Destination Gippsland welcomed the appointment of Sue Smethurst as the new Board Chairman when it held its Annual General Meeting on Friday 10th November in Sale. Sue has been a Board Director for two years and was unanimously elected to lead the organisation.
Sue is a journalist who has held senior roles with Australia’s leading media organisations for more than 20 years.  She is a best-selling author and is employed by Bauer Media’s flagship title The Australian Women’s Weekly. Sue has extensive experience in the fields of media, communications and marketing. Sue was born and raised in Gippsland.
The AGM process appointed two new Directors, welcoming Michelle Dickson and Damian Gannon to sit on the Board for the next three years.  Current Directors Richard Longmore and Paul Ashton were also re-appointed and will continue with the Board for another term.
“I am delighted and very honoured to have been elected Chairman of such a wonderful and valued organisation. Gippsland has so much to offer and I look forward to working closely with the Board and our very talented management team, who all share a passion for advancing tourism across our diverse, world class region” said Ms Smethurst. 

The Board paid tribute to retiring Chairman Steven Hibbard, who has served as a Board Director for nine years with the last two as Chairman. They also thanked Trent Fairweather for his services over the past four years following his decision to retire from the Board.

For details on the Destination Gippsland Board and new appointments please see here.

Destination Gippsland are currently developing a new Food and Drink Guide to collectively raise the profile of the region as a food and wine destination.
The guide will be full colour and free to consumers.  It will be distributed throughout the region, with all advertising partners given a supply to distribute to their customers.  Additional outlets in Melbourne include the Visitor Centre at Federation Square and opportunities with the South Melbourne Markets, and through food and wine consumer events.  We will produce 70, 000 copies, with an estimated readership of 200,000.  Additionally, a digital version will be housed on the new Inspired by Gippsland website launching mid-2018.
The guide will be heavily subsidised by Destination Gippsland, but to produce a professional, comprehensive guide to Gippsland, we are seeking advertising partners.  I urge you to contact us if you are interested in seeking some of the 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

Destination Gippsland is proud to have facilitated and delivered four Gippsland Tourism Industry Forums for 2017.

We look forward to engaging with you in the coming months as we prepare an exciting program for the Tourism Industry throughout 2018. Please list the following dates in your diaries for 2018.

SAVE THE DATES
Tuesday 20 March 2018
Tuesday 19 June 2018
Tuesday 11 September 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

Happy attendees at the Baw Baw forum held in October this year.

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. 

We have also partnered with The Sydney-Melbourne Touring Route to provide a competitive partnership package for both international marketing and sales programs.  Our combined efforts with Sydney-Melbourne Touring allows us to reach trade partners worldwide.

For more information click here or contact Alison Conroy for more details. aconroy@destinationgippsland.com.au

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 are a current partner in Sydney-Melbourne Touring or if you have any interest in the international markets, you are invited to contact Paul Cooper paul@sydneymelbournetouring.com.au or by phone on 0407 548 839.

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 2018 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

Destination Gippsland have partnered with TripAdvisor to provide comprehensive coverage of the Gippsland region for potential visitors viewing our region. With over 1200 Gippsland businesses listed on TripAdvisor, our ongoing partnership with them provides a platform for operators to leverage deals and sponsored posts that link their properties and activities to the surrounding region.

For more information on how to leverage our TripAdvisor partnership, contact Alison Conroy aconroy@destinationgippsland.com.au or Kelly McCarthy kmccarthy@destinationgippsland.com.au

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 the link here to access.

This month’s business tips are courtesy of the Yarragon Business Association who recently held their AGM and support a range of unique and interesting businesses in the Yarragon Village.

Nestled in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges with vistas of rolling green hills you will find Yarragon Village, a charming and friendly country town with an abundance of delightful shops and eateries to satisfy all desires from fresh and healthy to deliciously decadent and everything in between.
Stroll up the main street to choose from an array of shopping experiences in one of the many specialty shops Yarragon is renowned for -  Art, Craft, Giftware, Clothing and Accessories, New Age or Homewares (Modern, Vintage, Antique, Retro).  It’s all there!

The Top 5 Business tips have been provided by Jo Wolswinkel (Town and Country Gallery), Renee Kemp (Yarragon Commercial Hotel), Lindy Smith (Clifden Cottage & Clifden Alpacas ), Jenni Robins (The Shothouse Café and Southern Addictions Coffee) and Lee Richards (Anderley Retreat) and YBA Co-Ordinator.  To read their tips please go to our blog here.

You can learn more about the Yarragon Village pictured below 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.

If you are interested in creating an export market for your business or want to access Chinese tourists this workshop will allow you to access experts in the field and give you a starting point.

Hosted in Latrobe City the Program details can be found here.

Registration is required however the event is free. https://alibabalatrobe.eventbrite.com.au

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

The Regional Events Fund Round 2 opened on the 2nd of October and EOI's will close on the 15th of December 2017.  Full applications will close on the 29th of 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.

- 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.

Chief Executive Mr Brad Ostermeyer has informed VTIC that he will be stepping down from his role as CEO.  VTIC is now focused on finding a new leader.

VTIC annual report see here

Resources from the recent VTIC conference can be found here. 2017 Victorian Tourism Conference (VTC17) presentations

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