As the weather warms up and we work to meet the Christmas deadlines, I would like to thank you for your support and continued hard work.  Tourism is an industry that relies on many people and organisations working together to provide great experiences, employ staff and generate benefits for the Gippsland visitor economy.  For many businesses the next two months are very important for their cashflow for the remainder of the financial year. 

On behalf of the team at Destination Gippsland we wish you not only a merry and safe Christmas and New Year but also a bumper summer full of big spending visitors enjoying and being inspired by the best region in Victoria - Gippsland.

Terry Robinson - CEO

Act now to be a part of the new Gippsland-wide Food & Drink Guide!
The guide is targeted at Melbourne and will be distributed via the Visitor Centre at Federation Square, opportunities with the South Melbourne Markets, and through food and wine consumer events.  It will also be distributed throughout Gippsland, with all advertising partners given a supply to distribute.

The guide will be A5, full-colour and free to consumers.  We will produce 70, 000 copies, with an estimated readership of 200,000. 

While the Gippsland Food & Drink Guide is heavily subsidised by Destination Gippsland, we are seeking advertising partners to enable us to produce a professional, comprehensive guide to Gippsland’s food and drink offering. 

I urge you to contact us if you are interested in these limited-edition ads (inside front and back cover for instance) as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Please contact Kelly on kmccarthy@destinationgippsland.com.au or call 03 5668 2141

Please list the following dates in your diaries for 2018 and note the change of date from 20 March 2018 to 27 March 2018.

SAVE THE DATES
Tuesday 27 March 2018
Tuesday 19 June 2018
Tuesday 11 September 2018

We look forward to engaging with you in the coming months as we prepare an exciting program for the Tourism Industry in 2018.

If you have any ideas for future forum presentations, please contact  jhayes@destinationgippsland.com.au

Presentations from past Forums can be found on our industry events page here.

Destination Gippsland are now accepting applications for our 2018 International Partnership Program.  Among our international sales activities we will have representation at the International Media Marketplace as well as attending the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) in April in Adelaide. For more information click here or contact Alison Conroy for more details. aconroy@destinationgippsland.com.au

We love hearing about new businesses and events in the region.  Recently Gippsland welcomed some exciting new tourism businesses and events such as Lightfoot Cellar Door, Refuge Cove Cruises and The Meeniyan Square to name a few. 

If you have a new business or offering or know someone who does please get in touch and we will help spread the good news with our media contacts.

Pictured new Lightfoot & Sons Cellar Door - image by Onyamagazine. 

Contact Marketing and PR Executive Phoebe Honey Phoebe@destinationgippsland.com.au          Remember to share your news with us on social media by using the tags #inspiredbygippsland and #visitgippsland

Destination Gippsland is partnering with Sydney-Melbourne Touring to encourage partnership and membership of both the Sydney-Melbourne Touring and Gippsland International programs.
Sydney-Melbourne Touring (SMT) is an international marketing program promoting self-drive holidays between Sydney and Melbourne.

If you have any interest in the international markets, you are invited to contact John McGaw john@sydneymelbournetouring.com.au

To read how you can join both programs and save follow the link here.

We are pleased to advise we are now preparing for our 2018 Business Events Partnership Program.  In February we will be attending the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME) representing Gippsland venues with conference, meeting and incentive facilities.

For the full prospectus click here or contact Kelly McCarthy for more details.  kmccarthy@destinationgippsland.com.au

Toms Cap is a small boutique vineyard situated in Central Gippsland and surrounded by the forests of the Strezlecki Ranges, the Ninety-Mile beach at Woodside and the natural flora and fauna of the Tarra Bulga National Park.

Set amongst the vineyard, lawns and gardens of Toms Cap, our winery restaurant is unpretentious and modern, offering the finest of local produce and providing a dining experience unique to this part of Gippsland. 

If you have a story to share with us about someone in the Gippsland tourism industry, please contact jhayes@destinationgippsland.com.au

As the new year approaches, now is the time to make the changes that you want to see in your business. Becoming Accredited through ATAP Victoria will get you there!
ATAP Accreditation boosts your business with:
• A downloadable toolkit that covers everything from marketing strategy to enhanced operational efficiency
• Ongoing business support
• Discounts on VTIC membership & events and your listing in ATDW
• And more!
Thousands of Australian tourism businesses are already ATAP Accredited. Don’t get left behind - contact ATAP Victoria today and sharpen your competitive edge.

State wine associations, eligible consortia and entities can now apply for funding through the Australian Government’s International Wine Tourism State Grants and International Wine Tourism Competitive Grants.

The two grant programs each have $5 million in funding for exciting wine tourism experiences that will build a stronger pull for Australia’s food, wine and tourism and attract more international visitors to our regions. Further information can be found here.

The Regional Events Fund Round 2 opened on the 2nd of October and EOI's will close on this Friday 15th December.  Full applications will close on the 29th December and successful applicants will be announced in February 2018.

FAQ's can be found here.

For further information visit the Regional Events Fund website here.

Other funding opportunities include the Regional Jobs Fund - Market Access Program Stream - Visitor Economy - information found HERE and the Regional Jobs Infrastructure fund. Visitor Economy - Information can be found HERE.

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.

Destination Gippsland apologises that the link to the Yarragon Village was incorrect at the time of sending the November newsletter.  You can learn more about the Yarragon Village here.

If you have a story to share with us about someone in the Gippsland tourism industry, please contact jhayes@destinationgippsland.com.au

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.

A new online resource to assist Gippsland to become digitally capable is now available.  For further information visit www.gippsland.digital.

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

- Tourism Australia’s Insight files provide some great bite size comments on consumer trends in travel.  Visit Tourism Australia’s Insight Files here.

- Tourism Australia Newsletter - for all the Essentials on the big picture.

- Tourism Tribe for all things social media and digital.

- All you need to know regarding  Grant Information

- The Australian Government is providing assistance for employers through the Job Active program.

- Destination Gippsland videos and webinars have useful tips and ideas that you can watch in your own time.

- We post a range of articles to help your business Destination Gippsland Blog page.

Gippsland has many events - follow the local guides from across the region to see what's on in your area.

Bass Coast
Baw Baw 
East Gippsland
Latrobe Ciity
South Gippsland
Wellington
 

• 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