Tapping Into Tourism

tapping into tourism

An amazing place to live. A wonderful place to work. Tourism helps drive this city.

Our industry provides heart and soul.

We are a sustainable city. We want the world to come and share our spirit, be in the moment and feel the four seasons.

Get involved; be engaged. Let people know what you have to offer.

Be inspired and play your part in helping Melbourne grow.

Melbourne is one of the great cities of the world

Contents

4 Introduction

7 Melbourne the Destination

8 Key Tourism Organisations

12 Communicating the Value of Tourism

13 Becoming part of the Tourism Industry

14 Local Tourism

16 The Regional Tourism Organisation for Melbourne

19 Starting up in Tourism

20 Case Study -Wyndham City - Collective Leadership

22 Understanding the Market

25 Visitor Servicing

26 Case Study - City of Melbourne

28 Co-operative Marketing

30 Case Study - Chapel St Precinct

32 Visiting Friends & Relatives - The Golden Opportunity

34 Case Study - Frankston City Council - VFR Campaign

38 Tourism Excellence

40 Sustainable Tourism

42 Ten Tips for Treading Lightly

44 Useful Numbers

4 Tapping into Tourism

Over the last 20 years we have seen a renaissance in Melbourne’s fortunes as a city. Tourism has played a big part our revival. Tourism injects vitality into our communities, encourages restaurants to open for longer, gives our retail sector confidence to reinvest, generates employment close to home and lifts our City’s profile like no other industry.

While there is an overwhelmingly positive view of tourism and its impact on our community, we need to work together to encourage ownership. Sustainable development of tourism is only possible when business, community and government are engaged.

Destination Melbourne’s vision is to ‘Inspire industry to grow Melbourne as an outstanding global visitor experience.’ This is an inclusive vision.

Melbourne’s success as a destination relies on collaboration and a shared responsibility for the visitor experience. By working on the quality of the visitor experience in our own backyard we will enhance the lives of residents and customers.

Who is this publication for?

Tapping into Tourism was inspired by a ground-breaking engagement process that closely examined how the industry can work together with Local Government to help grow tourism across the whole of Melbourne. There was a particular focus on Visiting Friends and Relatives Market.

The aim of ‘Tapping into Tourism’ is to educate and inform Local Governments, local traders, business groups and anyone who has an interest in tourism in Melbourne.

This guide will help Local Government and trader groups access up to date and relevant thinking about how tourism will grow and change over the next decade.

Tourism has many facets. This publication is designed to enable rather than constrain positive thinking. It signposts organisations and information that will help you grow tourism in your special part of Melbourne. If you have questions that remain unanswered, or an idea that you would like to share further please call us on (03) 9869 2444.

Tapping into Tourism - An Introduction

5Tapping into Tourism

Contrary to popular belief, tourism isn’t just about people from overseas visiting our big traditional landmarks. For us at The Rose St. Artists’ Market, it’s about people from up the road, or across the globe coming here to enjoy a uniquely Melbourne experience. And when we’re thriving, the benefits are shared between ourselves, surrounding businesses and local residents.

Christian Ferrante The Rose St. Artists’ Market

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Melbourne is one of the great cities of the world. Our international events, shopping experiences and great love of food and culture draw people into Melbourne from all over.

We are now the most popular domestic holiday destination in Australia outranking the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Sydney (source Roy Morgan Research 2010).

Over the 12 months to March 2010, Melbourne attracted nearly 6.3 million domestic overnight visitors and over 1.4 million international overnight visitors (datainsights report year end March 2010).

Aside from the obvious economic benefits of people visiting Melbourne - jobs and wealth creation, there are a number of other tangible benefits. We get more direct flights to and from Melbourne, our restaurants and cafes prosper and stay open longer, our leading cultural attractions bring in new exhibitions and the streets of Melbourne are a happier and more vibrant place to be.

Anybody in Melbourne questioning the merits of tourism and its contribution to this great city need to get out and go for a walk - the city is alive and kicking.

Local Government, trader groups, local businesses and the tourism industry all have a role to play; whether it is advocating on behalf of the visitor, making sure people who come to Melbourne feel welcome, participating in co-operative marketing or ensuring that our products and services are second to none.

We also have a role to play making sure that the people who live and work in Melbourne and view themselves as locals, get a chance to appreciate the value of sharing their city with visitors.

We all have a responsibility to communicate the value of tourism to our own families, communities and elected representatives. By building ownership of tourism in our community we will all share the benefits.

Tourism touches everyone.

Melbourne the Destination


Tourism AustraliaKey role is to promote Australia as a tourism destination internationally and domestically through campaigns such as ‘There’s Nothing Like Australia’ and ‘No Leave, No Life.’

www.tourism.australia.com

Key Organisations for Tourism in Melbourne

Tourism VictoriaKey role is to actively market Victoria as a premier tourism destination both domestically and internationally through campaigns such as ‘Lose Yourself in Melbourne’.

www.tourism.vic.gov.au


Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau Markets Melbourne and Victoria nationally and internationally as one of the world’s best destinations for hosting Business Events.

www.mcvb.com.au

City of MelbourneTakes a lead role as the capital city local government, shaping Melbourne’s local and international reputation. They provide a range of visitor information services to ensure tourists experience everything Melbourne has to offer.

www.melbourne.vic.gov.au

Victorian Major Events CompanyResponsible for bringing world class events that inspire, excite and bond people, promoting and enriching Melbourne and Victoria.

www.vmec.com.au

Destination MelbourneThe Regional Tourism Organisation for the Greater Melbourne Region. They provide successful co-operative marketing opportunities, leadership and industry development.

www.destinationmelbourne.com.au

Victoria Tourism Industry Council The peak industry body advocating for and supporting the development of a professional and sustainable tourism industry across Victoria.

www.vtic.com.au


The tourism industry in Melbourne is remarkably cohesive. However many people find the number of different organisations slightly perplexing. Following is a basic overview that describes the roles of key tourism organisations. The critical element of any successful tourism structure is a well defined connection to the visitor.

Destination Melbourne

Destination Melbourne Ltd is Melbourne’s Regional Tourism Organisation; they provide leadership, industry development and successful co-operative marketing of Greater Melbourne by working in partnership with the tourism industry. They work with business, community and government to help Melbourne and Victoria grow as an outstanding global destination.

Destination Melbourne was established in 2001 as a not for profit company overseen by a skills based board of directors. Their vision is to inspire industry to grow Melbourne as an outstanding global visitor experience.

Core activities are:

• Developing integrated co-operative marketing opportunities for industry and partners to encourage greater demand, yield and visitor dispersal.

• Partnering with industry, government and community to support the strategic development of Melbourne as a destination.

• Providing leadership for industry in the delivery of outstanding visitor experiences.


Tourism Victoria

Tourism Victoria’s primary role is to actively market Victoria as a premier tourism destination to Australian and international travellers. Tourism Victoria works with the industry to: “Maximise employment and the long-term economic benefits of tourism to Victoria by developing and marketing the State as a competitive tourism destination.”

Tourism Victoria’s strategic direction is based on four broad goals:

• Marketing. Increase visitor numbers, length of stay and visitor expenditure by implementing innovative and effective marketing strategies to position Victoria as a distinct and competitive tourist destination.

