A Reminder to Get Connected

WOW its been another massive week of visitor servicing and guiding group experiences in the outdoors here in the Shoalhaven!

Today I sat in on the Destination NSW webinar featuring their marketing strategy NSW Road Trips.

This strategy focus is taking off now but has been in market as part of the Love NSW campaign since July 2020 as restrictions first began to ease and will run until June 2021. The NSW Road Trips idea is aimed at re-distributing tourism revenue and recovering visitor spending, particularly for regional areas that have been hit hardest after the fires and now COVID. A new video series is about to be released showcasing “must do” drives in NSW. This series will be used to inspire people to go on a multi-day and multi-destination road trip. Using emotional and authentic content DNSW is trying to differentiate the NSW experience. Interestingly they have implemented a new smart phone notification system to prompt visitors who are en-route to or even entering a defined geographical footprint. Advertising pop ups will feature on Spotify (for those without a premium account) to promote experiences close by with the intention of increasing visitor spend with a particular aim at the under 35yrs. Traditionally it has been an older demographic fond of hitting the road so this strategy is focused on drawing a younger audience to the “Road Trip” idea.

With the Christmas holidays only weeks away we have seen a dramatic increase in Visitor traffic through the Shoalhaven Visitor Centres as well our phones ringing off the hook and emails flooding in with enquiries about where to eat / stay and play. Bookings are solid throughout our region and activity providers are bracing themselves for what they hope will be their busiest summer ever!

The DNSW webinar was a timely reminder for us to touch base with our local operators again about ATDW (Australian Tourism Data Warehouse) and Get Connected to ensure they have created their free listing or updated content on their existing listing so they can be included in these major marketing initiatives. To help operators get on board with a cohesive message DNSW have put together a helpful toolkit which can be found at the link below.

https://www.destinationnsw.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/the-great-escape-industry-toolkit.pdf

It is also a timely reminder to Government that, now more than ever, funding for special projects to enhance the visitor experience plus maintenance and upgrades to popular destinations like National Parks is vital. Having just seen the new upgrades to the freshly opened trail at Pigeon House Didthul Mountain, it is clear, that the financial love needs to be shared around to improve these areas ready for the increase in visitation this summer and beyond.