NSW GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES OPENING OF REGIONAL TOURISM FUNDING
Member for Bega Andrew Constance this week announced the 2015-16 Regional Visitor Economy Fund (RVEF) is open to receive applications from the regional NSW tourism industry.
Mr Constance said funds available for the 2015-16 financial year total $7.2 million, which is part of the $21.6 million record funding commitment announced by the NSW Government in 2012.
“Applications for the 2015-16 RVEF are now open and I encourage our local tourism industry to take advantage of our NSW Government funding to help drive visitation to our beautiful region,” Mr Constance said.
“Tourism is a vital input to our regional economy. The more people we can attract to experience our region and spend money while they are here the better.
Further information on the Regional Visitor Economy Fund, including Program Guidelines, Application Examples, Frequently Asked Questions and the RVEF Application Form, are available on the Destination NSW website:
Applications for round one of the 2015-16 Contestable Fund will close COB Friday 12 June 2015. Applications for the Quarantined Fund will close COB Friday 30 November 2015. All applications must be submitted using the online application form.
SOUTH COAST TOURISM AWARDS NOW OPEN
Tourism operators across the South Coast Region will once again be recognised for their contribution and commitment to the tourism industry, as the South Coast Tourism Awards are now open for nominations.
Hosted by the South Coast Regional Tourism Organisation (SCRTO), operators and businesses are encouraged to enter. There are a total of 30 categories, covering all segments of the industry including accommodation, attractions, restaurants, registered clubs, events and more.
Two prestigious awards will also be presented to the Young Achiever in Tourism and to the individual who has made the most Outstanding Contribution to South Coast Tourism.
The awards are officially open for nominations through to Friday, 26 June.
New Journeys Brochures
Our iconic regional experiences have been crafted into a new range of large brochures, encouraging nature lovers to explore Australia’s Coastal Wilderness, from as far south as Buchan Caves to Montague Island in the north.
The “Journeys” project is part of a nature tourism initiative designed to increase length of visitor stay and rate of return, by highlighting experiences that extend beyond traditional local government area boundaries.
The brochures highlight walks, national parks, heritage and earth history in East Gippsland, Bombala and Eurobodalla Shires and the Sapphire Coast. Operators are invited to use the brochures, copies can be obtained from the local VIC.
The National Landscapes project which underpins the Australia's Coastal Wilderness initiative was recently buoyed with EcoTourism Australia taking over project management with funding from individual landscapes and Tourism Australia. The program remains strong with willing participants from some of Australia's biggest nature tourism brands supporting it. Locally the ACW steering committee remains fully committed to the two main functions; developing nature based product, in particular creating experiences that reach a signature status with Tourism Australia and DNSW, and marketing on the international stage.
Sydney Melbourne Coastal Drive partnership.
Australia’s Coastal Wilderness will also benefit from a range of international marketing and product development initiatives after becoming a member of Sydney Melbourne Touring. Sitting in the heart of the Sydney Melbourne Coastal Drive, with a big and unique nature experience to offer visitors, puts Sapphire Coast in a great position to benefit.
Our commitment to getting into new markets, including growing international, can only be bouyed by data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last week showing international visitor arrivals to Australia for the 12 months ending March 2015 reached just over seven million – the highest Australia has ever seen.
Advertising available on Sapphire Coast Tourism Website
Reminder that some banner advertising is available on the SCT site. The site receives an average of 30,000 page impressions per month. Email your enquiries to sapphirecoasttourism@sapphirecoast.com.au
Your listings on Get Connected are important
As the South Coast Unspoilt campaign builds momentum it is vital to re-visit your listing on the Visit NSW website. Overall campaign investment by the South Coast RTO is circa $700,000 with visitnsw site pages the key landing pages. To update your listing or create a new one visit Get Connected
Quarter One Digital update
We have started the year with a bang online - of course stimulated by the busiest part of the visitor year.
Facebook
635,563 Impressions
279,000 Total reach
23,000 Paid reach
218,914 Organic Reach
10,911 Talked about us
409 New likes
On the Web
Total unique visitors for Q1 were 81,068
Total page visits for Q1 were 229,598
Instagram
Instagram has officially overtaken Twitter as our second most popular social media platform. It's well suited to tourism with its visual appeal & hashtag uses which reach far beyond our existing followers. If you have an account, tag us with #sapphirecoast for immediate sharing on our Facebook page.
Change of season means changing habits
Shorter days mean our audiences and your potential customers are online earlier in the evenings. If you have a Facebook account, run it through Likealyzer to make sure you are posting at the optimum times for your followers.
Daily Telegraph Best Weekend Visit
SCT recently hosted Daily Telegraph, Best Weekends editor David Fitzsimons and his wife Helen. It was their first visit to the Sapphire Coast and they covered a lot during their 5.5 days with us.
More than 28 operators supported our pitch, including tour operators, attractions, eateries, accommodation & galleries. David was delighted with the welcome they received and so impressed that he has scheduled 3 stories instead of the 2 agreed upon.
The first article ran on May 2, featuring the Killer Whale Trail and strengthening our position as a whale watching destination. A piece on Kiah Wilderness Tours (pitched as part of the Killer Whale Trail experience) will run on May 16, and the final piece, featuring art and food will run sometime in June.
Each story will reach around 120k readers in print alone.
Spotlight on Captain Sponge from Magical Oyster Tours
Late '14 saw the emergence of some terrific new experiences for Sapphire Coast visitors. Captain Sponge’s Magical Oyster Tours was one of those to capture the attention of industry far and wide.
We asked the Captain 'Brett Weingarth' what to expect in one of his magical oyster tours…
check out the blog here
Killer Whale Trail App piloted
Eden’s shore-based whaling history has been developed into a new mobile phone app for visitors to the region.
Local software engineering company 2pi Software has launched a 'pilot' of the free mobile phone app and is encouraging visitors and residents to trial it and provide feedback.
The free app, 'Eden Trail' was produced with the support of Sapphire Coast Tourism and Bega Valley Shire Council.
It uses sophisticated mobile phone GPS technology and in-car bluetooth to deliver an exciting audio narrative as visitors explore Twofold Bay and the five key sites where the story unfolded.
In the lead up to Easter, Visitor Information Centres displayed the promotional aids and guides for those who wished to trial the app.
We encourage people to download and use the pilot app and provide feedback. Take a picnic and have lunch at Loch Garra or the beach where the remains of the old try works can still be seen.
The app is convenient to download, and will run whether your phone is connected to the Internet or not, which is handy if you hit a mobile black spot, or are close to the end of your data allowance.
Download it by visiting the App Store and searching for “Eden Trail”. Click here
Collaborative effort to sell to 67,000 Sydney travellers
Sapphire Coast again partnered with Eurobodalla Shire at the Sydney Caravan and Camping show. This year's show saw a mix of families, nomads and adventurer's wander the huge Rosehill racecourse. Thanks to the commitment of Bermagui's Christine Bimson and SCT's Gordon Beattie the show was a great success.
Eat Merimbula 2015 - Biggest yet
There is now no doubting our locals and visitors appetite for local produce with EAT reaching new heights this year.
Organisers conservatively estimate 10,000 dishes were consumed on the day by hungry visitors.
Most stallholders had record days with some registering their best day of business ever.
Some photos from the big event here.
