Do we really understand the true essence of collaboration in our business dealings?
Is there a COMMON GOAL that we are working towards with surrounding areas?
WHO would we collaborate with and WHY?
Does collaboration mean sharing? Does collaboration mean sacrifice?
How are we REPRESENTED in collaborative arrangements?
We spend a lot of time thinking about what we require in a collaborative arrangement but have we taken the time to consider what we can contribute?
Your thoughts & ideas appreciated.
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Thursday, 25 October 2007
Who is visiting the Nambucca Valley?
Do we really know who visits us?
Interviews with local accommodation and hospitality business tells us that our main visitors are:
* Bus tours (seniors market)
* Business tourists (workers for RTA, travelers etc)
Outside of this there are scattered reports of families visiting, 'grey nomads' and few backpackers.
WHO do we want to attract to the area? What capacity do we have to entertain these markets? How can we improve the situation?
Please COMMENT below or e-mail Kerry.
Interviews with local accommodation and hospitality business tells us that our main visitors are:
* Bus tours (seniors market)
* Business tourists (workers for RTA, travelers etc)
Outside of this there are scattered reports of families visiting, 'grey nomads' and few backpackers.
WHO do we want to attract to the area? What capacity do we have to entertain these markets? How can we improve the situation?
Please COMMENT below or e-mail Kerry.
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
Have you made a comment yet?
Time is running out... If you haven't put your comments forward yet here are some ways to put your thoughts forward:
* Phone the project coordinator Kerry Grace on 65648843
* e-mail kgrace@evolvenetwork.com.au
* Click the COMMENT button below
Don't miss the opportunity...
* Phone the project coordinator Kerry Grace on 65648843
* e-mail kgrace@evolvenetwork.com.au
* Click the COMMENT button below
Don't miss the opportunity...
Friday, 19 October 2007
More about the forum
Following the SWOT analysis we worked on several topics - here's what you said:
Main streets & signage: coordination of signage to make a "Nambucca Valley" entity, fingerboard signs to attractions, but they have to be neat, in the same shape & protected from vandalism, make them safe and tidy, artwork, beautification, networking within out businesses and within towns to direct & promote all communities within the shire, make them a value added experience, more shade, there should be signs in the CBD pointing to visitor info. centre, passion, Scotts Head how about a sign "Welcome to Scotts Head" rather than 10 signs telling what you can't do, how about lots of colourful welcome signs & flags all over the Valley, where is Scotts head? no signage, the most looked at sign the National Park in High Street Bowraville not the brown dull signs saying historic drive, revisit customer service training of staff in retail stores.
Tourism staff: unappreciated, sad, to justify wage, perhaps place a tax on the industries / shops that benefit advertising at centre, need to have a paid permanent tourist officer at the VIC who can coordinate the volunteers who are not there all the time, without full time tourism staff no concept or idea can be realised, tourism manager famil tours, community support, security, bus trip of staff to visit attractions so they can spruik about them, tourism staff if trained can attend trade shows / events elsewhere to promote our Valley, need a full time council employee dedicated to tourism, within Council, happy helpful people/staff make happy visitors, indigenous trainee, workshops & info. for tourism staff
Marketing: maybe employ some of our healthy, happy youth to promote the Nambucca Valley in giving out Macadamia nuts & brochures on the area at major train stations in Sydney, Bris etc, establish a Nambucca Valley identity and use this in all marketing to create awareness of who we are & where we are, we need to market the "Nambucca Valley apart from Coffs Coast, better brochures of area, attractions available at VIC, motels etc, weather reports & forecasts on TV, surf reports, a better Tourist guide with good maps details on activities as well as hospitality / accommodation stuff, promotional DVDs of area for sharing at events, theaters, tourist info. centres, council, functions, indigenous tourism, unique niche event
Products & business development: advertising, don't copy be unique with what we create, indigenous cultural centre, make sure goals are clear (like business plan) and chosen people to follow through, call meetings etc, need attendance record, council support funding opportunities in business, sporting, cultural activities, enthusiasm, tourism centre to promote products & business, chambers of commerce proactive, positive natured, supportive of all, workshops, we the locals should support, need to develop our brands and products and promote them like Macadamia industry, we all have to talk up new developments, spread the word, goals, networking between our community & education keeps the dollar local, well managed website for all businesses and services, resource audit of current business
Collaboration with other areas: Establishing good backpacker facilities in the Valley and networking with the various backpacker organisations would bring more backpackers in: retort - history with this market not viable, maps & info available for surrounding areas, bellingen, dorrigo etc, only with equal representation, making sure we are a destination to stay not a day trip from coffs coast, transport solutions, identify assets of our surrounding areas, some collaboration is necessary however too much has been the way of the past (not that effective). Proportionately, dollar wise it has not returned to the valley, Bellingen has said Coffs important so must be to some degree, shows weakness
