Agenda of Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group

Minutes of the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group

Meeting Date: Monday, 24 June 2019

Location: Jervis Bay Rooms, City Administrative Centre, Bridge Road, Nowra

Time: 5.03pm

The following members were present:

Mr Robert Crow - Chairperson

Clr Joanna Gash

Clr Annette Alldrick

Ms Brenda Sambrook

Mr Neil Rodgers

Mr Mat Lock

Mr David Fleeting

Dr James Lin

Mr David Goodman

Mr David Duffy – arrived at 5.11pm

Others present:

Clr Patricia White

Clr Mark Kitchener

Stephen Dunshea – Acting General Manager

Coralie Bell – Tourism Manager

Kristy Mayhew – Tourism marketing Specialist

Joe Puglisi – Visitors Services Manager

Apologies / Leave of Absence

Apologies were received from Mark Thirlwall

Confirmation of the Minutes

RESOLVED (Mat Lock / James Lin)

That the Minutes of the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group held on Monday 06 May 2019 be confirmed.

CARRIED

Declarations of Interest

Nil

Reports

TA19.23 Tourism Manager's Report

HPERM Ref: D19/178015

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group receive the Tourism Manager’s Report for information.

RESOLVED (David Goodman / Clr Gash)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group receive the Tourism Manager’s Report for information.

CARRIED

TA19.24 Destination Marketing

HPERM Ref: D19/174544

James Lin enquired if Tourism has received any feedback in relation to Motels in the area being quiet this time of year?

Staff advised that June has a trend of being a quiet time for the area. Operators in the Shoalhaven have advised that the shoulder season has been positive however June is generally quiet when its the start of Winter.

Neil Rodgers advised that there has been a lift in the domestic market and starting to see previous quotes being booked for future holidays.

Joe Puglisi – Visitors Services Manager advised generally during the election periods the tourism market in the area is quiet.

The Tourism team is looking into the Food and Wine event, now launched in September, will work on this for the future.

Note: David Duffy arrived 5.11pm.

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group receive the Destination Marketing Report for information.

RESOLVED (Brenda Sambrook / David Duffy)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group receive the Destination Marketing Report for information.

CARRIED

TA19.25 Events and Investment

HPERM Ref: D19/174579

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group receive the Events and Investment Report for information.

RESOLVED (David Goodman / Brenda Sambrook)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group receive the Events and Investment Report for information.

CARRIED

TA19.26 Visitor Services Update April 2019

HPERM Ref: D19/185489

Staff advised that they are preparing an application to the Tourism Awards for Visitors Services.

The Regional Tourism Awards are coming up and will be held in Goulburn. When information becomes available staff will distribute to members.

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group receive the Visitors Services Report for information.

RESOLVED (Brenda Sambrook / David Goodman)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group receive the Visitors Services Report for information.

CARRIED

TA19.27 River Festival Committee Update

HPERM Ref: D19/176997

David Fleeting addressed the meeting and advised that essentially, it’s a new Committee with new and enthusiastic members.

There are two (2) elements that are changing, being that this will be the last year before the construction of the new bridge is commenced, so this will be the last year the River Festival will be in this location before it is impacted by the new bridge. The River Festival Committee need to plan for the alternate location for future years.

The current DA expires at the end of this year.

The River Festival Committee is currently looking at being a single day event, however can also look at a link for another event in the area to encourage overnight stays.

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group

1. Receive the report for information.

2. Endorse the Shoalhaven River Festival Committee Terms of Reference (attached).

RESOLVED (Mat Lock / Brenda Sambrook)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group

1. Receive the report for information.

2. Endorse the Shoalhaven River Festival Committee Terms of Reference (attached to the report).

CARRIED

TA19.28 Sports Board Update

HPERM Ref: D19/177058

David Goodman addressed the meeting and advised that the Shoalhaven Sports Board held a meeting this month and held a Workshop which covered the Strategic Plan.

The Sports Board are investigating the use of Banners for Leisure Centres and will in the future invite sporting bodies to each meeting to advise the sporting groups who the Sports Board is and how they can assist Sporting Groups.

