develop and grow your business.
Western Australian Visitor Economy Strategy (WAVES) 2033
Carolyn Turnbull, Managing Director, Tourism WA
Developed through extensive stakeholder engagement and in alignment with related national and state strategies, Tourism WA has released WAVES 2033. The 10 year strategy sets a vision for WA’s tourism industry:
- To be recognised as a world-class destination, immersing people in our unique cultures, communities and environments.
- To increase the size of the visitor economy to $25b by 2033.
WAVES sets out key principles, goal areas and initiatives that will guide Tourism WA efforts over the ‘Dream Decade’.
Key principles:
- Sustainable: TWA will create economically sustainable solutions for the industry that have a net positive impact on people and the planet.
- Inclusive: TWA will provide opportunities for all West Australians and visitors to safely and respectfully connect with our various communities, and in turn enrich their lives.
- Collaborative: TWA takes a systematic view of the industry to ensure that effort is not duplicated. Through collaborative and innovative practices, they ensure that the contributions of key players in the tourism ecosystem combine to create greater outcomes.
- Innovative: From embracing digital, to encouraging industry to develop innovative business models, TWA seeks ways to responsibly share our natural assets in a way that inspires, educates and entertains people.
Goal areas and initiatives:
|
Aviation |
Accommodation & Attractions | Events | Aboriginal Tourism | Destination Brand | High Performing Industry |
| Airport infrastructure | Attract private sector investment | Events infrastructure | Position WA as an authentic Aboriginal cultural destination | Consumer demand | Value of the visitor economy |
| Airline route development | Accommodation development | Leisure, sports & cultural events | Aboriginal people’s participation in tourism | Global positioning | Workforce attraction & retention |
| Aviation & marketing partnerships | Experiences in protected areas* | Regional, destination & community events | Aboriginal tourism experiences | Brand partnerships | Sustainable & inclusive industry |
| Regional visitation and affordability | Attraction & experience development | Business events | Aboriginal cultural centres | Digital WA experience | Intergovernmental policy |
| Aviation connectivity | Cruise tourism | International students | Innovative technologies & intelligence | ||
| Road access | Visitor servicing | ||||
| Measuring Success | |||||
| International visitation | Overall spend growth in the regions | Number of out-of-state visitors attending events, their length of stay & spend | Aspirations to be measured by NVS & IVS surveys | Volume of international/interstate visitors | Visitor Net Promotor Score |
| International aviation capacity | Infrastructure delivery | Visitor metric comparison to other Australian jurisdictions | Measures will be created relation to number of number of Aboriginal Experiences undertaken, relative to total visitors | Spend per trip in Western Australia | Growth in tourism-filled jobs |
| New direct international routes | Room capacity expansion | Market share by visitor segment (IVS) | Tourism-filled Jobs in comparison to other Australian jurisdictions | ||
| Airport infrastructure delivery |
|
||||
Key resources:
TWA: Western Australian Visitor Economy Strategy 2033
Australia’s South West – The Year Ahead
Catrin Allsop, Chief Executive Officer, ASW
Catrin provided an update on ASW’s plans for 2024 with a raft of destination marketing and development activity as well as industry events in the pipeline, just some of these include:
- Marketing: Sydney Jetstar flights; Caravan & Camping Trade Shows; Winter Down South Campaign; ATEC Meeting Place; Australian Tourism Exchange.
- Development: Regional events; cultural tourism plan; wellness strategy, new brand launch and business events guide.
- Industry: Lumenesse & Co – Tourism Marketing & Development Agency roadshows; ASW roadshows; WA Tourism Conference.
Key resources:
ASW: Corporate website
Destination Marketing – Global and Domestic
Melissa Forbes, Executive Director – Marketing, Tourism WA
Melissa presented on the range of initiatives Tourism WA is undertaking to bring the immersive & aspirational ‘Walking On A Dream’ brand to consumers including destination-led creative, ‘dream’ events and media/trade training & familiarisation.
The presentation included 7 top tips for leveraging Tourism WA marketing:
- Tag your social media posts with @WesternAustralia and #WAtheDreamState.
- Utilise images from the TWA image library.
- Keep your ATDW listing up-to-date.
- Reference the Walking On A Dream style guide for examples of copy & writing style.
- Update their PR team with news and stories via [email protected].