• Leadership. Take a leadership role in the tourism industry, encourage professional standards and the development of cooperative arrangements which maximise industry effectiveness.

• Infrastructure. Improve the tourism assets of Victoria by identifying infrastructure opportunities and facilitating development projects.

• Management. Maximise the effective use of resources by conducting the business of Tourism Victoria in accordance with professional commercial management principles.

www.visitvictoria.com.au www.tourism.vic.gov.au

Key Organisations for Tourism in Melbourne


City of Melbourne

The City of Melbourne takes a lead role, as a capital city local government, shaping Melbourne’s local and international reputation as a friendly, welcoming and culturally diverse city.

The municipality encompasses the central city, Docklands, Carlton, East Melbourne, Jolimont, Kensington, North Melbourne, Parkville, Southbank, St Kilda Road, West Melbourne and parts of South Yarra, Flemington and Port Melbourne.

The City of Melbourne delivers events, city promotions and tourism services geared toward increasing visitation and activating the city and delivering information, services and infrastructure for city visitors. These services build Melbourne’s reputation and help local businesses and the community engage with the tourism market.

The City of Melbourne also funds and delivers major events such as Moomba, New Year’s Eve celebrations and Melbourne Spring Fashion Week.

www.melbourne.vic.gov.au

Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau

Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB) is a not for profit organisation which markets Melbourne and Victoria nationally and internationally as one of the world’s best destinations for Business Events - meetings, incentive travel, conferences and events.

In order to promote Victoria for Business Events, MCVB builds strong relationships with a range of partners: Government bodies; strategic industry partners; industry stakeholders, and its members.

MCVB also partners with luminaries within professional fields, including medicine, science, technology and business to attract conventions to Victoria. MCVB offers many services and tools to make organising events simple, including the Melbourne Meetings + Events Service (MM+ES). Australia’s only all-inclusive event planning service, MM+ES is a free referral service providing advice and quotes on venues, accommodation, catering and entertainment.

MCVB, a member of the BestCities Global Alliance, offers Lloyds Register Quality Assurance certified customer service.

MCVB is dedicated to providing membership opportunities and benefits, including cooperative marketing, tradeshows, business leads and market briefings.

www.mcvb.com.au

Victorian Major Events Company

The Victorian Major Events Company (VMEC) is a world leading event acquisition group which has created an exceptional and unrivalled calendar of international major events for Melbourne and Victoria.

VMEC was formed in 1991, as part of a Victorian Government initiative to acquire international cultural and sporting events which complement the State’s world class and state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure and provide a strong platform for Victoria’s tourism and marketing activities.

Major events give visitors from Australia and overseas more great reasons to come to Melbourne and Victoria.

www.vmec.com.au


As an industry we know how significant tourism is in terms of its value to business and communities.

Top line - tourism employs approximately 160,000 people and generates more than $11 billion per annum in Melbourne alone.

These numbers are so big, that many people find them hard to comprehend. These key messages may help people recognise the benefits:

• Tourism creates jobs close to communities

• Tourism generates cashflow like no other industry

• Tourism encourages smart governments to invest in community infrastructure like roads, rail, parks that benefit visitors and residents

• Tourism increases the choice of recreational and leisure activities for residents

• Tourism builds community pride

So let’s get back to basics - Tourism grows when business, community and government work together. It is not rocket science.

There are three simple things we can all work on to improve tourism in Melbourne:

1. Encourage people to get out in their own backyard and have a good time.

2. Improve the quality of the visitor experience.

3. Ensure that the value of tourism is well communicated.

Communicating the Value of Tourism


The tourism industry in Melbourne is built on vibrant networks, collaboration and the ‘Good Neighbour Principle’. There is strength in unity.

By actively participating in tourism forums and joining a relevant tourism organisation you give yourself more chance of success. Tourism is a people orientated industry full of optimists and entrepreneurs. You can forge great networks if you invest the time and energy in cultivating them.

Tourism Industry Bodies

There are a number of membership based organisations in Victoria that play an important role in building tourism.

By joining a tourism industry association you will get:

• Industry updates delivered directly to your inbox.

• Opportunities to connect with the industry through various events, conferences and unique tourism functions.

• A collective voice for tourism industry issues.

• Access to industry resources to connect you to the right person, association, agency or government.

• Independent advice and consultation on issues that may be affecting your business or destination.

• An opportunity to be engaged and make a difference.

Depending on your sector, you may be a member of a number of different associations, or just one key body. Tourism industry bodies in Victoria include:

Tourism Alliance Victoria

Tourism Alliance Victoria has a strong and diverse membership base that gives the organisation a statewide perspective on all issues affecting Victorian tourism. It’s charter includes promoting the development of tourism in Victoria. It provides a unique range of services for businesses and regions special interest groups and representation for a 650+ strong member network.

www.tourismalliance.com.au

Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC)

The Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) is the peak policy council for the Victorian tourism industry. It represents key industry associations, operators and government agencies, providing one united industry voice.

www.vtic.com.au

Hotel, Motel & Accommodation Association (HMAA)

HMAA aims to protect and advance the interests of its accommodation members at local, state and federal government levels as well as on issues relating to the operational needs of the accommodation industry.

www.hmaavictoria.com.au

Backpacker Operators Association of Victoria (BOAV)

BOAV is committed to assisting its members with their ‘bottom line’ through advocacy and representation, industry development and is committed to enhancing the State’s reputation as a competitive, quality driven backpacker destination.

www.boav.com.au

Victoria Events Industry Council (VEIC)

The Victoria Events Industry Council (VEIC) is a peak industry policy council of associations, corporate businesses and government agencies representing event organisers, venues, suppliers and service providers for Melbourne and regional Victoria.

www.veic.com.au

Becoming part of the tourism industry


Your region may have a Local Tourism Organisation and/or a Regional Tourism Organisation. Destination Melbourne is the Regional Tourism Organisation for the whole of Melbourne, but recognises that the value in some parts of Melbourne organising themselves on a sub-regional basis. A good example is Western Melbourne Tourism.

Destination Melbourne will always look for ways to work with and support the development of positive forums that bring the industry together and encourage collaboration. These bodies may describe themselves as Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs), Local Tourism Organisations (LTOs), Tourism Advisory Boards, Chambers of Commerce or Business Networks.

RTOs and LTOs are conventionally membership based associations who bring the industry together and help support the visitor experience.

Local Tourism Organisations

LTOs represent local tourism businesses and focus their efforts on servicing visitors and ensuring “delivery on the promise” (source, Tourism Alliance Fact Sheet 6, June 2008).

LTOs have a variety of roles including:

• Coordination and representation of industry

• Visitor servicing

• Business development

• Industry research

• Industry development

• Industry communications

• Partnership development

Regional Tourism Organisations

RTOs are the peak bodies responsible for management and development of sustainable tourism within a region. Their focus is on increasing visitation and yield through external marketing. (source, Tourism Alliance Fact Sheet 5, June 2008)

Core functions of an RTO include:

• Representation

• Strategic planning

• Destination marketing

• Tourism industry development

• Tourism business development

• Industry communications

• Industry and consumer research

• Partnership development

Every tourism organisation is different. There is no iron clad definition that boxes the function or an RTO vs an LTO. There is often an overlap in traditional roles. One of the key ingredients in successful destination development and promotion is strong and positive leadership.

