July 2021
The opportunities to work with tourism trade have never been stronger for the Bundaberg Region. COVID-19 has forced Australians to holiday at home, so agents across Australia are desperate for product with availability to sell to their clients. As a destination so easily accessible from Brisbane and with fewer crowds Bundaberg is well placed to take advantage of these distribution opportunities.
Overseas and inbound opportunities are also available with many operators quoting for business in 2022-2023 and beyond. Whist international borders are currently closed, maintaining the hard-won relationships with our overseas partners is of the utmost importance so that the region is ready to welcome international guests when the time is right.
The propensity for change to traditional programs is high, again given our location, regional experiences on offer, our destination is a sought-after option for this level of travel distribution.
For tourism operators that are trade ready and want to be involved in the destination activity, reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Unsure what ‘trade ready’ means? Then check out the Tourism Export Toolkit online here or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
If you are a key distribution partner and would like to include the Bundaberg region and the Southern Great Barrier Reef in your portfolio, then contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) 2021
This year participation in ATE was fully subsidized by Toursim Australia with Bushfire Recovery Funding for 1 participant per organization. The hybrid event comprising of ATE Live at the International Convention Centre in Sydney over 2.5 days with 67, 13-minute appointments and ATE Online held over 5 days with 144, 8-13-minute appointments. It’s like speed dating for business!
Bundaberg Tourism CEO Katherine Reid represented our destination along with the largest contingent of operators Bundaberg, Southern Great Barrier Reef region has ever had participate in ATE. Thank you to our leading tourism trade operators; Bundaberg Rum, Kellys Beach Resort Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Lady Musgrave Experience and Villa Mirasol.
This was the first-year domestic agents were invited to participate in ATE providing operators with the chance to distribute their product domestically with a 30–60-day lead time as well as tactical campaigns to drive short term conversion.
There are inbound operators who are now working with domestic partners and succeeding while other Inbound operators are working on their offering for 2022-24.
Our leading tourism trade operators were provided a full report on all of Bundaberg Tourism’s appointments as well as a brief on key leads and opportunities.
Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) Submission to Tourism Minister after Roundtable Workshops
In May Bundaberg Tourism participated in ATEC’s virtual Restart Ready Roundtable series, a national roadshow to gather member intelligence and insights into what exactly will constitute a successful international restart.
After visiting regions across the country ATEC submitted the industry feedback to the minister in July. You can read the submission here
Distribution ‘best practice’ code and guidelines released by ATEC
ATEC’s updated industry code provides specific guidelines for payments and cancellations to help foster positive industry partnerships and a framework for successful recovery and commercial interactions.
You can see the code here
Mobile Travel Agents (MTA) Destination Webinar
For more than 20 years MTA have been the leaders in the mobile travel agent industry. Bundaberg Tourism had the opportunity to present our destination via a webinar to the over 430 MTA Australia wide.
Operators who work with tourism trade can also work with MTA as they are looking for product to create a campaign to promote domestic deals targeting four main travel types: foodies; family-friendly; adventure and activities and health and wellness
Depending on the deal you can offer there are 2 options for the campaign:
Option 1.
- The MTA marketing team would create a flyer and Facebook tiles for the 430 travel advisors to promote to their clients via their social media platforms
- The package will become part of our “Our Australia - Revive Collection” and sent to our travel advisors
- Marketing collateral and product notes will be placed in Our Australia – Revive collection Dropbox for travel advisors to collect anytime until the deal expires.
Option 2.
(usually a package containing - hotels with day tours etc)
- The MTA marketing team would create a flyer & Facebook tiles for the MTA travel advisors to promote to their clients via their social media platforms & via email or post.
- The package would be placed on the MTA travel advisors’ individual websites as a Special Deal for 1 month
- The package would be sent via EDM to all their subscribed client’s databases of over 45K
- MTA have just launched their new consumer website, there is a dedicated area for all these unique packages, and they will stay live for their validity
- Opportunity to host a live webinar with our travel advisors to show them your product and answer and questions afterwards. We could also record this and share with any that were unable to attend.
If you are a trade ready operator and are interested in working with MTA please reach out to BT’s Project Officer, Loni Hammond This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and she will put you in touch with the Product Manager at MTA.
Australia 365 on Demand Platform
Toursim Australia's Australia 365 On Demand is an “always on” platform providing Australian industry, global distribution partners and Aussie Specialists the opportunity to share, train, update and connect throughout the year.
Global distribution partners and Aussie Specialists can search and review all Australian industry company listings including biography information, product updates, brand assets and social media links.
Bundaberg Tourism members who have completed the trade mentoring program would have received an invitation from Tourism Australia to upload their content. The platform is now live so if you are one of our Tourism Trade leaders ensure you have loaded your content on to the platform.
If you need assistance, please reach out to BT’s Project Officer, Loni Hammond This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tour Connect
Tour Connect is a B2B partner management platform built specifically for tourism businesses to help suppliers build and manage their rates contracts and connect the hotels and tour operators in our region to buyers and agents from around the world. Plus, the basic plan is free!
You can sign up here
Tourism Trade YouTube Channel
We have compiled all our tourism trade training videos on one You Tube channel. You can find it here and feel free to share with your trade partners.
Southern Great Barrier Reef Trade E-Newsletter
The SGBR Trade E-Newsletter goes out to tourism trade across the world every quarter. Make sure you are subscribed to stay abreast of the product developments across the Southern Great Barrier Reef region.
You can subscribe here
