Talking Tourism

Issue 638, December 10, 2020


Hello

Welcome to this week’s edition of Talking Tourism newsletter.

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Tourism WA expands call to head west

We’re set to make the most of our State’s new border arrangements with an expanded interstate marketing campaign starting this weekend. Full page ads will appear in the Herald Sun and the Daily Telegraph to make sure people on the East Coast know that WA is open and ready to welcome them. This activity will be backed up by our digital and social campaigns that are running in all States, except South Australia. This weekend will also see an expansion of our marketing partnerships into Victoria and New South Wales with Viva Holidays, Flight Centre Exclusives and My Holiday Centre all teaming up with us to promote special WA holiday deals. We’re also working with aviation partners Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin, to help make more flights available into the State at competitive prices. We look forward to sharing more good news with you as our interstate marketing continues to ramp up. Read more on the latest border arrangements here.

 

Jetstar relaunches Melbourne to Busselton flights

Exciting news for our South West with Jetstar’s Melbourne to Busselton flights operating from February 1, 2021. Securing the flights was a collaborative effort by the City of Busselton, Tourism WA, Australia’s South West and the South West Development Commission. The flights, currently on sale, were originally planned to launch in March 2020, but were delayed due to COVID-19. The new route will connect Melbourne with the Margaret River region for the first time, creating new opportunities for short breaks and leisure travel. We’re working closely with Jetstar and the City of Busselton to promote the flights to Victorians in the New Year through channels including paid media campaigns, consumer emails, familiarisations and trade training. The service will offer three flights per week and is expected to bring more than 60,000 visitors to the Margaret River region over the next three years.

 

Destination Perth launches summer campaign

Destination Perth has launched a sponsored content partnership with Perth Now showcasing 30 different ways to experience the Perth region this summer. The ‘Stay and Play’ summer campaign promotes itinerary ideas around categories such as balmy summer nights, long summer days and summer markets for foodies. The campaign amplifies Tourism WA’s ‘Stay and play in Perth this festival of summer’ activity, as part of the latest Wander out Yonder campaign and drives traffic to the Experience Perth website. The campaign aims to inspire planning and booking by elevating new experiences such as DoubleTree by Hilton Perth Waterfront, WA Museum Boola Bardip and Samphire Rottnest, as well as events and other key products.

 

Liftout shines spotlight on Stay and Play 2.0 campaign

Our Stay and Play 2.0 campaign will be featured in The West Australian this Saturday with a special 12-page-liftout. Developed in partnership with Destination Perth and Australian Hotels Association WA, the liftout will shine a spotlight on where to be entertained, play and dine out across the Perth city precinct. The Stay and Play campaign showcases hotels, hospitality venues, attractions and events across the Perth region over summer. It will be promoted across a range of channels, including TV broadcast, digital, social media, newspaper and radio advertising. For more information, visit the website

 

Influencer activity to promote South West Edge

A new campaign to promote the South West Edge adventure road trip itinerary from Perth to Esperance has been launched. The social media campaign features content produced by influencer Scott Slawinski and encourages people to stay longer, travel further and spend more money in the regions. It highlights fine wine producers, towering forests, marine life and the outback, in one mega summer itinerary that starts and ends in Perth. The campaign is a collaboration between Destination Perth, Australia’s South West and Australia’s Golden Outback. Watch the latest video.

 

WA features in Tourism Australia festive marketing

Tourism Australia has kicked off a new campaign encouraging Australians to support the tourism industry and jobs this festive season, by gifting a holiday or a travel experience. The 12 Days of Christmas Giving campaign reimagines the popular Christmas carol with tourism-related gift ideas. WA destinations and product feature in many of the gift categories on Australia.com including some of the city’s best hotels and regional retreats, as well as experiences such as walking the Cape to Cape track and swimming with whale sharks at Ningaloo. Read more.

 

SafeWA app proves popular

It’s been almost a week since tourism businesses have put contact registers in place, and businesses and West Aussies alike have embraced the new Safe WA app. As of Wednesday, around 850,000 individuals and 24,000 businesses have registered, with close to 2 million scan-ins into venues and businesses! A reminder there is a toolkit available for businesses to help in communicating with their stakeholders about the contact register.  A poster that can be displayed next to a venue’s unique QR code has also been translated into 28 languages. This, together with a fact sheet and templates for paper-based registration is available on the advice in other languages page on wa.gov.au.

 

Accommodation boost for Esperance workers

A funding boost for the Shire of Esperance will see a vacant backpacker hostel converted to temporary workers’ accommodation. The WA Government funding will revamp the former Bluewaters hostel, making sure short-term accommodation is available for seasonal workers to help fill local tourism and hospitality jobs. The Esperance region is expecting an influx of visitors as people wander out yonder over the summer holidays. In response, the Shire, Esperance Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Goldfields-Esperance Development Commission have been working with local businesses to ensure they are ready. Read more here. If your business has job vacancies, visit www.wa.gov.au to list them.

 

New President for Events Industry Association WA

The Events Industry Association (WA) (EIA WA) has announced a new President for 2021 - Tim Kennedy, a lawyer from Mason Ledger. Replacing Tim as Vice-President will be Julianne Brashaw, a long serving member of the EIA WA and the current Treasurer. Julianne is a Director of JD’s Food Trucks and Events and will hold the position alongside fellow Vice-President, Hugh Singe. Tony Williamson will fill the role of Treasurer. Recent additions to the Events Industry Association (WA) Board are Michelle Kolk (VCM Perth Events) and Mitchell Ross (West Coast Event Hire). The EIA WA is the peak organisation for the events industry in the State.

 

WA Tourism Awards – Individual Category nominations

Nominations are now open for the individual categories of the 2021 Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards. These categories recognise individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the tourism industry over the past year. The categories are: Individual Excellence in Customer Service, Individual Excellence in Aboriginal Tourism, the Sir David Brand Young Achiever Medal and the FACET Golden Guide Award. Tourism WA is a proud sponsor of the Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards. Winners will be announced at the 2021 Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards conference dinner on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 in Geraldton. Visit Tourism Council WA’s website for more information.

 

Talking Tourism takes a break

Talking Tourism will be taking a break over the Christmas and New Year period. Our last edition for 2020 will be next Thursday, December 17, 2020 and we’ll be back in action on Thursday January 14, 2021. Don’t forget you can check out past issues of Talking Tourism on our corporate website.

 
 

 

INDUSTRY EVENTS

To list or update an industry event, please email media@westernaustralia.com.

 

Destination Australia 2021

March 4: Tourism Australia will host the seventh annual Destination Australia conference on March 4, 2021 at the ICC Sydney. After the unprecedented challenges of 2020, the conference will focus on the future of Australian tourism, with high profile speakers sharing consumer insights, global trends and discussing key opportunities for the tourism industry in a post COVID-19 world. Destination Australia will also be offered online for those unable to attend in person. Watch a recap of last year’s event here and stay tuned for more information on speakers and how to register.