For more information on Local and Regional Tourism associations visit: www.tourismalliance.com.au

Local Tourism

Tapping into Tourism 15

In the City of Yarra, tourism is everybody’s business. Government agencies, businesses and residents work together to provide a great experience for locals and visitors. Having a strong, resilient tourism industry generates income and employment opportunities, expands the range of products and services available, celebrates cultural diversity, enhances our assets and contributes significantly to the vibrancy, character and charm that attracts visitors to Yarra.

Michelle Dawson Tourism and Marketing Officer, City of Yarra

“ “


Unlike other Regional Tourism Organisations, Destination Melbourne is not a membership based organisation. If you advertise with us, attend our industry events, call us for advice or read our newsletters you are part of the DML family.

We work on the ‘strength in unity’ and ‘paying it forward’ principles. By working closely with all three levels of government, industry associations and our customers, we will deliver an even better visitor experience.

There are a number of simple ways you can connect with DML:

E News Network

Every 6 weeks Destination Melbourne sends out an industry e-newsletter to let people know what is happening at the grassroots of the Melbourne Tourism Industry. We feature current marketing opportunities, industry news, issue updates, event information and tourism product updates. If you have news for the industry, send it through to [email protected]. If you would like to receive our e-newsletter, please register online at:


Facebook

Destination Melbourne has a Facebook page. By becoming a fan of DML, you can keep up-to-date with the latest news, social events photos and updates. The page is updated regularly and is a great way of seeing what the team at Destination Melbourne has been up to and what industry events or updates are available. Find us at:www.facebook.com

Destination Melbourne Blog

The Destination Melbourne blog site supports open conversations, encourages new thinking and provides opportunities for greater engagement. We share posts on industry events, profile people who are making a difference to the tourism industry, test new thinking and comment on developments that are relevant to the industry. Get involved; be engaged; connect to Destination Melbourne and your industry. To visit our blog go to:

www.destinationmelbourne.com.au/blog

Industry Events

Destination Melbourne run a series of industry events throughout the year designed to support the growth of networks and educate the industry about new products and services that are coming on line in Melbourne. We also promote tourism industry events across Melbourne through

www.destinationmelbourne.com.au/events

The Regional Tourism Organisation For Melbourne




If you’ve just started a tourism business, or you’re planning to and would like to know more about who to talk to, what steps to take and how to go about it, then this workshop is a great place to start.

Tourism Alliance Victoria, Small Business Victoria, Tourism Victoria and the OAMPS Insurance Brokers, have combined their expertise and resources to develop this introduction to the tourism industry for new and potential businesses. The aim is to provide a strategic insight across a range of essential business practices and improve overall business acumen and planning. Workshop notes and a comprehensive resource kit, including industry publications will be provided, as well as relevant industry contacts and networking opportunities for you to follow-up.

The following topics are covered in the three hour workshop:

For more information go to www.tourismalliance.com.au

Starting up in Tourism

Setting up a Tourism Business

• Licenses & insurance

• Health & safety

• Risk management

• Business and marketing planning

Tourism Industry Overview

• Tourism industry structure

• Research

• Networks and resources available to help you


Wyndham City and the Wyndham Tourism Association recently embarked upon a process of increasing the benefits of tourism to the local community and local businesses by adopting a ‘collective leadership’ model aimed at embracing and marshalling common resources to deliver ownership over a range of sustained and systemic outcomes.

As is sometimes the case between different organisations, there was an initial level of apprehension about such an approach - this was based on the lack of a clear understanding of each organisation’s goals and objectives. The first step in the process was to build trust between the organisations. Extensive dialogue revealed the commonality of each organisation’s goals and objectives and served as the pathway for cementing the trusted relationships necessary to move forward as an effective, collective group.

The next step in the process was ‘co-constructing’ a project that embodied a broader need as identified by the partners. The project agreed by the partners was the creation of an integrated destination website for Wyndham City. While each organisation had their own specific website at the time, they were judged ‘tired’ in addition to being confusing from a consumer perspective.

With a project reflective of the partners’ needs, it was important to ensure concrete ground rules were established from a planning and implementation perspective. Critical to the success of the project in general, and the collective leadership model in particular, were:

• clearly defined and frequently articulated roles and responsibilities;

• transparent distribution of resources;

• defined expectations that held each member accountable to one another and the project goal/s;

• celebrating successes together as a team; and

• open (and frequent) communication.

The development phase of the new website went smoothly with extensive buy-in, and participation, from local operators culminating in the successful launch of the new Wyndham City destination website, www.visitwyndham.com.au.

As with any technology-based project there were minor teething troubles. However, the project partners ensured these were easily overcome in the spirit of cooperation and in the context of delivering on a common project goal.

The success of the collective leadership approach employed by Wyndham City and the Wyndham Tourism Association came about because the group became ‘the leader’ rather than a specific individual or organisation. This could only have happened through the establishment of trusted relationships allowing an unencumbered focus on an agreed goal.

Importantly, all project partners involved agree that this style of engagement is cyclical; it does not happen once and then end. In this vein, the next project is even more ambitious - the development of Wyndham City’s Tourism & Events Strategy.

For further information contact Diane Barrera on (03) 9742 0905 or [email protected]

CASE STUDY Wyndham City - Collective Leadership, Working With LTA’s

21Tapping into Tourism 21


Whether it’s looking for potential new markets or developing a tourism strategy, market research will help you get a clearer picture of tourism in Melbourne.

Good research is available from a range of sources. Destination Melbourne makes a wide range of research relevant to the tourism industry in Melbourne available on www.destinationmelbourne.com.au/research

Visitation to Melbourne

Datainsights provides Destination Melbourne with quarterly research papers on travel patterns to Melbourne. These papers outline accommodation preferences, length and duration of stay and motivation to travel to Melbourne.

The information is drawn from The National Visitor Survey (NVS) and International Visitor Survey (IVS).

Destination Melbourne Industry Survey

Destination Melbourne undertakes a survey of the Melbourne Tourism Industry up to 3 times per annum. The survey not only seeks reviews of Destination Melbourne’s activities but also gauges industry opinions on:

• Industry collaboration

• Grassroots Leadership

• Industry Development Opportunities

• Research gaps

• Challenges facing the Melbourne Tourism Industry

Key External Sources

Tourism Victoria

Visit Tourism Victoria’s research page to find out the latest research figures, facts and figures on:

• Visitation to Victoria and its Regions

• Market profiles

• Travel Segments

• Economic Significance of Tourism to Victoria

• Tourism Research Glossary

For more information visit www.tourism.vic.gov.au/facts-and-figures

Tourism Research Australia

Tourism Research Australia is a business unit of Tourism Australia providing superior research information that supports improved decision making, marketing and tourism industry performance for the Australian community. To receive email alerts when new TRA research reports are released visit: www.ret.gov.au/tra

National Tourism Satellite Account

The National Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) measures tourism consumption and the size of the tourism industry, including its contribution to Gross Domestic Product, Gross Value Added and employment. It is important to note that these results relate only to the direct economic impact of tourism at the national level. www.abs.gov.au

Sustainable Tourism Online

A free resource updated regularly with new research, data and tools in three main areas: Destinations and Communities; Business Operations; and Parks and Culture as well as broader sustainable tourism themes. www.sustainabletourismonline.com

Local Government Health Check

Tourism Alliance Victoria undertakes research to measure the capacity of local government to develop and manage tourism over time in light of the variety of functions and the limitations faced. In essence, a Local Government - Tourism Health Check. Tourism Alliance Victoria utilises the results of the research to assist it in targeting its support to improve local governments’ capacity to manage tourism. The results of the project are only available to Tourism Alliance Victoria members, for more information go to: www.tourismalliance.com.au

Look Locally

You can often find great market research by just speaking with the economic development unit at your local council. LGAs regularly undertake resident surveys which look at the activities people undertake within the council, such as attending local events, using bicycle paths and parks, visiting local markets. The information can be quite diverse and give you an idea of not only existing markets but potential ones as well.

