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Sapphire Coast Tourism (SCT) Update May 2017 Some will be breathing a sigh of relief! Others already working hard on building the shoulder and off-pe
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Sapphire Coast Tourism (SCT) Update May 2017 |
Some will be breathing a sigh of relief! Others already working hard on building the shoulder and off-peaks. Feedback tells us the silly season was again solid, with some of our emerging and signature experiences seeing good increases in yield.
2017 is already a big year for SCT with the 'Unspoilt South Coast' campaign off and running, a full calendar of international and industry development activity being planned and some innovation planned in the digital space.
Digital and social prowess is a mandatory not a maybe for tourism, so we encourage you to 'express interest' in participating in our one-on-one social media workshops and also our next networking event.
The tourism monitors tell us domestic visitor numbers continue to remain stable with a significant and pleasing increase in international. Great reward for everyone's hard work.
Our cover image this month is by visitor Denn Jib Selos, who took some stunning shots during his visit and shared them via our @sapphirecoastnsw tags.
As always we encourage industry contributions, questions etc. You will find us on 6495 7031 or email.
Cheers,
Anthony Osborne
This update includes:
* Archibald Prize a success (1 week to go!)
* International Source Market snapshots
* Unspoilt South Coast campaign to continue
* Australian Tourism Expo activity
* Industry networking locked in for June 22
* Digital update
* Social media tips
* Funding sought from council
* Cruise update
* Social media workshops
* Visitor number estimate updates |
 SCT's November Industry Networking evening at Longstocking Brewery, Pambula. |
Save the date - June 22 - for our next industry networking night.
Join industry colleagues to learn about some of the new and great experiences on offer, direct from the source.
The evening will include plenty of time for networking, along with short presentations from
* On the Perch, Tathra
* Kangaroo Tours at PMGC
* Bega Valley Regional Gallery
* Light 2 Light Coastal Walks
* Eden Killer Whale Museum
* Merimbula Marina
* Club Sapphire
* Four Winds
more to be announced soon...
The event will be hosted by Rockpool Cafe and will feature a menu of Rockpool Cafe's classic 'Eat Merimbula' dishes.
REGISTER NOW! |
Social Media Workshops
Expressions of Interest are called for participation in another round of one-on-one social media workshops with our Digital Co-ordinator, Sarah (dot com) Chenhall. The workshops will have a focus on Facebook, monitoring multiple social media channels and creating sharable content.
The roving workshops will be held in
* Tathra - May 18
* Bermagui - May 25
* Merimbula - June 1
* Eden - June 8
To be eligible, businesses must be a member of a town tourism body and have a Facebook page. If you are interested, please email Sarah, by Thursday, May 11 along with addresses to your website and all social media accounts. |
Archibald a stunning success
With only one week to go the touring Archibald exhibition has brought over 7500 visitors to the Bega Valley Regional Gallery.
The stunning, and free, exhibition is drawing locals and visitors alike and is buoyed by extended hours on Saturdays, to 4pm.
Make sure you don't miss this rare opportunity and be sure to let your guests and network know all about it.
Visit the gallery here |
International Market Insights
Tourism Australia’s research and insights team have updated the range of Traveller Snapshots with the latest information from the Consumer Demand Project (CDP) and Trip Advisor.
The updates provide one page summaries of travellers in each of Tourism Australia's key markets. Tourism businesses from around the country have used these documents modify and shape product offerings and marketing activities to relevant markets. This year, new snapshots have been created for Brazil, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Italy and Taiwan.
You can find a collated version of these documents here |
Unspoilt South Coast Collaboration continues with 720k campaign.
The Unspoilt South Coast will again be promoted in a campaign collaboration between Kiama, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla, Sapphire Coast and Destination NSW.
Sapphire Coast will focus on the upcoming Whale season. The total campaign budget is $720,000. |
 Sapphire Coast and local Oysters on display at ATEC in 2016 |
ATE 2017 creating local interest
Australia's biggest tourism industry event, ATE 17, is generating huge interest in the Sapphire Coast.
Around 30 international trade and media representatives will visit in different groups for pre and post hosted ATE famils thanks to partners Destination NSW, Visit Canberra and Sydney Melbourne Touring. Countries represented include Malaysia, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, US and China.