There are two (2) new membership positions on the Sports Board which are yet to be identified from disadvantaged sporting Groups.

The Shoalhaven Indoor Sports Centre is anticipated to be completed by October.

TA19.29 Councillor Updates

HPERM Ref: D19/177035

Clr Gash addressed the meeting and advised that Culburra Beach is growing with 7 coffee shops in operation.

Clr Gash - The Shoalhaven Eisteddfod is a successful show for the young stars of the Shoalhaven. Sadly, the audience numbers were down this year. Is there a way that the Tourism Advisory Group can advertise and get more promotion for local events at the SEC. Local operators and events can’t afford the SEC space and sometimes availability is difficult.

Coralie Bell – Tourism Manager advised that there are multiple factors that may impact on shows, this can range from the cost to hire the venue, availability of the space, cost of tickets and the cost to run the SEC as a venue.

Tourism Staff will make contact with the Manager of the SEC to discuss challenges with the Eisteddfod.

Clr White addressed the meeting and advised the at the last Tourism meeting, safety in the CBD was raised, this was also raised at a recent Youth Advisory Committee meeting. Clr White raised this matter at the last Nowra CBD Revitalisation Strategy Committee and the Committee is arranging an excursion which will take place during the day and another at night to look at the issues that have been raised.

Clr White – The Nowra CBD Committee has agreed to the funding the lighting of the trees near the library and the Art Gallery at night. The Committee is also in the process of signing off for the new footpath construction of Berry Street. It was also noted that the Aboriginal Mural in Egans Lane (Woolworths Car park) has lighting. The Committee is in the selection and quotation process for securing a contractor for the Christmas Decorations for the CBD.

TA19.30 Industry Feedback

HPERM Ref: D19/177044

Neil Rodgers asked for an update regarding where in the process is the Shaolin Temple – Comberton Grange.

The Group were advised that this has been a long-standing process and is currently with the owners/developers of the land. There are only 2 years left on the DA. The proposed development has been downgraded to a smaller scale development and there is information online from an information day that was held in February 2019.

James Lin requested an update on the proposed Woolworths Store at Bomaderry. The Group were advised that it is still expected to go ahead.

GENERAL BUSINESS

TA19.31 Additional Item - Observation - REMS

David Fleeting raised and made the observation that the REMS project is a phenomenal piece of infrastructure and when complete could be linked to tourism from an agricultural perspective.

TA19.32 Additional item - South Coast Food and Wine Festival

Coralie Bell – Tourism Manager advised that the South Coast Food and Wine Festival launched this week, partnered with local chefs and wineries. The event will run from 13 to 15 September 2019.

TA19.33 Additional Item - Letter - Local Members - Funding Tourism

David Goodman raised the issue of State and/or Federal Funding for Tourism has been withdrawn from Local Government.

RESOLVED (David Goodman / Robert Crow)

That the Chairperson work with the Tourism Manager to formulate a letter to the Local Members seeking reinstatement of funding for Tourism.

CARRIED

TA19.34 Additional Item - Workshops - Strategic Plan

Coralie Bell – Tourism Manager advised that a Workshop will be scheduled prior to the next meeting to work through the Working Groups within the Strategic Plan which has been distributed to members.

TA19.35 Additional item - Local Community Communication Network

Mat Lock advised that he has been approached by a local not for profit community network who have identified an opportunity to increase awareness of local events and seeking volunteers.

The Chairperson requested that Mat Lock put the group in touch with Coralie Bell – Tourism Manager who will invite them to a future meeting of STAG to make a presentation.

TA19.36 Additional Item - Low Cost Lighting - MOFO (Hobart) - VIVID (Sydney)

David Fleeting advised that he had returned from the MOFO festival in Hobart where a lot of low cost lighting options were used for atmosphere and ambiance which was well received.

There being no further business, the meeting concluded, the time being 6.10pm.

Mr Robert Crow

CHAIRPERSON

Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group – Monday 26 August 2019

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TA19.41 Tourism Manager Report

HPERM Ref: D19/260102

Group: CEO Group

Section: Tourism

Purpose / Summary

To give a brief outline of the Tourism Manager’s activity during June 2019 – July 2019.