Understanding the Market




...People adore visiting the City of Yarra as it is such a vibrant, eclectic and cultural destination which offers diverse experiences across all areas; including food & beverage, retail and heritage. With the highest saturation of galleries of any area in Melbourne, Yarra offers a multiplicity of astonishing cultural action too.

Maggie Maguire CEO, Abbotsford Convent Foundation

“ “Successful tourism marketing strategies increase the awareness of a destination, motivate visitation and deliver conversion. The best laid marketing plans will fail if the promise does not meet expectations.

While online has revolutionised the way people research and plan their holidays, once people are in the destination the primary source of information is either through word of mouth, or visitor publications.

Great visitor servicing is a hallmark of every successful destination. The quality of the visitor experience is one of the critical factors in Melbourne’s success as a destination. If people have a good time, they will come back again. They will also tell their friends and family about their experience.

Research shows that effective visitor servicing plays a significant role in enriching the visitors’ experience, contributes to dispersal and often increases visitor spend and the length of stay in a destination. If visitors are able to find out more about a destination, are provided with good service, they’ll stay longer and spend more.

Accredited Visitor Information Centres (VICs) are one of the success stories of Victorian Tourism.

Open seven days a week, they are staffed by friendly, professional and trained people with extensive local knowledge. They offer a broad range of services from accommodation and tour booking services, to local product sales and event ticketing.

They are a great first step to finding out how your destination is promoted and a chance to get out and about in your own backyard.

However not all towns require a VIC. The demand for a VIC in a destination will depend on the depth and diversity of its tourism product, and the regions capacity to support it both in financial terms and with appropriate infrastructure.

Good visitor servicing is about more than building a VIC, other important elements include:

• High quality customer service within a business

• First-rate way finding signage

• Accessible tourism publications

• Effective online platforms eg www.visitvictoria.com

• Familiarisations for small business operators

There is also growing understanding about the role of residents as a source of information for visitors. As the layer of government closest to community, councils should seriously consider building community pride by educating residents about the value of tourism and support the development of attractions and experiences in their municipality.

Visitor Servicing - The Hallmark of Success


The City of Melbourne takes a lead role as a capital city government shaping Melbourne’s local and international reputation as a friendly, welcoming and culturally diverse city.

In 2009, 20 million international and domestic tourists visited Melbourne. The City of Melbourne is a primary provider of personalised visitor information to this market and during 2009 Council’s visitor services network recorded two million customer contacts.

City of Melbourne’s visitor services include:

• Melbourne Visitor Centre at Federation Square

• Melbourne Visitor Booth at Bourke Street Mall

• City Ambassador Program

• Cruise Ship Program

• Melbourne Greeter Service

• Melbourne Town Hall Tours

• Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle

• Electronic tourist information

About the visitor service users:

• 39 per cent from overseas

• 36 per cent from interstate

• 4 per cent from regional Victoria

• 21 per cent locally from Melbourne

The majority of visitors are generally free independent travellers (FIT). Visitors often access services more than once during their stay.

Promoting tourism businesses

The City of Melbourne provides display and promotional opportunities for tourism businesses and regional destinations to directly communicate with international and domestic visitors to Melbourne.

Opportunities at the Melbourne Visitor Centre include:

• standard brochure display (free)

• feature brochure display

• super banners and light boxes

• large floor display space

• multimedia displays

• reception desk rental for information/ticket sales

• opportunity for major events to ‘wrap’ the Melbourne Visitor Centre

• light box poster displays at the Melbourne Visitor Booth

For more information, please visit: www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/tourismpartnerships

Educate our volunteers and staff

Encouraging visitors to stay longer and spend more is important to the success of local businesses and contributes to Melbourne’s reputation as the national capital and one of the best places to visit in Australia. The volunteers and staff take on the added role of promoting attractions throughout metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.

With more than 300 people working across our tourism services, our volunteers are well placed to help communicate your message to visitors.

For more information on how you can tap into our volunteer network including presentations to the volunteers, product familiarisations and newsletter updates please contact the Professional Development Coordinator on (03) 9658 9949 or email [email protected]

CASE STUDY City of Melbourne - Visitor Services


I love volunteering and helping visitors experience everything Melbourne has to offer. I get a buzz out of sharing information with them about Melbourne’s secrets such as our laneways and arcades, and making sure they get the most out of this beautiful and vibrant city. Visitors are always extremely thankful for the service we provide which is a reward in itself.

Barbara Olney City Ambassador Program volunteer for 5 years

“ “


So you have the makings of a tourism industry in your area, the product is stacking up and people are working on enhancing the visitor experience. It is time to share your story and get the word out. One of the tried and true methods is through co-operative marketing. Tourism is traditionally dominated by small business. The only way to get the story out to consumers is to work together and share the costs.

The more people know about a destination, the more they see, the more they spend and the more they tell their friends about it.

Destination Melbourne provide a cost effective range of tools and tactics to help you promote your product to Victorian, interstate and international visitor markets at their place of origin and on arrival in Melbourne.

The opportunities reflect our commitment to developing integrated marketing campaigns that cut through and deliver business for our partners across Melbourne.

Visitor Publications

Melbourne Official Visitors Guide is the Melbourne tourism industry’s flagship publication. It is a practical tool that gives visitors to Melbourne a comprehensive overview of things to do while in Melbourne. The guide is produced quarterly and showcases the experiences on offer in Melbourne during each season. (1,000,000 copies per annum) A Chinese version of the guide is also produced (200,000 copies per annum).

Melbourne Style Magazine is an informational piece that motivates regional Victorians to visit Melbourne. It is a cost effective way of reaching regional Victoria. Produced quarterly, each edition focuses on the key themes of the season providing the consumer with timely information for visiting or planning their next trip to Melbourne (1,000,000 copies per annum).

Insiders Guide to Melbourne is a user friendly guide to shopping, dining and cultural pursuits in the city and surrounding areas. Melbourne is the leading destination for style, world class food and wine and sophistication (200,000 copies per annum).

Melbourne Accommodation Guide is a high quality publication that showcases the range of accommodation available in Melbourne. It includes comprehensive information on key features of each property, approximate price ranges and any accreditations and star ratings. Distribution of the guide ensures that it captures both the business and leisure market (50,000 copies per annum).

