If you have any Asia-related challenges or topics you’d like covered in these podcasts, please contact Bundaberg Tourism’s Maddison Clerke at maddison.clerke@bundabergregion.org.

BOOTCAMP OVERVIEW 2019

Last August, our Asia-Ready tourism operators participated in the 2019 Project Asia Bootcamp facilitated by Craig Shim of Alphacrane Intercultural Specialists to workshop ideas on how we can implement Asia-friendly enhancements in our businesses.

Here are some of the outcomes:

• Overcoming language barriers. Businesses discussed how they can use QR Codes and the translation function of Chinese app WeChat as a simple and cost-effective way to provide information to Chinese visitors.

• Sharing personal recommendations for upselling. We discovered the power of offering personal recommendations and discovered what our Asian visitors are really willing to pay for during their Bundaberg trip in terms of experiences, retail, food and drinks.

• Visibility in China. We agreed on an initiative to start seeding Bundaberg content that aligns with key messaging outlined in the Asia-Ready Strategy as a starting point for activating positive user-generated content on Chinese digital platforms.

• SOPs for rough weather cancellations. Rather than losing visitors during rough weather events, we initiated a project to develop Standard Operating Procedures to keep visitors in region, leveraging an alliance of Asia-friendly operators that can accommodate groups at short notice.

• Negotiating a rate rise with Asian partners. We discussed culturally appropriate ways to handle the sensitive issue of rate rises, with practical considerations on how to negotiate with Asian businesses.

• Bilingual destination map. Given how digitally-savvy our Asian visitors are, we initiated a project to develop an online, bilingual destination map that tourism operators can use when engaging with Chinese-speaking visitors.

If you’d like to know more about our Project Asia initiatives, please contact Bundaberg Tourism’s Maddison Clerke at maddison.clerke@bundabergregion.org.

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