Sapphire Coast and Magical Oyster Tours will also be on show at the Visit Canberra stand during a happy hour event. We expect around 400 international and local industry reps to share an oyster and a Sapphire Coast story or two. |
 Our best organic Facebook post for the summer reached 31k and was shared by Tourism Australia and Visit NSW. |
Digital Update
The digital program is moving into the busiest part of the year as we prepare for the shoulder season and spring push.
Part of the focus will be on publishing information on accessible experiences to provide a more inclusive welcome to our visitors. Expert Bill Forrester (TravAbility) said at the LGNSW Tourism Conference in March, that mobility and access affects 1 in 5 people, and their biggest barrier to travel is not their ability, but a lack of information and planning tools.
If you have accessible accommodation, an eatery or attraction please check and update your web listings, both with us and the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (Get Connected). If you need more information, please contact Sarah.
So far in 2017, the digital program has reached 125k unique users through the websites, engaged with 65k people through 128 Facebook posts, and 6.6k through 56 Instagram posts.
We created a strong new look to promote our coastal icons, refreshed content and made it easier for users to find information. View 'Beach Life'. Dining has also been refreshed.
We've worked with 11 flagship event committees to create promotional blogs, event listings, video and social content. Four committees collaborated on a Facebook spend through the Flagship Support Program - Cobargo Folk Festival (February), Eat Merimbula (March), Candelo Village Festival (April) and the prestigious 2016 Archibald Prize at Bega Valley Regional Gallery.
Other people are spriuking about us too, thanks to our partnership with Destination NSW. Sarah Wilson, founder of 'I Quit Sugar' took on the Light to Light Walk solo in march.
Woman's Day featured a 2 page spread on March "5 reasons why we love the Sapphire Coast NSW". It's one story expected to come from a visit by travel journo Paul Ewart for News.com and Destination NSW. (See his Tweet here)
Thanks to the Unspoilt South Coast campaign, Concrete Playground, a digital guide to Australia and NZ's major capital cities, encouraged road trips with 'A road Tripper's Guide to the Far South Coast'
'Out and About with Kids' a family holiday, leisure and entertainment quarterly publication & website highlighted our family attractions in print and through their e-newsletter (15k reach).
2UE radio presenter Tim Webster caught up lifestyle writer Jennifer Ennion (The Adventure Journal) to chat about why Sapphire Coast is the best place to watch whales.
Coming up, we have a road trip guide with Broadsheet (another popular digital city guide), and AAP writer Ben McKay. |
Social Media Tips
Share content with Destination NSW : #ilovensw
Destination NSW's latest campaign aims to increase visitation to regional areas through user generated content, such as holiday related and tourism business videos and photos, with a focus on history, culture, Indigenous and event experiences.
The best entries will be distributed from late May to June. There's also some great prizes from Canon Australia. Submissions close on 18 May, 2017.
To join in
- Upload your content via visitnsw.com/ilovensw.
- Use #ILoveNSW on your Twitter and Instagram posts
- Upload content via the Visit NSW Facebook page.
Full details here.
A free tool to manage multiple social media platforms
Hootsuite offers a free social media management tool to help you monitor your posts, see what people are saying about your business and engage with them.
The free service offers up to three social media platforms in one easy dashboard, and you can choose from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, You Tube, Google + and more.
Facebook for Local Business
Michael from Social Media Examiner chats to Dentist Annissa about how she uses Facebook, both organically and paid, to get customers in the door. Podcast & article here.
Other helpful Facebook links are Facebook for Business Website and the Facebook for Business Official Facebook Page |
 Continued funding for SCT's digital and industry development programs to be decided in the coming weeks. |
Funding sought to continue critical digital and industry program
Sapphire Coast Tourism has again requested additional funding from coundil for key 'new market' opportunities and initiatives to maintain domestic competitiveness.
Highlighted areas of opportunity that remain unfunded include;
* Capitalising on international flights into Canberra and the continuation of current international marketing opportunities
* Digital strategies and implementation
* Investment in industry support and capacity building
The funding request below mirrors that of previous requests.
