As the final weeks of 2023 draw closer, I would like to take a moment to thank you all for your continued support of our organisation and wish you every happiness for the coming festivities and for a prosperous New Year.
Next year is an exciting one, and one of our many passion points and areas of focus, as we reflect on this year, is Positive Impact. The 2030 Visitor Economy Strategy focuses on Positive Impact and through our recent member Corporate Social Responsibility survey, it is clear that many of you are focusing your business strategies to attract the conscious traveller and delivering great outcomes in this area. Our work will educate our members on how to maximise this opportunity and why it is now an essential part of any business.
Please know that we are here to support you now and into the future and our board of directors and team wish you a safe and happy Christmas and look forward to working with you in the future.
Alex
DST Christmas Office Hours
The DST office will be unstaffed from Friday 22nd December and will reopen Tuesday 2nd January, however should you need to speak to the team for anything urgent during this time, please call Alex on 0438 861 491. Alternatively, please send us an email to dstadmin@southerntasmania.com.au and we will respond upon our return in 2024.
NEW MEMBERS
Derwent Distillery is a family-owned whisky, gin and liqueur distillery situated on the banks of the River Derwent (timtumili minanya), in the small rural town of Dromedary. Only half an hour from Hobart, the team often forage botanicals from the distillery site to create their gins and liqueurs, with a strong focus on local, sustainably sourced and organic ingredients.
DST MEMBER BENEFITS
IMAGE CREDIT: Cascade Brewery Bar
DST Christmas Drinks
Cascade Brewery Bar
140 Cascade Road, South Hobart
Tuesday 5th December
4.30pm - 7.00pm
Join the DST team for festive season drinks to reflect upon 2023 and toast to the start of the summer season. We will shout your first drink and provide some nibbles, with a cash bar available for further purchases.
We look forward to seeing you there as we raise a glass to another year and celebrate with you, our industry colleagues.
Did you know DST membership includes Basics level membership with the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI). You can view the full benefits here.
New Offers Support Program | EOIs close 17th December 2023
Off Season planning is ramping up earlier this year, tapping into the 3 - 6 month lead time of prospective visitors planning their winter holiday.
The support program is designed to assist tourism operators develop and market their special winter offering. The support may include one or a combination of the following:
Assistance in creating an Off Season offer through one-on-one support
Expert copywriting and editing to communicate your offer in the best light to visitors
A professional photography session to provide high resolution images of your offer
Digital support to ensure visitors can easily find information or book the offer on your website
Advice on how best to leverage the Off Season campaign.
To receive FREE support under this program, submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) via the Tourism Tasmania website. EOIs will close on Sunday 17 December 2023.
EOIs will be assessed by a panel and successful applicants will be advised in December 2023. The support program will be delivered in January, February and March 2024.
There are limited spots still available, so secure one for your business right away by submitting an EOI today to lauren.cameron@tict.com.au or by applying via the TICT website.
From 8th December 2023, all licensed food businesses in Tasmania must have a designated Food Safety Supervisor (FSS) who has obtained this qualification within the past 5 years. It is strongly recommended that a business should nominate a Primary and a Secondary FSS. This new online, self-paced course will help ensure your teams are compliant as we head into the busy holiday period.
As we head into a bumper holiday period, it is important to check that your Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) listing is still active. You must renew your listing every 12 months, and should receive email reminders prompting you to do so.
Enter your ATDW-Online username (email address) and password. If you don't know your password, follow the links to reset it.
From your Profile Dashboard, click the red RENEW button next to the profile you want to renew.
Review your profile ensuring that key information regarding your business is up to date, i.e. business description, photos, pricing, opening hours, etc. Click on Summary to get an overview of your profile. You will need to make at least one edit to your profile in order to be able to renew it. We recommend adding details to the listing description to update your current circumstances.
Click on RENEW when you have finished updating your profile. Your updates auto-save as you go, so you can return to your listing at a later stage if you need to.
Click on Send for Review when you have finished updating your listing, your profile will be reviewed and approved within 1-2 business days before being republished to relevant ATDW distributor websites.
