Destination Download | October 2023

In this edition:

• News & Announcements

• Local Updates & New Product

• Business & Skills Development, Resources, Events

• Industry Insights

Best of luck at the 2023 NSW Tourism Awards

We have a number of DSSS operators who have qualified as finalists in the 2023 NSW Tourism Awards and we couldn’t be prouder!  Finalists include:

• Cocky Guides
• Blue Mountains Stargazing (recently established Jervis Bay Stargazing so we’re claiming them!)
• Destination Wollongong
• Jamberoo Action Park
• Kalinya Estate
• Mt Hay Retreat Berry
• Shellharbour City Council
• SUP Shellharbour
• The Drawing Rooms of Berry
• The F.O.C.K (Festival of Canoe and Kayaking)

We wish all the finalists the best of luck on the night – bring it home!

Good Food Guide 2024 Awards – NSW

DSSS would like to give a big shout out to all our restaurant operators who recently secured themselves a ‘hat’ in The Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide Awards.

This year’s winners included:

• Babyface Kitchen (Wollongong)
• Bangalay Dining (Shoalhaven Heads)
• The Milton Hotel (Milton)
• Paste Australia (Bowral)
• South on Albany (Berry)

Valley Outdoors Launch Their New “BIG Canoe” Experience

Last week Valley Outdoors hosted an industry famil for their new BIG canoes experience. A unique experience available exclusively to Valley Outdoors, these 30-foot (9 metre!) 14-seater Canadian “Voyageur” canoes are an enjoyable shared experience that is inclusive and accessible for a wide range of abilities. Great for groups and work teams from 6 to 24 people, the experience is portable and available on waterways throughout the Shoalhaven. In conjunction with partners Gadhungal Marring sharing culture and great lunch provided by Caterina Catering, guests were treated to an exceptional day out in the Kangaroo Valley – the Canoeing Capital of Australia.

Valley Outdoors is an experienced team of outdoor professionals based in Gangagruwan, Kangaroo Valley. They deliver portable tours at a range of locations across the Southern Highlands, the South Coast and further afield, and offer a range of accessible, inclusive adventures in the natural world, with experiences lasting from a few hours to a few days.

Business Events Industry Development | In-person Workshops

DSSS is again undertaking industry development for venues and suppliers interested in building their Business Events capabilities, and we are pleased to partner with Mayvin Global to deliver the latest iteration of the program. 
Coming up in early November is two in-person workshops specially designed for senior events and sales staff in venues and business owners already targeting corporate groups, to strengthen your skills in proposal writing, sites visits and much more!

More information available in the registration links. Session details:

DNSW Inbound Strategy Workshop | Shoalhaven

Join Destination NSW for a free, full-day Inbound Strategy Workshop, designed to provide visitor economy businesses with the necessary steps to develop and sell export-ready products to international visitors via the inbound travel trade. 

When: Thursday 23 November, 10.00am – 4.00pm 
Where: Quest Nowra, 130 Kinghorne St, Nowra NSW 2541

The Inbound Strategy Workshop will suite visitor economy businesses including, accommodation, tours and activities, and visitor attractions including wineries, distilleries, breweries and farm gates that:

• Offer bookable experiences  

• Have a presence in the domestic market, with at least one year of operational experience 

• Are currently connected with or considering working with an online travel agent  

• Are exploring opportunities in the international market. 

The workshop is part of the NSW First Program, delivered by Destination NSW to assist businesses to develop, promote and sell world-class visitor experiences. 

That’s a wrap on Face-to-Face Fundamentals workshops!
For now…

Last week we held our final two Face-to-Face Fundamentals workshops in Kiama and Wollongong as part of NSW Small Business Month.
Attendees learnt about the benefits of being online bookable, the myriad of resources that are available to support tourism businesses and dived into the world of marketing with special guest speaker and marketing expert, Jet Jones.

Whilst the workshops have come to an end (for now), we are always available to assist tourism businesses one-on-one or help connect you with the right support.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the team! 

Application Open for ATE 2024

Seller applications to attend the Australian Tourism Exchange 2024 in Melbourne are now open. The event is the Australian tourism industry’s largest annual business-to-business event and will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre between Sunday 19 May and Thursday 23 May 2024. 