VIC: More promotion of local attractions, needs to be indigenous groups sharing culture, art dance etc, needs a full time manager and the support of businesses, link it to a cultural centre to draw visitors into it, opportunity for local employment and to instill pride, is the centre of everything, run looped DVD promotions on the Valley, great position, needs to be open at relevant times, volunteer organisations need some paid staff on side, a place to send your info to appropriate person to keep volunteers up to scratch, nurture volunteers, perhaps they get to use/taste/be treated by participating businesses, person in charge overall to have a system of informing staff of new attractions in area, not just new brochures etc placed in racks
Main streets & signage: coordination of signage to make a "Nambucca Valley" entity, fingerboard signs to attractions, but they have to be neat, in the same shape & protected from vandalism, make them safe and tidy, artwork, beautification, networking within out businesses and within towns to direct & promote all communities within the shire, make them a value added experience, more shade, there should be signs in the CBD pointing to visitor info. centre, passion, Scotts Head how about a sign "Welcome to Scotts Head" rather than 10 signs telling what you can't do, how about lots of colourful welcome signs & flags all over the Valley, where is Scotts head? no signage, the most looked at sign the National Park in High Street Bowraville not the brown dull signs saying historic drive, revisit customer service training of staff in retail stores.
Tourism staff: unappreciated, sad, to justify wage, perhaps place a tax on the industries / shops that benefit advertising at centre, need to have a paid permanent tourist officer at the VIC who can coordinate the volunteers who are not there all the time, without full time tourism staff no concept or idea can be realised, tourism manager famil tours, community support, security, bus trip of staff to visit attractions so they can spruik about them, tourism staff if trained can attend trade shows / events elsewhere to promote our Valley, need a full time council employee dedicated to tourism, within Council, happy helpful people/staff make happy visitors, indigenous trainee, workshops & info. for tourism staff
Marketing: maybe employ some of our healthy, happy youth to promote the Nambucca Valley in giving out Macadamia nuts & brochures on the area at major train stations in Sydney, Bris etc, establish a Nambucca Valley identity and use this in all marketing to create awareness of who we are & where we are, we need to market the "Nambucca Valley apart from Coffs Coast, better brochures of area, attractions available at VIC, motels etc, weather reports & forecasts on TV, surf reports, a better Tourist guide with good maps details on activities as well as hospitality / accommodation stuff, promotional DVDs of area for sharing at events, theaters, tourist info. centres, council, functions, indigenous tourism, unique niche event
Products & business development: advertising, don't copy be unique with what we create, indigenous cultural centre, make sure goals are clear (like business plan) and chosen people to follow through, call meetings etc, need attendance record, council support funding opportunities in business, sporting, cultural activities, enthusiasm, tourism centre to promote products & business, chambers of commerce proactive, positive natured, supportive of all, workshops, we the locals should support, need to develop our brands and products and promote them like Macadamia industry, we all have to talk up new developments, spread the word, goals, networking between our community & education keeps the dollar local, well managed website for all businesses and services, resource audit of current business
Collaboration with other areas: Establishing good backpacker facilities in the Valley and networking with the various backpacker organisations would bring more backpackers in: retort - history with this market not viable, maps & info available for surrounding areas, bellingen, dorrigo etc, only with equal representation, making sure we are a destination to stay not a day trip from coffs coast, transport solutions, identify assets of our surrounding areas, some collaboration is necessary however too much has been the way of the past (not that effective). Proportionately, dollar wise it has not returned to the valley, Bellingen has said Coffs important so must be to some degree, shows weakness
VIC: More promotion of local attractions, needs to be indigenous groups sharing culture, art dance etc, needs a full time manager and the support of businesses, link it to a cultural centre to draw visitors into it, opportunity for local employment and to instill pride, is the centre of everything, run looped DVD promotions on the Valley, great position, needs to be open at relevant times, volunteer organisations need some paid staff on side, a place to send your info to appropriate person to keep volunteers up to scratch, nurture volunteers, perhaps they get to use/taste/be treated by participating businesses, person in charge overall to have a system of informing staff of new attractions in area, not just new brochures etc placed in racks
Wednesday, 17 October 2007
What happened at the Community Forum
A community forum was held tonight (17 October) at Council Chambers between 6pm and 8pm.
