It is often said tourism is a people industry. Our visitors meet many people when they experience Gippsland and our businesses rely on their staff to provide a great service.  It is the same for a Regional Tourism Board such as Destination Gippsland.

We are only as good as our team and this week we are saying goodbye to the one and only Phoebe Honey. Phoebe has been passionately promoting Gippsland for the past seven years in her marketing role and has been the driving force behind our social media and public relations work. 

We wish her well as she pursues a career opportunity with Phillip Island Nature Parks.  She has been a great example of someone who lived and breathed our brand and is truly Inspired by Gippsland.   Pictured above is Terry with Phoebe.

Terry Robinson CEO

Operators who engage with Online Travel Agents (OTAs) are encouraged to capitalise on a Gippsland promotional opportunity in conjunction with Visit Victoria. Visit Victoria is partnering with Hotels Combined to maximise bookings during May and July, to drive increased visitation to the Gippsland region.

You can participate by ensuring that your listings are up to date with quality imagery displaying the best available low and shoulder season rates.  The campaign which commences today and aims to increase visitor nights, length of stay and average spend on room nights in the region for travel from May through to July.

The key source market is Melbourne and other regional Victorian areas focusing on 'Lifestyle Leaders' aged 18 years and older.  If you would like further information please contact Alison Conroy at aconroy@destinationgippsland.com.au

Our second Gippsland Tourism Forum will be held on Thursday 19 June at the Gunaikurnai Land and Aboriginal Waters Corporation (GLaWAC), Kalimna West near Lakes Entrance. 

Commencing with a networking lunch, this is an opportunity to visit and understand the GLaWAC site, hear from local business case studies Chris Moore - Sailors Grave Brewing and Angela Mosley - Australian Cycling Holidays.  There will be presentations from Destination Gippsland, Booking.com, Visit Victoria and Tourism Australia.

To register now follow the link HERE.

Pictured above: Paul Matthews - Visit Victoria with Kim Kleinitz - Jetty Road Retreat and Stephen Kleinitz - East Gippsland Shire Council at our first forum in Traralgon earlier this year.

Save the date for our third forum on Tuesday 11 September 2018 at Lardner Park.

If you have any questions please contact Janine Hayes at jhayes@destinationgippsland.com.au

LATROBE VALLEY TOURISM AND EVENTS MANAGER  – see pdf here.

LATROBE VALLEY TOURISM AND EVENTS OFFICER  – see pdf here.

Destination Gippsland is seeking two motivated and skilled Tourism and Events professionals.  Based in Morwell you will be responsible for a range of exciting tourism, events, marketing and business development activities that generate benefits for the Latrobe Valley visitor economy.

For more information please email Helen Rose at helen@destinationgippsland.com.au  Applications including a resume should be forwarded by email by May 28th 2018.

Nominations to enter the Victorian Tourism Awards are open until the 30 June.  Entries close for the awards on 13 August.  Key dates can be found here.

We encourage you to enter your business in the awards.  Gippsland entrants are able to access project officer assistance through Destination Gippsland.  To register for the awards please see here. 

Carole Adams from Inverloch Big4 said “We would highly recommend that local tourism businesses enter the Victorian Tourism Awards."  To read further on what winning gold meant to the team from the Big4 Inverloch Holiday Park pictured see Here.    (photo courtesy of VTIC) 

Lynette Bergin Tourism Award

Individuals can apply for the Lynette Bergin Tourism Award which offers up to $8,000 for the recipient to undertake an industry related case study, and a further $1,000 for the recipient’s employer.  To read more see here.

AEC has been engaged to assist in the development of the Destination Management Plan (DMP) for Gippsland.  Consultation workshops will be held across Gippsland on the following dates.

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 prior to the 21 May at jhayes@destinationgippsland.com.au

VTIC will be hosting the Vic Tourism Conference 2018 at Cape Schanck on 30 -31 July 2018.  For program and registration details please see here.

State Budget summary of outcomes please see here.

For all things industry development, please contact Program Manager - Industry Development Michael Hamilton at VTIC direct at MHamilton@vtic.com.au

For information on upcoming Gippsland 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

Check into Social Media by tagging us in your posts.  To share using Gippsland Hashtags read more HERE.  To see what  trending in the social media world see HERE.

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.

Business Awards are held across the region to recognise and reward businesses for their business excellence. Please see the links to current award information.  To read more.

Nominations for the 2018 Federation Business School Gippsland Business Awards are now open and we encourage you to nominate your own business, or a business you admire, in this year's awards program.

The Federation Business School Gippsland Business Awards are based on a short submission from the business which includes a business profile, outline of goals and an explanation recent growth and development initiatives.

For more information see gba.org.au

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