- Contract product with global distribution partners via trade ready programs.
- Submit an EOI to be involved in the trade and media famil program.
Key resources
TWA: Walking On A Dream – Industry Toolkit & Style Guide
TWA: Drive The Dream – Industry Toolkit & Style Guide
TWA: Social Media Guide
TWA: Image Library
TWA: Guide to getting listed online
TWA: Sharing your stories
TWA: Media & trade famils
Domestic Trip Segmentation & STR Accommodation Data Collection
Chris Galvin, Senior Manager – Insights & Planning, Tourism WA
Chris provided a fascinating overview of the six main trip types taken by the domestic leisure market. Understanding the motivations & behaviours of these target markets can help to guide your marketing and product development. TWA resources, linked below, included detailing profiling information including:
- Domestic trip segments: activities, accommodation, planning enablers and booking methods.
- Domestic target markets: demographics, geographics, & media consumption.
The six trip types are listed below with Luxe Culture and City Social being identified in TWA’s research as being strongly considered for the Margaret River Region.
- Interstate: Premium Nature; Luxe Culture & City Social.
- Intrastate: Relax & Recharge; Simple Nature & Family Time.
Key resources:
TWA: Domestic target market & trip segments
TWA: Domestic high yield travellers
TWA: Interstate market profile
TWA: Intrastate market profile
Events
Ali Choukry, Acting Director – Event Acquisition & Development, Tourism WA
Ali covered some highlights from TWA’s recent support for major events including Coldplay, WWE Elimination Chamber and EverNow.
Tourism WA has three funding programs available to support events that:
- Contribute to Western Australia’s economy
- Attract interstate and international visitors to Western Australia
- Generate significant media coverage for Western Australia
- Create opportunities for Western Australia’s community
Key resources:
TWA: Major events funding
TWA: Regional events program – for major regional events requesting funding of $40,000 or more.
TWA: Regional events scheme – an annual funding round which supports smaller, developing regional events.
TWA: Event resources
Trade Ready Introduction Program & How to Work with Tourism WA
Christine Ross-Davies, Senior Manager – Partnerships & Industry, Tourism WA
Tourism WA’s Trade Ready Introduction Program (TRIP was launched in September and has had a great response – WA is the only state in Australia to run this kind of program. TRIP assists trade-ready operators in growing contracting relationships with travel trade and buyers in the domestic and international markets.
The Partnerships & Industry team are the first point of contact for tourism operators seeking to engage with TWA and they can be contacted via email.
Key resources
TWA: Resources for businesses & operators
TWA: How to work with TWA
Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council
Karl Millard, Business Development Manager, WAITOC
WAITOC is the peak representative body for Aboriginal tourism in WA. Karl provided an update on their goals & strategies in development including working with Tourism Council of WA on cultural safety and inclusion guides for the WA Tourism Industry. Businesses are encouraged to sign up for WAITOC’s newsletters for updates.
Key resources
WAITOC: Corporate website
Tourism Australia Update
Beau Mitchem, Head of Media, Tourism Australia
Beau provided an update on the state of tourism in Australia noting that we are seeing a strong recovery from many of our key markets so far.
Key resources:
TA: Market insights
TA: Media resources
Tourism Council WA – Accessibility & Sustainability Update
Evan Hall, Chief Executive Officer, TCWA
Following up from the previous day’s Sustainable Tourism Forum, Evan shared some of the event’s key announcements including updates to the Sustainable Tourism Accreditation. A detailed update can be found in our Sustainable Tourism Forum recap.
Key resources
TCWA: Corporate website
MRBTA: Sustainable Tourism Forum Recap
Destination Development
Jackie Crooks, Director – Tourism Experience Development, Tourism WA
The final update for the day covered Tourism WA’s destination development initiatives including:
- Trails gap analysis and dedicated workshops
- Cruise development including advocating for Broome to be elevated to a port of entry and cruise exchange in July.
- Workforce development encompassing Working Holiday Maker campaigns, in-school ‘Choose Tourism’ programs, job-ready workshops and employer connect events.
- The National Parks Tourism Experiences Development Program which aims to achieve density and diversity of high quality, environmentally conscious and culturally sensitive tourism experiences in and around national park.
Key resources:
TWA: Cruise shipping
TWA: Tourism experiences development and Attraction & experience facilitation