30 people from across the industry attended representing a variety of facets of the tourism industry including accommodation, events, Chambers of Commerce, attractions and Nambucca Shire Council.
First on the agenda was the SWOT Analysis - resulting information follows...
SWOT Anlaysis
Strengths: Natural beauty, Bowraville, diversity, lifestyle, climate, beaches, no development, fishing, snorkeling, clean beaches, river, family friendly events, forest & national parks, under developed, people, views / scenery, relaxed stress free, history, culture, pure air, village atmosphere, industries, community support each other
Weaknesses: roads, poor networks, jobs for kids, highway bypass, lack of tours, poor communication between local tour companies & businesses, no developed identity, lack of cohesiveness between towns, parochialism, lack of general publicity (outside of the area), outlying communities not recognised (eungai, gumma, valla), Coffs Coast investment hasn't been 100% valuable, reliance on Coffs Coast identity, state of the river & environment, security, pressure groups resisting growth, communication technology, distance (to travel from major cities), road accident vulnerability, low per capita income, mapping not comprehensive, signage, total concentration on beaches not hinterland, lack of attractiveness, social issues, police & crime, lack of variety of accommodation, towns cut by highway, no towns are declared a 'regional centre' in future state planning, shopping, hospital system
Opportunities: River cruises, waterfall way bowraville connection, food, wharfs connecting towns, kayak tours, water activities / canoe hire, maps of drives, walking tracks, regatta between three towns, rowing club involving schools, scuba diving, museum promotion, collaboration with other areas, highway signage and information bays, cultural centre (including bush tucker, artworks), accommodation, RTA support & networking, display local produce, markets (like Bellingen), handmade, education, eco tourism, funding, land based whale watching, bird watching, sea change, swans, turtles gumma, networks of people in like industries (arts, accommodation, attractions, tours), more information distributed throughout community, breakwall to river in Nambucca Lookout at Scotts Head, scenic drives with picnic areas
Threats: Narrow mindedness, highway bypass, lack of direction, misuse of land, tourism structure, local population don't care, justice system, apathy, not growing, not implementing strategy, escalating crime, community spirit, environment, river management, look at ourselves - retail hospitality, level of service, mis-management of websites, not keeping up, lack of full time tourism staff, youth leaving area, misinformation, word of mouth, not identifying assets
You can comment on any of these by clicking on the COMMENTS button below...
30 people from across the industry attended representing a variety of facets of the tourism industry including accommodation, events, Chambers of Commerce, attractions and Nambucca Shire Council.
First on the agenda was the SWOT Analysis - resulting information follows...
SWOT Anlaysis
Strengths: Natural beauty, Bowraville, diversity, lifestyle, climate, beaches, no development, fishing, snorkeling, clean beaches, river, family friendly events, forest & national parks, under developed, people, views / scenery, relaxed stress free, history, culture, pure air, village atmosphere, industries, community support each other
Weaknesses: roads, poor networks, jobs for kids, highway bypass, lack of tours, poor communication between local tour companies & businesses, no developed identity, lack of cohesiveness between towns, parochialism, lack of general publicity (outside of the area), outlying communities not recognised (eungai, gumma, valla), Coffs Coast investment hasn't been 100% valuable, reliance on Coffs Coast identity, state of the river & environment, security, pressure groups resisting growth, communication technology, distance (to travel from major cities), road accident vulnerability, low per capita income, mapping not comprehensive, signage, total concentration on beaches not hinterland, lack of attractiveness, social issues, police & crime, lack of variety of accommodation, towns cut by highway, no towns are declared a 'regional centre' in future state planning, shopping, hospital system
Opportunities: River cruises, waterfall way bowraville connection, food, wharfs connecting towns, kayak tours, water activities / canoe hire, maps of drives, walking tracks, regatta between three towns, rowing club involving schools, scuba diving, museum promotion, collaboration with other areas, highway signage and information bays, cultural centre (including bush tucker, artworks), accommodation, RTA support & networking, display local produce, markets (like Bellingen), handmade, education, eco tourism, funding, land based whale watching, bird watching, sea change, swans, turtles gumma, networks of people in like industries (arts, accommodation, attractions, tours), more information distributed throughout community, breakwall to river in Nambucca Lookout at Scotts Head, scenic drives with picnic areas
Threats: Narrow mindedness, highway bypass, lack of direction, misuse of land, tourism structure, local population don't care, justice system, apathy, not growing, not implementing strategy, escalating crime, community spirit, environment, river management, look at ourselves - retail hospitality, level of service, mis-management of websites, not keeping up, lack of full time tourism staff, youth leaving area, misinformation, word of mouth, not identifying assets
You can comment on any of these by clicking on the COMMENTS button below...
