Regional Marketing

Image: Wollongong Botanic Gardens | Credit: Destination NSW

Helping our region be seen, shared and booked

Destination Sydney Surrounds South works with Destination NSW and our local councils to support the visitor economy across Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama, Shoalhaven and the Southern Highlands.

Our region is close to Sydney, connected to Canberra and rich in experiences from coastline, villages and waterfalls to food, wine, events, walks, culture, national parks and nature-based escapes.

Regional marketing works best when we all tell a connected story.

That means local government, state government and industry working together so visitors can discover our region, understand what makes each destination special, and book directly with local businesses.

This page explains how your business can make the most of regional marketing opportunities.

What are the Regional Marketing Strategies?

Destination NSW is working with Destination Sydney Surrounds South, our local tourism and marketing organisations and industry to promote regional NSW in a more coordinated and consistent way.

Rather than relying only on short-term campaigns, the focus is on always-on marketing, keeping regional destinations visible across the year through digital, social, search, PR, influencer activity, Destination NSW channels and regional campaigns.

For our region, this means making it easier for visitors to discover the different strengths of each destination:

Wollongong: Coastal adventure, city culture, events, dining, nightlife and active experiences.
Shellharbour: Marine lifestyle, harbourside dining, boating, coastal walks, aquatic experiences and the Shell Cove marina precinct.
Kiama: Coastal walks, beaches, waterfalls, events, wellness, food and relaxed short breaks outside peak holiday periods.
Shoalhaven: Beaches, villages, wellness, nature, food, wine, arts, culture and dispersal beyond the best-known hotspots.
Southern Highlands: Premium country escapes, villages, gardens, food and wine, events, boutique stays and indulgent weekends.

Together, these destinations help position our region as one of NSW’s most accessible and diverse visitor regions.

Our shared regional story – The GRAND South

South Coast & Southern Highlands…Sydney gives way to Coast, Country and Highlands.

This gives us a clear story to build from. It speaks to our location, our landscape and our visitor experience. Across the region, visitors can…

Wake up by the ocean
Walk through rainforest or escarpment trails
Explore villages, farms and cellar doors
Attend events and festivals
Reconnect with family and friends
Enjoy food, wine, culture and nature
Stay a little longer and explore more than one destination

The opportunity for industry is to show how your business fits into this bigger regional story.

Why this matters for your business

Destination marketing creates awareness, but your business still needs to be easy to find, easy to understand and easy to book.

When a visitor sees a campaign, reads an article, watches a reel or searches for things to do, they need a clear pathway to your business. That pathway usually includes your:

ATDW listing
Website
Booking link / Book Now Button
Google Business Profile
Social media channels
Images and videos
Local tourism website (pulled from your ATDW listing)
Media ready stories and product updates

The stronger these are, the easier it is for visitors, local tourism organisations, Destination NSW, Tourism Australia, media and distributors to promote your business.

Start with your ATDW Listing

Your Australian Tourism Data Warehouse listing, often called ATDW or Get Connected, is one of the most important tools for tourism businesses.

Think of ATDW as your tourism content library. It stores your business information, images, descriptions, facilities, accessibility details and booking links. That information can then be distributed to tourism websites and approved partners.

Your ATDW listing can help your business appear on:

visitnsw.com
australia.com
approved ATDW distributor websites
some local and regional tourism websites, depending on how each destination uses tourism listings
kiama.com.au
visitshellharbour.com.au
shoalhaven.com
visitsouthernhighlands.com.au
visitwollongong.com.au
grandpacificdrive.com.au
Go Grand

This is why keeping your ATDW listing up to date matters. It gives partners the right information to promote your business and helps visitors move from inspiration to booking.

Your listing should send visitors back to your own website or booking platform so you can convert the enquiry directly.

What to check in your ATDW listing

Review your listing regularly, especially before peak campaign periods, school holidays, events and seasonal changes.