Melbourne Official Visitors Map - Inner Melbourne provides a comprehensive overview of how to get around Melbourne. The map covers the inner city and immediate surrounds, detailing Melbourne’s train and tram services and providing grid references to accommodation around Melbourne. It is used by visitors to Melbourne as a key reference tool.

The Inner Melbourne Map features key attractions within the Melbourne CBD and city fringe areas (200,000 copies per annum).

Greater Melbourne Official Visitors Map - Greater Melbourne provides an overview of how to get around Melbourne and its surrounding regions. The Greater Melbourne Map highlights the key regional attractions and regions within a 90 minute radius of Melbourne and it is a perfect guide for those wanting to explore greater Melbourne. It features key attractions in Melbourne and regional Victoria (200,000 copies per annum).

Campaigns

Family Campaign

Destination Melbourne delivers a television and print campaign into Regional Victoria themed “You can’t do this at home”. The campaign encourages families to visit Melbourne’s attractions throughout the school holidays.

Seasonal Campaigns

Destination Melbourne delivers interstate campaigns that leverage off Melbourne’s key seasonal themes and branding. Recent campaigns have focused on food and wine, arts, culture and blockbuster theatre productions.

Co-operative marketing


Online Promotion

Visit Victoria

www.visitvictoria.com is Victoria’s official consumer website. The website received over 6.7 million visits and 26.9 million page views from consumers over the last 12 months, year ending June 2010. Visitvictoria.com is also one of Australia’s most visited state tourism websites, receiving over 500,000 visits per month.

For business products listed on visitvictoria. com, this means greater online exposure and integration with Tourism Victoria marketing activities. Improved search engine rankings, online booking and distribution to over 40 websites, including www.australia.com

Destination Melbourne & Tourism Victoria

Destination Melbourne works in partnership with Tourism Victoria to develop cooperative online marketing initiatives.

Tourism Victoria are currently redeveloping visitvictoria.com, allowing for more online marketing opportunities in the future. The new site is due to launch in 2011.

For more information contact John McGaw or Lisa Newman on (03) 9869 2444.


Streets Ahead Promotions Inc (SAPI) is a non-profit retail association that develops and implements retail marketing strategies on behalf of the Chapel St Precinct. Over 1,000 members are covered by the SAPI rateable area, which stretches from Dandenong Road in the south to Toorak Road in the north.

The precinct’s allied industries including tourism, retail, hospitality and services all play a fundamental role in delivering social, environmental and economic benefits to the City of Stonnington, Melbourne and Victoria.

As a designated Victorian tourist destination, the diversity of retail stores available in the precinct to local, national and international visitors alike is exciting, stimulating and impressive. Within the precinct, there are also core strengths of difference and diversity with a clear sense of personality that will increasingly appeal to tomorrow’s consumer.

SAPI also has an overall responsibility for the Chapel St Precinct destination product. It welcomes the challenges associated with providing leadership in the development of innovative products and creation of partnerships and aims for the delivery of a seamless experience for its visitors.

Targeting the right market with the right message at the right time is always difficult, especially for a retail association marketing a destination with limited financial and staff resources.

One invaluable resource for the association since 2003 has been our partnership with Destination Melbourne. This has enabled our destination to enhance it’s competitiveness by increasing our visibility, reducing costs and insuring well developed and suitable destination marketing mixes are delivered to the appropriate target markets.

Essentially our initial interest in working with Destination Melbourne was to utilise its marketing collateral as a tool to raise the profile of the Chapel St Precinct and attract more visitors.

Over the years our partnership has also evolved as a mechanism to facilitate tourism development objectives for not only our precinct but the City of Stonnington who recently became a Destination Melbourne partner. This in turn will boost tourism in our city and ensure the strategic objectives of our destination are achieved.

The tourism industry is becoming an increasingly competitive marketplace where only the best-managed destinations are likely to prosper.

New-sophisticated consumers are also willing to pay a premium for authentic and unique experiences, but only if the product is significantly better than that of competitors.

While SAPI can influence and assist many factors that affect the success of retail in the Precinct, ultimately it is the offer and the experience provided by our members that will contribute to our success as a tourism destination.

www.chapelstreet.com.au

CASE STUDY Chapel St Precinct



Destination Melbourne has been working in partnership with 28 Local Governments across Melbourne to see how these Councils can leverage off Melbourne’s growth as a global visitor destination.

The Visiting Friends and Relatives Market is worth $2.6 billion to Melbourne and has traditionally been a tough nut to crack. The critical success factor is the mindset and behaviour of the host - if we can educate locals to act as effective hosts, we can influence the visitor behaviour to maximise yield and dispersal.

Destination Melbourne undertook research into the behaviour and characteristics of the Visiting Friends and Relatives Market with support from datainsights.

This research provided the basis for conversation and dialogue in a series of workshops with council officers from across Melbourne.

Destination Melbourne was inspired and motivated by the quality of thinking and enthusiasm generated through the process. We recognise that Local Government plays a pivotal role in generating civic pride and has the capacity to positively influence residents.

By creating ownership of tourism within the community in partnership with Local Government, Destination Melbourne believes Melbourne can make serious in roads on a market that has been largely ignored up until now.

Destination Melbourne is now committed to championing the delivery of three projects in partnership with Local Government on a progressive basis.

These are:

• ‘Discovering Your Own Backyard’ - Develop and deliver a community engagement strategy to educate and inform hosts.

• ‘Educating Your Traders and Council Representatives’ - A communication strategy to promote the benefits of Visiting Friends and Relatives Market.

• ‘Familiarising our overseas students and their visiting families’ - Research into travel patterns and behaviour of International Students that will help inform Councils and Hosts.

This ‘Tapping into Tourism’ guide is a key deliverable from the project. For more information on VFR and this project call Denise Castro on 9869 2444 or to access the research on Visiting Friends and Relatives Market go to: www.destinationmelbourne.com.au/vfr

Destination Melbourne acknowledges the support of Tourism Victoria and City of Melbourne for their financial support of this project.

Visiting Friends and Relatives - the Golden Opportunity


Tourism is an important business in our community - especially the VFR market. The value that visitors bring to the local economy is enormous and it creates a high level of employment across a range of sectors...

Maggie Maguire CEO, Abbotsford Convent Foundation

“

“


Focus on Frankston Photography CompetitionLast year you told us what you loved about Frankston in our ‘Destination Frankston’ campaign. This year we’d like you to show us what you love about Frankston, by sending us your favourite photo that you think captures the essence of where you live.

The winning photos will be used in Council’s marketing material when we promote Frankston to other regions within Victoria and Interstate.

Remember Frankston City incorporates the suburbs of Carrum Downs, Frankston North, Frankston, Frankston South, Karingal, Langwarrin, Langwarrin South, Seaford, Skye, Sandhurst.

So show us what it is that you love about where you live. Is it the native parks and gardens, the local creek, the beach, the

view at night or during the day, the shopping or the alfresco dining, the sporting facilities, the sunset or sunrise? Or is it your children playing in the local park, or catching tadpoles in the lake, or jumping off the pier?

Remember a picture says a thousand words, so let’s tell the world what is great about where you live, through your eyes.