Friday, 12 October 2007
DID YOU KNOW...
There is a vast range of tourism data available online for FREE via Tourism Research Australia. Follow this LINK for further information.
Community Forum
Don't forget the community forum on 17 October, 5.30pm at Council. This is YOUR chance to have your say, don't miss it. Please RSVP 65648843
Sunday, 7 October 2007
What is marketing anyway?
Marketing is often confused with selling or purely promoting a product or service. Both are components of marketing but by no means the whole picture.
When you are marketing a product or service you look at the total Marketing Mix (or the 4 P's of marketing - some marketers also refer to the 6 P's of marketing). This includes:
Product (or service), Price, Promotion, Place, People and Processes
Read more here...
Tourism Marketing Mahoney, Edward; Warnell, Gary, 1987
Tourism Marketing Guide Tourism Western Australia 2006
Bellingen Shire Tourism Strategy
Tourism Australia destination campaign
Hanlan J., Fuller D., Wilde S. Destination Decision Making
When you are marketing a product or service you look at the total Marketing Mix (or the 4 P's of marketing - some marketers also refer to the 6 P's of marketing). This includes:
Product (or service), Price, Promotion, Place, People and Processes
Read more here...
Tourism Marketing Mahoney, Edward; Warnell, Gary, 1987
Tourism Marketing Guide Tourism Western Australia 2006
Bellingen Shire Tourism Strategy
Tourism Australia destination campaign
Hanlan J., Fuller D., Wilde S. Destination Decision Making
Friday, 5 October 2007
What do we want from tourism?
What are the main goals that we hope to achieve in mapping our future in tourism? Any ideas, please comment below...
Thursday, 4 October 2007
Searching for our identity
What do people outside of the Nambucca think of the area? Why do people visit us? What is our unique identity - something that makes us different from other destinations? Are we different to other destinations?
Do you have any ideas? Please click on the COMMENT button below.
Do you have any ideas? Please click on the COMMENT button below.
Forum date
A community forum will be held on Wednesday 17 October at Nambucca Shire Council chambers, Princess Street Macksville.
RSVP's are essential, please contact Evolve Network on 65648843 or e-mail info@evolvenetwork.com.au
At the forum you will have the opportunity to voice your concerns / hopes / plans / dreams for the future of tourism in the valley. Don't miss your chance to participate.
RSVP's are essential, please contact Evolve Network on 65648843 or e-mail info@evolvenetwork.com.au
At the forum you will have the opportunity to voice your concerns / hopes / plans / dreams for the future of tourism in the valley. Don't miss your chance to participate.
Monday, 1 October 2007
Ready, set, go
With only 7 weeks to complete the project input from across the Nambucca Valley is required immediately. If you know someone who is involved in tourism that hasn't seen the survey form please refer them to this site or directly to Evolve Network Australia 02-65648843 for further information.
The forum is moving closer. Items on the agenda at this stage include:
* SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Strengths) analysis of tourism in the Nambucca Valley
* Market analysis - WHO visits the Nambucca and how do we cater to their needs? How could we do this better?
Would you like to see anything discussed at the forum? NOW is your chance to have it included...
For further information or to discuss the project please contact Evolve Network Australia on 02-65648843 or via e-mail info@evolvenetwork.com.au
The forum is moving closer. Items on the agenda at this stage include:
* SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Strengths) analysis of tourism in the Nambucca Valley
* Market analysis - WHO visits the Nambucca and how do we cater to their needs? How could we do this better?
Would you like to see anything discussed at the forum? NOW is your chance to have it included...
For further information or to discuss the project please contact Evolve Network Australia on 02-65648843 or via e-mail info@evolvenetwork.com.au
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
HELLO
Hi - welcome to the blog. My name is Kerry Grace and I've recently been contracted to undertake the Nambucca Valley Tourism strategy contract.
I look forward to meeting with you in the following weeks. In the meantime, the proposed date for the community forum is Wednesday 18 October at 6pm. Any discreps?
If you would like any information about the project please contact me via e-mail or phone 65648843.
I would really like to build up a file of local tourism images. If you can e-mail me images, or supply on a disc would be very appreciated.
Bye for now,
Kerry
I look forward to meeting with you in the following weeks. In the meantime, the proposed date for the community forum is Wednesday 18 October at 6pm. Any discreps?
If you would like any information about the project please contact me via e-mail or phone 65648843.
I would really like to build up a file of local tourism images. If you can e-mail me images, or supply on a disc would be very appreciated.
Bye for now,
Kerry
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