Talking Tourism Episode 144 – Tourism strategy…without the BS with Tom Wootton & Anne Greentree.
Both Tom and Anne have had (and continue to have) an incredible influence on tourism in Tasmania. Among many things, Tom was the inaugural CEO of the regional tourism organisation, West by North West. Whereas, Anne has spent the past four years as the Director Visitor Economy Strategy at Tourism Tasmania. While in this role, Anne has worked alongside the state government and industry to develop the 2030 Visitor Economy Strategy – which is now live (and can be read here).
In today’s episode, TICT CEO Amy Hills sits down with Tom and Anne to chat all about tourism strategy – a topic which they delivered a Day 1 workshop at the 2023 Tasmanian Tourism Conference.
Whether you are starting out fresh in the industry, or thinking it’s time to review , having a strategy in place for your business doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Tom and Anne say to simplify it into 3 steps: your current state, your future state, and the steps in between. Ask yourself: What am I doing now? Where do I want to be? What are the steps to get there?
However, it is important that you also take into consideration the future vision of the tourism industry as a whole and the future vision for Tasmania as a destination. This is where the 2030 Visitor Economy Strategy comes in. Not only does it detail the vision, values and themes, but it shares the forecasting work which has been undertaken to understand the global and domestic factors of what future demand could look like for Tasmania.
Strategy is different from operator to operator, but every business needs a purpose and vision. All it takes is to think about how you are different from your competitors and how you complement the Tasmanian brand. It is important that the steps you take to achieve this vision are SMART: Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Relevant; and Time-bound.
Today’s episode is brought to you by our partner, Cumulus Studio. Cumulus Studio is an award-winning architecture and interior design practice with offices in Hobart, Launceston, Melbourne and Adelaide Among its most notable Tasmanian tourism designs are the award-winning Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre and the iconic Pumphouse Point. Thanks to Cumulus Studio for their generous support of TICT and for helping to make this episode of Talking Tourism possible.