Enter on-line at www.frankston.vic.gov.au or pick up an entry form at Frankston City Council’s Civic Centre or Council’s shops. Visit www.frankston.vic.gov.au for full terms and conditions. Online entries cannot exceed 4MB.

Competition closes at 5:00pm on Friday, 31 October. For further information contact Amy Parsons on 9784 1062 or e-mail: [email protected].

Residents quotes“I wouldn’t live anywhere else. It has something for all ages. It has everything I need and want.”“We have the resources of a city, but the environment of a town.”“The view from Oliver’s Hill on a clear day is magical and well worth the walk to the top.”“Wonderful community spirit and friendly people.”

What’s on in FrankstonFrankston has many events happening over the next few weeks that may inspire the photographer in you.

Friday, 10 October - Hall of Fame presentations - Frankston Art Centre (Melway Ref: 100A D8) (invitation only, although you’re welcome to take photographs on the red carpet).

Sunday, 12 October - Pets’ Day Out - Ballam Park, Cranbourne Road, Frankston (Melway Ref: 103 B4)

Sunday, 19 October - Pram Stroll - Ballam Park, Cranbourne Road, Frankston (Melway Ref: 103 B4)

Competition Details - Entries limited to six per person

Competition closes at 5:00pm on Friday, 31 October. First prize $1500 cash, second prize $600 cash and third prize $250 Bayside Shopping Centre gift voucher. All submissions must include a contact name, address, phone number, mobile number and e-mail address. Entries which include a close up photo must include a signed permission form from the person/s in the photo or from the parent/guardian of children aged 18 years or under. Permission forms can be downloaded from the Frankston City Council web site www.frankston.vic.gov.au or by collecting one at one of Council’s customer service outlets (Langwarrin Shop - Shop 6, Gateway Shopping Centre, Langwarrin and Seaford Shop - 120 Nepean Highway, Seaford). Entries can be submitted on-line by visiting www.frankston.vic.gov.au or mail your entry to Frankston City Council, Marketing Services Department, PO Box 490, Frankston VIC 3199. Alternatively hand deliver prints or a CD to Frankston City Council, Marketing Services Department, Civic Centre, Davey Street, Frankston. Hard copy entries and CD’s will not be returned to the entrant. Online entries cannot exceed 4MB.

Third

Prize

$250

First Prize$1500

Second Prize

$600

Destination…. Frankston Waterfront

With over 400 responses, the feedback from the Destination Frankston survey was overwhelming. There were so many comments about Frankston being a great place to live and being a lifestyle choice. Not surprisingly, our beautiful beaches and Waterfront were the most popular attraction because they’re “family friendly”, “clean and safe”. In fact, Frankston Beach was

voted by Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria as the cleanest and friendliest.

Feedback also confirmed that families love the Frankston Waterfront along with daytime events and activities that are affordable and accessible. In response to this Frankston City invites you to take a closer look this summer at all our Waterfront wonderland has to offer.

Did you know that

Kananook Creek will

be redeveloped with

shops and cafes

from 2008?

Did you know there is a 4.6km coastal strip of beach, which you can walk from one end to the other at Seaford Foreshore Reserve, and is one of only a few extensive areas of relatively untouched dune vegetation remaining in Victoria?

Did you know that

over 70% of the sand used for this

exhibition is recycled each year for the

following year’s event?

Did you know in

response to the

high demand for

waterfront dining in

Frankston, and a la carte

restaurant will be built

at the Frankston Yacht

Club in 2008?

‘Incomparable sea vistas, beaches and natural wonders’ - Resident

This trail of discovery features a series of artworks at special locations between Olivers Hill and Seaford. Along the trail you will see tributes to our indigenous people and nostalgic installations that will evoke memories from your childhood days.

“I love a long, lazy Sunday session with friends over lunch at Daveys” - Resident

Frankston offers both family friendly and premium Waterfront dining. Whatever your preference be sure to enter the competition on the following page to go in the draw to win one of three Waterfront meal vouchers to the value of $100 each.

“Experience the Waterfront like never before with your favourite fairytales and fables” Sharon Redmond, Director, Sandstorm Events

From 2008 the Frankston Waterfront will be home to Australia’s largest sand sculpting festival, Sand Sculpting Australia (previously held in Rye). See 3,500 tonnes of sand carved into sculptures of your favourite fairytales and fables towering up to 18 feet. For the first time ever in Victoria, the sculptures will be lit for evening viewing!

FRANKSTON WATERFRONT - AT A GLANCE

COASTAL ARTS TRAIL WATERFRONT DINING

SAND SCULPTING AUSTRALIA -FAIRYTALES AND FABLES‘Frankston foreshore is a fantastic facility -

we can spend the whole day there going from the beach to the park and using the restaurant facilities.’ - Resident

Frankston Waterfront has been redeveloped from “just a beach” to an amazing destination for people of all ages. Enjoy a pristine coastline, pier and

boardwalk, spectacular bridge, clean, sandy and safe swimming beaches, family restaurants, an award-winning playground, boat launching facilities and a mixture of artwork which appreciates its surrounding environment.

‘Beautiful beaches with adjoining pathways and parks’ - Resident


In 2007 Frankston City Council commenced a 2 stage campaign targeting local residents to explore Frankston with friends and family and to share their favourite Frankston spots.

Stage 1

Resident Survey

A survey was placed in the Frankston Leader in 2007 which invited residents to “tell us” what they do when friends and family stay with them. The purpose of this survey was to identify Frankston’s most popular attractions and activities, demographics, peak visitation times, length of stay, preferred accommodation, current festivals and events patronage etc.

The survey was also emailed to a council e-database and posted on council’s website.

The campaign targeted residents and encouraged them to enjoy attractions and activities in Frankston first before going further a field with their Visiting Friends and Relatives.

By listening to the views of respondents, council was able to create a community driven marketing campaign to promote local tourism activities and engage local residents as “ambassadors” promoting the city to non-residents.

Council gained a much better appreciation of what residents are proud to share with their visiting friends and relatives as well as the need for affordable, daytime activities for young families and better communication about upcoming events.

Promoting Frankston to Residents

Four colourful display ads promoted themed activities that locals like to share with their friends and family when they come to stay. These adverts included quotes from residents.

A competition was supported by Frankston Tourism Association members who supplied packages of local visitor experiences.

The 4 key themes were in order of popularity:

• The Frankston Waterfront incorporating festivals and events at the Waterfront

• Parks, Reserves and Wetlands incorporating relevant events and the Frankston Cultural Drive Route 12

• Shopping and markets

• Frankston and beyond

Evaluation:

Over 400 surveys were received; registrations on council databases increased; several hundred entries were received for the competition and council now has a much better understanding of which products elicit local pride and areas that need additional promotion.

CASE STUDY Frankston City Council - VFR Campaign


Stage 2

The following year, council went one step further by developing a photography competition targeting local residents to “show us” what they are proud of - Focus of Frankston. The competition aimed to:

• Create a tailored campaign to inform residents via their preferred communication method and to steer them to the Frankston visitor information website www.visitfrankston.com

• Capture resident’s creativity

• Provide recognition and instil pride by providing exposure to participants work

• Increase awareness of Frankston’s iconic images

• Increase council’s photo database for future promotion

• Provide the community with ownership of the promotion and positioning of Frankston

Photos were uploaded onto visitfrankston.com and local residents were invited to vote for the People’s Choice Award. This campaign helped produce a community “owned” tourism promotion and gave council the tools to continue promotion of the city with the ownership of residents.