Digital Strategy/Program $70,000
* Social and digital marketing programs into key markets
* Management, content and IT support of 6 shire destination websites on behalf of key towns
* Flagship event marketing and digital support for events
* Town/VIC social/digital/marketing support and training
Industry development (international/domestic) $25k
* Participation/engagement in Visit Canberra trade missions - Asia and New Zealand
* Participation at industry tourism trade shows - ATEC Meeting Place, ATE,
* Buy-in Visit Canberra Region international programs
* Production of international marketing material and itineraries
* Host industry familiarisations
* Export ready development program
A response is expected by May 16. |
Cruise update
The 2016/17 cruise season has come to an end. Our biggest season ever saw the following:
▪ 14 ships booked in, 12 successful visits
▪ 4 ships made their maiden voyage to Eden
▪ 50% domestic / 50% international
▪ 12,508 passengers visited the Sapphire Coast
▪ 91% disembarkation rate
Average take up of shore activities
* 25% took the Shuttle Bus into Eden
* 21% took part on an official shore tour
* 2% took part in a local non-official tour
Sapphire Coast Tourism will be holding a feedback session on Wednesday, 17th May from 5:30pm at the Eden Fishermen's Club. Please come along and provide your feedback to help us improve for next season.
Season Highlights
The maiden voyages from Ocean Cruise Lines - MS Insignia and MS Sirena resulted in official shore excursion take up of over 60%. With tours spanning Eden, Merimbula, Pambula, Tathra, Bermagui and Cobargo this has been the most successful season for cruise tours on the Sapphire Coast ever.
Two international ships: Black Watch (Fred Olsen Cruise Lines) and MS Sirena (Oceania Cruise Lines) made Eden their first Australian port of call. The Eden Border Control office cleared customs for over 1200 passengers en-route from NZ allowing us to provide their first taste of Australia during their cruise.
According to passengers on board MS Sirena on a 34-day voyage around Australia, PNG and Indonesia - Eden ranked in their top 3 ports visited!
2017/18 Cruise Season
The 2017/18 season currently has 17 ships booked with maiden voyages from Norwegian Cruise Lines, Silverseas Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Voyager. Total expected visitation is 23,208 passengers and over 8000 crew. |
Domestic visitor numbers continue to remain stable as internationals grow.
These visitor number insights are custom extracted from Tourism Australia's International and National visitor surveys, and independently reported by Peter Valerio, Tourism Development Services
Year ending December 2016
Overnight visitors - Domestic
• Estimated domestic overnight visitor volume for the year ending December 2016 was 485,000. This is one of the better outcomes over more recent years.
• The percentage change compared to the same period last year is positive, but is not significant enough to be guaranteed as an uplift.
• This extends a period of stable visitor volume and stable market share - an outcome that is much more positive than key competitors.
Visitor nights - Domestic
• Domestic overnight visitors spent an estimated 1.92 million nights in Bega Valley Shire during the year ending December 2016.
• The estimated percentage change compared to the same period last year is negative, but is not significant enough to be reported as a decline.
• Bega Valley Shire's share of the south coast sub-region (Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla, Sapphire Coast) remains similar to the previous two periods and the year ending December 2015.
• The year ending December 2016 data further extends a period of relative stability.
Overnight visitors - International
• The international overnight visitor estimate in year ending December 2016 was well-above average and a record high.
• The percentage change of 39% compared the year ending December 2015 is significant enough to be reported as an increase.
• The combination of visitor volume movements see market share of the sub-region reach a monitor high of 43.6%. In other words, of all international overnight visitors to the South Coast Sub-Region an estimated 43.6% of them spent at least one night on the Sapphire Coast. |
Sapphire Coast Tourism Ltd
PO Box 89 Merimbula 2549
02 6495 7031
Media Enquiries
Anthony Osborne
aosborne@sapphirecoast.com.au
Executive Officer
Anthony Osborne
aosborne@sapphirecoast.com.au
Digital and Publicity Coordinator
Sarah Chenhall
schenhall@sapphirecoast.com.au
Industry Coordinator and Cruise Manager
Natalie Godward
natalie@sapphirecoast.com.au |
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