Tourism Australia's Key 2024 Events
In 2024, Tourism Australia will host the following events for Industry:
Destination Australia Conference: 13 March 2024 - Sydney Darling Harbour/Tumbalong
Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE24): 19 to 23 May 2024 - Melbourne/Narrm
Australia Marketplace Japan: 26 to 27 August 2024 - Location TBC
Australia Marketplace Korea: 29 to 30 August 2024 - Seoul
Australia Next (previously known as Dreamtime): 8 to 11 September 2024 - Cairns/Gimuy
G'day Australia: mid-October 2024 - Location TBC
Australia Marketplace United Kingdom & Europe: mid-November 2024 - London
More information and event details can be viewed here.
Share Your News with DST
IMAGE CREDIT: Tourism Australia | Mawson's Huts Replica Museum
Destination Southern Tasmania is always interested in your industry updates. Completing this form lets us know what’s happening in your business or region. Your news and information may be shared with Tourism Tasmania and throughout the Destination Southern Tasmania social, email and web channels.
IMAGE CREDIT: Maydena Bike Park
Maydena Bike Park secures Red Bull Hardline
February 21-25
Red Bull Hardline is heading to Maydena Bike Park as part of a 5 day mountain bike festival- Gravity Fest. Hardline is one of Red Bull’s biggest global event properties, which has to date never left it’s original UK venue.
The event will see up to 10k spectators on site, and will be broadcast globally to an audience of 40m.
If you are interested in volunteering over the festival, please register your interest here.
If you are a food and beverage provider you can email your interest to info@maydenabikepark.com.
Maydena Bike Park are managing a state wide marketing campaign as part of the event and broadcast. This program will see visiting journalists and athletes engaging in various activities and experiences around Tasmania, then promoting this to their audience, while amplifying this through the event broadcast. If you have an experience/activity/product you would like to be considered, please send a brief summary to simon@maydenabikepark.com.
Women In Tourism & Hospitality (WITH)
We are seeking your input to help guide WITH’s strategic direction and activities for the forthcoming year, and into the future, in line with our objectives to Connect, Support and Inspire women in our industry.
The Richmond Bicentenary launches in December 2023 with a weekend of events commemorating the 200th anniversary of laying the Richmond Bridge foundation stone. Weekends in the Valley will continue from mid-January 2024, featuring the anniversary of Richmond as a town on 27 February 2024. View full program here or sign up to volunteer here.
IMAGE CREDIT: B.Sheppard |Tasmanian Archives
Spring & Summer Tour Groups
As we enter the summer season, it is timely to remember the importance of confirming bookings with venues or experiences, and similarly, advise of any cancellations.
Workforce and supply challenges continue to add strain for operators, so adequate planning for small or large group arrivals is paramount.
Without a booking, businesses cannot always deliver the experience that visitors expect. This impacts on the quality of your tour, but also unfairly on the business you are visiting.
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
Free Sales & Marketing Advice
Would you like $1,500 of sales and marketing assistance for your business at no cost to you? If you're struggling with the what, why and how of a sales and marketing strategy for your business, Business South can help.
They've developed a "done WITH you" package, available under the State Government's Small Business Advice and Financial Guidance Program, which is designed to help you develop and implement a sales and marketing strategy for your business.
They provide you with the education and support you need to implement a tailored strategy to help retain customers and grow your business. Empowering you with the skills to repeat the process for your current, or any future business.
If you'd like to help you take your business to that next level, shoot Sharon and Mikala and email at admin@businesssouth.org.au - before grant funding runs out!
Southern Tasmania has an incredible line-up of markets and events over the coming month. These events all drive strong visitation from local and interstate markets, so to help you get a piece of the action, here's a summary of what's on and when:
Through the support of the Tasmanian Government, the TICT is supporting tourism businesses in reducing their emissions by matching eligible tourism operators with one of two programs over 2023 and 2024.
Successful applicants will receive a grant of between $1,000 and $1,500 to obtain financial or business guidance services from a suitably qualified specialist/consultant.
Touring grants of up to $20,000 are available to eligible organisers of auto, motorbike, cycle or walking tours in Tasmania during the winter and shoulder season. Funding is based on the number of interstate or international participants staying in paid commercial accommodation for five nights or more, with 40 percent or more of the tour being held in regional areas.
The Scheme will provide no-interest loans of between $500 and $10,000 over three years to eligible households, residential landlords, small businesses and community organisations to fund investment in energy-efficient products.