Applications close Friday, 10th November 2023. More info and apply here

Simple Steps for Small Businesses to Stay Cyber Secure

There is a growing need for businesses to better understand their risks online and to be proactive against scams, email attacks, and malicious software.

ID Support NSW has developed a webpage containing information and tips on how to stay cyber secure, as well as free interactive learning modules and printable checklists to help businesses regardless of their size or budget.

ID Support NSW also runs a free fortnightly webinar where business owners can learn directly from experts on how to keep customers’ personal information safe. 

More info here and read the full media release

Risk Management Tools | Don’t Risk It Guide

Australian Tourism Industry Council (ATIC) and EarthCheck have released a ‘Don’t Risk IT’ guide with accompanying resources, to assist tourism businesses to prevent, respond and recover from a disaster. The guide offers case studies, templates and considerations relating to risk, impacts, continuity, cash flow, insurance, cancellation policies, media, bookings and staff.

Access the guide and resources on the ATIC website here

Sustainability Spotlight

Sustainable tourism takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.

We’ve pulled together a short list of things you can do to enhance your efforts of reducing impact and applying sustainable practices in all parts of the tourism supply chain and within your business.
 

Destination NSW Sustainability Skills Micro-credentials: Round Two

Destination NSW has partnered with EarthCheck, the world’s leading sustainable advisory and scientific benchmarking company for tourism, to fully fund a second round of Sustainability Skills Micro-credentials for NSW visitor economy businesses.
Learn the foundations of sustainability for your business operations to meet changing consumer needs and drive cost savings.

Click here for more info
 

Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard

Embark on the pathway to sustainability and evaluate your business practices with the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard.
Destination NSW has partnered with Ecotourism Australia, the nation’s peak body for sustainable and ecotourism, to provide eligible NSW visitor economy businesses fully funded access to the pre-certification Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard.

Click here for more info
 

Quick Tips For Creating Sustainable Experiences

Destination NSW have compiled a list of quick tips to help make your experience offering more sustainable.
With 89% of travellers likely to choose sustainable travel options for their next trip, it is imperative you begin to apply some of these strategies throughout your business. You may even already be doing most of them already, so congratulations if you are! 

Click here for more info

Tourism Australia Insights

Industry Sentiment Survey

Tourism Australia has been intermittently conducting sentiment surveys to help them better articulate and quantify how tourism operators and regions around the country are tracking. 
These data points really help them to communicate with the Minister’s office, Austrade and broader government colleagues on what the ‘real’ state of play is and identifies any issues that may require additional focus.

Complete the 2 minute survey here, before 1 November 2023.
 

Register for TA’s next Industry Webinar

Tourism Australia’s next Industry Webinar will take place on Friday 3 November at 11am. Along with an update from Tourism Australia’s Managing Director, Phillipa Harrison, Tourism Western Australia’s Managing Director, Carolyn Turnbull will give an update on all things Western Australia. Tourism Australia’s Regional General Manager, The America’s, Chris Allison will also provide an update on the North American Market. 

Register to attend

Latest Regional Visitor Data

More Aussie Travellers Flock To Regional Areas Post-Pandemic

Regional tourism continues to be the success story of Australia’s domestic tourism market with average visitation surging to 9% above pre-pandemic levels, according to new data released by the Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) Australia.

The latest DSpark report, commissioned by TTF, shows visits by Australian travellers surged for all top 10 regional tourism destinations during the most recent Summer/Autumn period (Dec 2022 – May 2023), compared to pre-Covid.

The report, which analysed anonymised and aggregated mobility data to examine the movement of Australian adults across regional tourism regions (outside of capital cities), also found that the most popular regional spot nationally was North Coast NSW, with visitation 4.2% higher than pre-Covid, and Byron Bay/Ballina the most visited area within that region. Read full media release
 

Latest Figures On International Arrivals

New Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows there were 230,460 short-term visitor arrivals to NSW in August 2023, 81.5% of pre-pandemic levels in August 2019. 

The three leading source countries for NSW were: New Zealand (29,490 trips) China (27,370) and United States (26,180). For visitor arrivals to Australia, 603,360 short-term trips were recorded, which was 23.5% lower than the pre-COVID level in August 2019.

In August 2023 there were 48,770 international student arrivals to Australia, an increase of 8,120 students compared with the corresponding month of the previous year. 
The number of student arrivals in August 2023 was 11.3% lower than the pre-COVID levels in August 2019.