Make sure your listing includes:

current business name and contact details
a clear description of what visitors can experience
seperate listings per product / experience
high-quality images with people enjoying the experience
a direct booking link
correct opening hours and seasonal closures
accessibility information
pet-friendly, family-friendly or group-friendly details where relevant
current packages, deals and offers or bookable experiences
strong keywords that match what visitors search for
links to your website and social media
content that explains how your experience makes visitors feel

A helpful test is to ask: If a visitor found this listing today, would they understand what we offer and know exactly how to book?

Check how your business appears online

A simple way to understand the value of your ATDW listing is to search your own business and see where you appear. You may find your listing showcasing different content across multiple websites.

Take a few minutes to check:

Is your business name correct?
Are the images still current?
Does the description sound appealing and up to date?
Is the booking or website link correct?
Are your opening hours, location and contact details accurate?
Does the listing reflect your best experience, or does it feel a little out of date?

Your ATDW listing acts like a central content library. The information you enter can pull through to multiple tourism websites, so one small update can improve how your business is presented across several platforms.

This is especially important before major campaign periods, school holidays, events or seasonal promotions. If your listing is current, campaign activity has a much better chance of sending visitors to the right place, your website or booking page.

A good habit is to search your business online every few months and check how visitors are seeing you.

Leverage Destination NSW’s Feel New Visitor Brand

Destination NSW’s Feel New visitor brand is about more than a logo or campaign line. It is about showing how travel makes people feel.

The Feel New toolkit encourages tourism businesses to move beyond listing facts and features, and instead show the emotional benefit of an experience, how it helps visitors feel refreshed, connected, free, adventurous, joyful or inspired. For our region, this could mean:

Adventure
Surfing, cycling, kayaking, hiking, skydiving, trail running, diving, boating or walking the coast.

Rejuvenation
Wellness stays, slow weekends, gardens, nature walks, spa experiences, farm stays, beaches and peaceful villages.

Connection
Food and wine, local producers, Aboriginal experiences, family holidays, events, live music, markets and community festivals.

Freedom
Road trips, open landscapes, coastal drives, hidden villages, national parks and lesser-known places.

Awe
Waterfalls, escarpments, beaches, rainforest, lookouts, wildlife, night skies and dramatic coastal scenery.

You do not need to overcomplicate it. Just ask: What will a visitor feel after spending time with us? Then use that feeling in your website, ATDW listing, social posts and emails.

Simple Examples:

Instead of: We offer coastal accommodation close to restaurants and beaches.

Try: Wake up by the coast, wander to breakfast, then spend the day between ocean pools, local flavours and golden-hour walks.

Instead of: We are a winery open Thursday to Sunday.

Try: Slow down over cool-climate wine, local produce and countryside views made for long lunches and easy weekends.

Instead of: We offer kayak tours.

Try: Paddle into quiet waterways, spot wildlife and see the coast from a completely different angle.

The goal is not to sound fancy. The goal is to help visitors picture themselves there.

Use your own channels

Your own marketing channels are still your most valuable tools. These are the platforms you control.

Make sure these are current, easy to use and all share a similar and constant message:

Website
Booking page
Email database
Google Business Profile
Facebook and Instagram pages
YouTube or video content
ATDW listing

We recommend keeping content newsworthy, using images that show real people and real experiences, showing the feeling of the experience in videos, and updating ATDW and digital assets so they align with broader regional and Feel New messaging.

Get involved in Go GRAND

Go GRAND is a regional cooperative marketing campaign designed to support visitation across the region.

The campaign showcases experiences across Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama, Shoalhaven and the Southern Highlands, with a focus on winter visitation and regional dispersal.

Campaign themes include:
• Grand Experiences
• Grand Nature
• Grand Flavours
• Grand Stays

Tourism businesses can get involved by:
• downloading and using the campaign toolkit
• sharing campaign posts across your own channels
• creating content that fits the campaign themes
• updating your ATDW listing before campaign activity
• packaging your product with other local businesses
• promoting off peak, midweek and shoulder-season reasons to visit
• tagging relevant destination accounts where appropriate

This is a good example of how regional cooperative marketing can help businesses benefit from a bigger shared message.