The Destination Frankston survey was repeated again in 2009 via local papers and the Focus on Frankston Photography promotion was conducted in 2009 - 2010 with more than 1300 entrants.

For the season 2010 - 2011, Council and Frankston Tourism are packaging up as many summer activities and attractions as possible and producing a 3 month promotional calendar that will be distributed widely across the municipality.

Focus on Frankston Photography competition is back once again for 2010 - 2011 and will span the major events season from October to March.

For more information please contact Maxine Sando on (03) 9784 1988.

CASE STUDY CONTINUED... Frankston City Council


Focus on FrankstonPhotography Competition

Over $10,000

worth of prizes

to be wonOver $10,000

worth of prizes


worth of prizes


worth of prizes

to be won

GOOD LIFE peninsula style

The competition is open NOW and you can send entries in throughout the summer holidays until Friday, 29 January 2010.

Open to residents and visitors the Focus on Frankston Photography Competition is your perfect opportunity to show us what you love about Frankston City and share your favourite memories.

Whether it's meandering along Seaford foreshore, jogging through Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve or playing golf at Sandhurst, you can capture your experience within Frankston City.

This year, the competition has been expanded to include 10 category prizes along with the major prizes and a People’s Choice Award. Go to www.visitfrankston.com or phone 1300 322 322 for more information and to enter your favourite photo of Frankston.

The Focus on Frankston Photography Competition is back – bigger than ever!

Frankston City Council acknowledges the support of:

I Love Frankston Cup Competition

Destination…. Frankston and beyond

Feedback from the Destination Frankston survey told us that you want more daytime, affordable and accessible community events and also love going to wineries on the Mornington Peninsula with visiting friends and family.

In response, we invite you to take a closer look at the not-to-be missed NEW activities, as listed below, taking place over summer.

‘I am so proud and happy to live in such a vibrant, progressive community. I love Frankston’ - Resident

For your chance to WIN one of three family passes to the I Love Frankston Cup and a $50 I Love Frankston hamper please complete this entry form and return it to Frankston City Council, Civic Centre, Davey Street, Frankston VIC 3199 by Friday, 8 February 2008.

Name: Address: Postcode:

E-mail Address: Phone: Mobile:

□ Yes, I would like to join the Frankston City Council events database □ Yes, I would like to receive the Frankston Tourism E-newsletterPlease note that your personal information will be used solely for the purposes of entering the Frankston City Award and informing you of relevant information and events within Frankston City if indicated. Information will not be passed onto any other party. For information regarding Frankston City Council’s privacy policy please call 1300 322 322 or visit www.frankston.vic.gov.au

For further information on what activities and attractions our city has to offer contact the Frankston Visitor Information Centre on 1300 322 842 or visit www.visitfrankston.com

IF you Love a great day out at the raCes, you’LL Love the I Love Frankston CupSunday, 10 February at Cranbourne Turf Club (Melway Ref: 133 J6)

Tickets available at the gate. Gates open at 10:30am - Adults $12 - Under 18 Free - Free kids’ rides - Sand Sculpting Australia activities - Fillies on the Field competition. For further information phone 5996 1300 or visit www.cranbourneturfclub.com.au or www.visitfrankston.com

www.visitfrankston.com www.frankston.vic.gov.au

Inclusions: transport, tasting fees and meals. Itinerary subject to change.

WInery tour on the MornIngton penInsuLa - $110 per person Saturday, 23 February and Saturday, 1 March

10:30am Depart Frankston Visitor Information Centre11:00am Arrive Jones Road Estate11:30am Depart Winery12:00pm Arrive 5 Sons Estate

12:30pm Depart Winery1:00pm Arrive Box Stallion Estate

(lunch and tasting)3:15pm Depart Winery

3:30pm Arrive Arthurs Seat and Hotel4:30pm Depart Venue5:30pm Arrive at Frankston Visitor

Information Centre

did you know that all adults attending the I Love Frankston Cup will receive a two for one pass to visit sand sculpting australia – Fairytales at Fables exhibition at the Frankston Waterfront?

Proudly hosted by

Champion Jockey

Simon Marshall and

supported by Frankston

Champions, Dee Dee

(Gold 104.3FM) and

Robert Harvey

(St Kilda Football Club)


One of Destination Melbourne’s key goals is supporting the development of the tourism industry. We understand that by helping our industry evolve and adapt we will see:

• An improved visitor experience

• Stronger industry leadership

• Greater industry collaboration

If you are thinking it’s time to get more strategic and are looking for ways to develop yourself and your business why not give us a call. If you want to do some research first, here are some good places to start.

The Tourism Excellence Program

Destination Melbourne actively supports the state-wide Tourism Excellence Program. We work in partnership with organisations such as Tourism Victoria, VECCI, Service Skills Victoria, Victorian Tourism Awards Unit and Tourism Alliance Victoria to facilitate industry development opportunities that will add value to operators and small business.

Tourism Excellence has been designed to help tourism businesses and destinations get the best from their workforce, deliver the best possible visitor experience, grow tourism by working together, and ensure a sustainable industry.

Seven modules have been developed that are delivered by expert facilitators in customised workshops. These include:

• Understanding visitor needs and expectations

• People Excellence

• Business Excellence

• Growing Destinations

• Industry Participation

• Fostering Innovation

• Sustainability in Tourism

For more information on the Tourism Excellence program visit www.tourismexcellence.com.au

Victorian Tourism Awards

The awards are a great way for serious tourism operators to benchmark themselves against others and work on their business at the same time. Destination Melbourne sponsors the awards and work with Tourism Alliance Victoria to facilitate awards workshops in greater Melbourne.

We understand that nominating for the awards is the first step in a long and sometimes challenging process. It also requires a measure of courage. Over the years, many Victorian tourism businesses have had to swallow a bitter pill when they did not make the cut on awards night. There are also some great stories of celebration.

There are some thoughts that are worth holding onto as you work through the process of putting together your nomination.

• Your business will be stronger as a result of having a go, whether you feature in the winners list or not.

• The awards ceremony is a great night out and there is nothing quite like the feeling you get being there and knowing that you are in the hunt for a trophy.

• The big night is also an opportunity to get together with the industry and celebrate all the best things about tourism in this great state.

• If you win, you’ve earned it.

www.victoriantourismwards.com.au

Tourism Excellence

Walk to Art travels through Melbourne’s remarkable back streets and laneways to discover the quirky art and hidden art spaces that makes Melbourne so special. Tourism has provided Walk to Art with a greater audience and I am very proud to be able to un-veil and educate Australians about the very long journey a creative person undertakes.

Bernadette Alibrando Walk to Art Tours

“ “


Victoria Tourism Week

Victoria Tourism Week (VTW) is a ground-breaking project that will help people understand the social and economic contribution the tourism industry brings to the community. It was created by a ground swell of interest from the tourism industry. It is an opportunity to get together and celebrate the best things about tourism. Unlike many competing destinations, tourism in Victoria is about the whole experience not just seeing the sights but immersing the visitor in Victorian life.

