Last month the industry came together at the Gippsland Tourism Forum to share ideas and benefit from the learnings of tourism industry leaders and marketing specialists. We also announced the commencement of the Destination Management Plan and look forward to the upcoming consultation workshops scheduled across the region.

It is very pleasing to see that Gippsland recorded strong results in the latest National Visitor Survey conducted by Tourism Research Australia.  For the year ending Dec 31, 2017 total visitors to Gippsland increased 1.5% (+96,000 to 6.23million) which is the highest point for at least the past 10 years.  Even better was that the total visitor nights spent in Gippsland increased 24% (+1.4million nights) and the total visitor expenditure in Gippsland rose by 9.2% (+$87m) in the last 12 months.

It is fantastic that more and more people are being Inspired by Gippsland.

Terry Robinson - CEO

We have commenced developing a Destination Management Plan (DMP) for Gippsland.  Destination Gippsland is leading this project on behalf of the region’s six local governments and has the support of Visit Victoria and other State Government departments.

The finalised DMP will provide clear recommendations on how Gippsland can improve its visitor economy over the next 10 years. The strategic of the plan is to provide recommendations on how to evolve visitor experiences, introduce new product and visitor infrastructure, improve visitor servicing and the visitor journey in and out of Gippsland. It will also identify opportunities which have potential to grow visitation, increase capacity and generate ongoing economic activity across Gippsland’s visitor industry. 

AEC has been engaged to assist us in developing the DMP and will be conducting consultation workshops across Gippsland between the 28th May and the 5th June from 10.00am to 12.00pm at the following locations.

• Monday 28 May - Wonthaggi Workmen's Club
• Tuesday 29 May - Leongatha Memorial Hall
• Wednesday 30 May - Mercure Hotel Warragul
• Thursday 31 May - Century Inn Traralgon
• Monday 4 Jun - The Riversleigh Bairnsdale
• Tuesday 5 Jun - Criterion Hotel Sale

If you would like to contribute to the plan and attend these workshops, please register your expression of interest with Janine Hayes at jhayes@destinationgippsland.com.au

The first Gippsland Tourism Forum of the year was very successful with industry gathering in Traralgon.  Connected conversations were the flavour of the afternoon. 

Thank you to everyone who attended, and to our speakers who openly shared their wisdom and experience which spans over 140 years working in the tourism industry.

Pictured left to right CEO Terry Robinson with speakers Erika McInerney of Mac&Ernie, Kathryn MacKenzie CEO Echuca Moama Tourism, Paul Matthews Head of Regional & Tourism Strategy Visit Victoria and Angela Mosley from Australian Cycling Holidays.  

To access the presentations please see the link here.

Tuesday 19 June 2018 - GunaiKurnai Aboriginal Land and Water Corporation (GLAWAC), near Lakes Entrance

Tuesday 11 September 2018 - Lardner Park, near Warragul

Pictured:  Karly McCaskill from East Gippsland Marketing with Paul Ashton Destination Gippsland Board Member at the Gippsland Tourism Forum.

Please contact Janine Hayes if you have any suggestions for future forums at jhayes@destinationgippsland.com.au

VTIC will be hosting a Victorian Tourism Awards workshop for Gippsland tomorrow Thursday 19 April from 10.30am -12.00pm at Lardner Park.  To register please click on the link below.

• Lardner Park

For further information please contact Michael Hamilton at MHamilton@vtic.com.au

Gippsland has been host to some fabulous festivals and events in recent weeks.  For information on upcoming events see the local guides below.  Promote events to your visitors to encourage them  to stay longer and explore further in Gippsland. 

Bass Coast
Baw Baw
East Gippsland
Latrobe City
South Gippsland
Wellington

The Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) is Australia’s national tourism database and distribution platform which represents over 40,000 small and medium sized tourism products and destinations.   The ATDW’s ultimate function is to support the Australian Tourism Operators with digital marketing to help extend their exposure and attract more business online.

Read more here or click on the image to view the video.

Visit Victoria has a new look website with range of resources for Tourism operators. http://corporate.visitvictoria.com/industry

Some valuable business resources can be found here

From Visit Victoria's media page, here are 10 reasons for visitors and locals to immerse themselves in Gippsland.  Gippsland Gold 10 Reasons to Visit 

Destination Gippsland has a range of resources to assist your business prepare for potential risks.

Our Business Continuity kit can be found here.

Our Crisis website has a range of useful resources to assist you to plan, prepare and recover should you encounter circumstances that pose a risk to your business.  Please see here to access.

The Latrobe Valley Authority has a variety of services to assist business including business support services, worker transition service, community facilities fund and the home energy upgrade program.  For further information see here.

• Baw Baw Shire 
• Bass Coast Shire
• East Gippsland Shire
• Latrobe City 
• South Gippsland Shire 
• Wellington Shire Council 

Visit Destination Gippsland for a list of industry links to local and regional tourism associations and local government.  Industry Links.

The Gippsland Visitor Economy generates an estimated $1.2b in Gross Regional Product (11% of the total Gippsland economy). It supports 12,400 jobs (12% of all Gippsland employment) in over 3,000 businesses across every community in Gippsland. Tourism in Gippsland is everyone’s business.

Find out more about our Board of Directors here

Contact our team here