Destination Melbourne is delighted to be the lead partner in delivery of Victoria Tourism Week in partnership with VTIC and the tourism industry.

For more information on Victoria Tourism Week please call 8662 5333 or visit:

www.victoriatourismweek.com.au

Melbourne Tourism Industry Leadership Program (MTILP)

The Destination Melbourne, Melbourne Tourism Industry Leadership Program (MTILP), was launched in Melbourne in 2009. MTILP is a thoughtfully constructed and professionally delivered training and education program, created specifically for developing leadership in Victoria’s tourism industry.

MTILP is an education program that is inspiring and innovative, and fulfils a niche for specialised training of Victorian tourism industry employees with demonstrated leadership potential.

The MTILP is run by Destination Melbourne with the support of Melbourne Airport, Tourism Victoria, the City of Melbourne and Tourism Alliance Victoria.

For further information please call 9869 2444 or visit:


ACCREDIT

EDTOURISM

BUSINESS

AUSTRAL

IA

Australian Tourism Accreditation Program

The Australian Tourism Accreditation Program addresses many of the issues that are covered in the development of a business plan and focuses on those key elements that are part of the day to day function of any tourism operation.

When Destination Melbourne completed the accreditation process we found it provided us with a very effective business improvement framework.

The requirements of the accreditation process are neatly aligned with Victorian Tourism Awards submission criteria. This means that while you are working on your business through the accreditation process, you are also creating the basis for an award nomination.

Councils or trader groups interested in helping a number of businesses get accredited at the same time can contact Destination Melbourne, who can help facilitate group training and support.

For more information visit:

www.atap.net.au


Sustainable Tourism

The debate whether we are facing dramatic changes in our physical environment due to climate change is just about over. We are also seeing a fundamental shift in the value sets of people living in our key source markets.

Even if you don’t believe that climate change will have an impact on our environment, our customers do. People will stop coming to destinations (even ones as cool as Melbourne) if they think we are lacking due care and diligence for our planet.

Recognising the need to act is one thing, knowing what to do is another thing all together. It’s time for us to stop waiting for someone else to lead and make some positive decisions for ourselves.

Small business is well placed to make a difference. We can cut consumption of environmentally unfriendly products and services. We can also provide positive leadership within our communities through our people.

Study after study shows that when businesses improve their environmental performance they save money. This thinking also applies to households. Hmmm let’s think about this... save money and do your bit to tread less heavily on the planet.

If you are a business contemplating taking the future in your hands, you may want to check out this site: www.growmethemoney.com.au

Working in the tourism industry we have an opportunity to influence people to be more environmentally sustainable. Destination Melbourne has put together ‘10 Tips for Treading Lightly’ for visitors to Melbourne to have a green stay. We encourage you to spread the message through your own marketing channels.

Other useful websites:www.carboncompass.com.auwww.earthcheck.orgwww.monash.edu.au/research/sustainability




1. Step into Melbourne’s Secrets

With its hidden laneways and arcades, Melbourne is best discovered on foot. The Melbourne Walks series of guides are available online at thatsmelbourne.com.au/walks where you can also download many of them as podcasts. There are eight walks ranging from parks and gardens, arcades and laneways to architecture and design.

2. Take a Light Ride in

Melbourne has an excellent transport network such as trams (including wind-powered trams), trains and buses which offer a great alternative to taking the car. Viclink can bring you directly into Melbourne from regional Victoria by either coach, train or bus. If you’ve flown into Melbourne, why not off-set your flight through one of the many carbon offset programs. While you are in the city, travel on the free Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle or the free City Circle Tram.

3. Rediscover a Good Set of Wheels

Ever explored a city by bike? Melbourne has a network of riverside and urban bike paths that can help you explore the city further. Not only is it great for the environment but it is great exercise as well! Pick up a copy of the TravelSmart bike map from the Melbourne Visitor Centre at Federation Square, where you can also find out where and how to hire bikes in the city.

4. Visit our Local Markets

Reduce the carbon footprint of the food you eat by sourcing local produce. Melbourne has some great markets, so why not sample

some of our fresh fruit, vegetables, cheeses, wines and meats at the Queen Victoria Market? Local produce is perfect for a picnic by the Yarra River in one of Melbourne’s stunning parks or gardens.

5. Savour the Aroma

Melbourne has a reputation for great coffee. So why not sit down and take in the ambience. A take-away coffee in a disposable cup is never as good and disposable cups significantly contribute to land fill when not recycled. So sit down, relax and enjoy the break.

6. Support our Green Stars

Look out for accommodation operators that participate in accreditation programs such as the Australian Tourism Accreditation Program, EarthCheck or AAA Tourism’s Green STAR Accreditation. The Green STAR logo will help you find properties that have earned this accreditation based on their energy efficiency, waste management and water minimisation. For more information go towww.atap.net.au www.earthcheck.org www.aaatourism.com.au

7. Get your hands Green

Get into the nature vibe and make an active contribution to conserving our beautiful natural environment. Spend a day or more in Melbourne’s great outdoors with Conservation Volunteers! Find out more

www.conservationvolunteers.com.au

8. Check out Melbourne’s Green Building Credentials

Visit Melbourne’s green buildings to get a feel for the future of our city. Pick up a copy of Melbourne’s Sustainable Buildings map at the Melbourne Visitors Centre at Federation Square, and discover more about the city’s unique and sustainable buildings.

9. Let’s Keep it Short

While on holidays it’s nice to have a little luxury but the days of long showers are behind us, so make sure your showers are kept short. Whether on holidays or at home, remember water is precious.

10. Take what you need

Consider the number of brochures you take and where possible, download visitor information and podcasts online at www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/melbournebrochures. The Melbourne Visitor Centre at Federation Square provides face-to-face travel advice and has recently gained Green Globe accreditation.

10 Tips for Treading Lightly


Australian Tourism Accreditation Program www.atap.net.au (03) 9620 4199

Australian Hotels Association www.ahavic.com.au (03) 9654 7100

Australian Tourism Export Council www.atec.net.au (02) 8262 5500

City of Melbourne www.melbourne.vic.gov.au (03) 9658 9658

Melbourne Convention and Visitors Bureau www.mcvb.com.au (03) 9693 3333

Parks Victoria www.parkweb.vic.gov.au (03) 8627 4699

Business Events Victoria www.businesseventsvictoria.com.au (03) 9650 8399

Restaurant and Catering Victoria www.restaurantcatervic.asn.au (03) 9654 5866

Tourism Alliance Victoria www.tourismalliance.com.au (03) 9650 8399

Tourism Australia www.tourism.australia.com (02) 9360 1111

Tourism Victoria www.tourism.vic.gov.au (03) 9653 9777

Travellers Aid www.travellersaid.org.au (03) 9654 2600

Victorian Major Events Company www.vmec.com.au (03) 9868 4600

Victorian Tourism Industry Council www.vtic.com.au (03) 8662 5333

Young Tourism Network www.youngtourismnetwork.com (03) 9650 8399

Useful Numbers

Photographer: Ben King

Level 3, Block Court 290 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

(03) 9869 2444 www.destinationmelbourne.com.au [email protected]

Documents

Tapping Into Tourism