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group receive the Tourism Manager’s Report for information.

Options

1. Receive the report for information.

2. Request more information from the Tourism Manager.

Background

Coralie continues to act as the Section Manager, Recreation, Community and Culture. Shannan has taken on some of the Tourism Manager work to keep key projects moving forward.

Things we have been across:

· The Regional Tourism Awards were held at Cupitts on the 24th July. We worked closely with the organisers to assist with event logistics. Shoalhaven award winners included Cupitts, South Coast Nannies, My Hay Retreat and Bangalay Luxury Villas. Support has been arranged for those businesses wanting advice before entering the State Awards.

· Australian Regional Tourism are developing best practice guidelines to support Local Government engagement with the visitor economy. We are currently assisting with case study selection and document finalisation.

· Ongoing partnership with Wollongong Uni – S4 Project – Review of draft research parameters complete.

· Continued development of the Shoalhaven 360 model – Review of phase one data and development of phase two underway.

· Tourism Team Region Visits were conducted at Far Meadow Table and Mountain Ridge Winery, offering information on ATDW, links to industry advice, research, partnership ideas and funding opportunities.

· Drawing Room Rocks – A concept for possible parking solutions has now been developed and sent to NSW National Park and Wildlife and Department of Premier of Cabinet for feedback and decisions on next steps.

· Southern NSW Drive Opportunities – draft document reviewed, feedback collated and communicated with the consultants complete.

· The Sydney to Melbourne Touring Strategic Plan 2019 – 2021 is now complete and will be published soon at https://www.sydneymelbournetouring.com/

· The Tourism Operator Survey has been sent to operators, results will be collated and distributed in September.

· The Tourism Talk After Hours event went well, over 60 operators attended to hear presentation from Destination NSW on the Unspoilt Campaign. Feedback from operators has been very positive, keep an eye out for future dates.

· A letter to local members regarding the cut to State Tourism funding (as per action from the June STAG meeting) has been drafted in consultation with Rob Crow (Chair).

· Continuing to provide organisations with information on the Tourism Infrastructure Fund and assessing as required.

· Continue to work with Destination Sydney Surrounds South on key initiatives.

· Ongoing Council operational matters, end of year reporting complete and new KPI reporting systems for 2019/2020 are well underway.

· Vicki Elton has resigned from her role as Senior Administration Officer.

· Emelie Einarsson was the successful applicant for the 12-month Senior Administration Officer role.

Hyams Beach Update

· Progress Update report went to Council’s Strategy & Assets Committee on 23 July 2019. Council resolved to;

o Take all necessary steps to introduce paid parking and in the interim consider establishing a park and ride scheme;

o Explore funding opportunities to establish a footpath along Booderee Avenue and parking along Naval College Road;

o Receive a number of separate reports to further Strategy & Assets Committee meetings; and

o Consolidate all the decisions on separate reports into a Draft Hyams Beach Access and Management Master Plan.

· Separate reports about Hyams Beach initiatives are anticipated to go to the August and September Strategy & Assets Committee meetings.

· Consultation with community and businesses is ongoing.

· Sharon Neradil is returning to the Project Officer role on 21 August after long service leave.

Up Next

· Australian Regional Tourism Convention - 21st – 23rd October preparation.

· Continue to work with the University of Wollongong on the S4 project implementation.

· Hyams Beach continues to be a focus with School Holiday planning underway.

· Completion of the Shoalhaven 360 Model, phase two.

· Unspoilt Strategic Planning Session with Destination NSW.

· 2019 Visitor Guide development.

· South Coast Marine Tourism Strategy – Illawarra Shoalhaven Joint Organisation (ISJO) are convening a Local Government Working Group meeting to discuss the actions which\ have LGAs or Joint Organisations nominated as the lead.

· Communication from the Red Head Villages Association was received regarding the impact of tourism campaigns on the area, specifically surfing. A meeting will take place in early September, which will include the Project Officer, to discuss further.

· Regional Team Visits will be conducted during September and October in the Nowra, Culburra Beach and Callala Bay areas as well as the Bay and Basin for interested operators.

Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group – Monday 26 August 2019

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TA19.42 Events and Investment

HPERM Ref: D19/238205

Group: General Manager's Group

Section: Tourism

Purpose / Summary

To update the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group on events and investment in the Shoalhaven region.

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group receive the Events and Investment Report for information.

Options

1. Receive the report for information.

2. Request more information.

In Progress

· 2019 / 2020 event planning in partnership with Shoalhaven Water for supported sporting events. Specifically looking for opportunities to activate the Bomaderry Sporting Complex with large events.

· 2019 / 2020 event planning for the Event Support Program, including the assessment of several EOIs for funding.

· Several large surf lifesaving style events planned for Mollymook in 2020, currently working with event organisers and local contacts to ensure smooth approval processes and event functionality.

· Fairgrounds 2019 planning is well underway, as one of our flagship events we are working closely with organisers to make the most out of line-up announcement opportunities, as well as working to ensure accommodation throughout the region is utilised. Organisers feel ticket sales from out of region, while extremely high, could have been stronger with easier access to accommodation options. Discussions are currently underway to ensure tickets, as well as accommodation can be easily sourced to ensure the highest benefit to local businesses.

· The South Coast Food and Wine Festival inaugural event is occurring in September, as will all new events there is a significant amount of work that goes into the planning phase. Offering support, links to templates, internal contacts, funding opportunities is part of Shoalhaven Tourism’s role in supporting events. Marketing have been working closely with the organiser to link local businesses with event media opportunities, again maximising the economic benefits an event of this style brings to the region.

· Currently working with several operators who are developing new product, providing advice, links to funding opportunities, letters of support and research.

· Updated Event Support Program Funding implementation – new forms and website information ongoing.

· Awaiting results from the application to the Environment and Tourism Fund for Shoalhaven Sustainable Tourism Infrastructure Package, a $6.8 million-dollar tourism infrastructure project.

· Full review of Event Policy as well as associated support material and templates, including best practice sustainable initiatives e.g. no single use plastics. Research into other LGA practices and policies, as well as internal collaboration to ensure the best outcome.

· Update on LEP Housekeeping amendment – impact on event approvals. The exhibited Housekeeping Planning Proposal includes Item No.9, with the following proposed change to the LEP:

The outcome of the exhibition of the Planning Proposal was reported to the Development & Environment Committee earlier this month. In the report it was noted that additional criteria would be added regarding Item No.9 as follows:

Include the following criteria within Instrument Amendment Item 9 (Exempt Development - ‘Temporary events on public land) to capture all management/tenure arrangements over Crown land: “(e) public reserves for which Council has devolved responsibility under Section 48 Local Government Act 1993”.

Council has delegation to finalise the resultant amendment to the LEP – as such if the Planning Proposal is adopted by Council, Strategic Planning will then proceed to take the final steps to amend the LEP. This could take an additional 6-8 weeks, however, if the amendment goes ahead as described above this will be a positive outcome for event organisers.

Event Applications currently being assessed:

· Bondi2Berry - 7^th September 2019 – Berry Bowling Club

· 13^th - 15^th September 2019 South Coast Food & Wine Festival – Berry Showground

· Nowra Water Dragons Pig Island Challenge - 15^th September 2019 – Greys Beach / Shoalhaven River

· Wildside adventure race - 5^th - 7^th October 2019 – Kangaroo Valley

· Shoalhaven Animal Centre Pet Expo - 13^th October 2019 – Nowra Showground

· Spring into Sanctuary Point - 19^th October 2019 – Francis Ryan Reserve, Sanctuary Point

· Bird Haven Festival - 18^th - 20^th October 2019 – Shoalhaven Heads

· Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival - 18^th - 20^th October 2019 – Kangaroo Valley Showground (Osbourne Park)

· Gone Fishing Day - 20^th October 2019 – Voyager Park, Huskisson

· Sand & Sea Festival - 25^th - 27^th October 2019 – Huskisson Beach, Huskisson

· Shoalhaven River Festival - 26^th October – Scenic Dr, Nowra / Greys Beach

Other Event Enquiries and/or Meetings

· Chilli Chocolate Festival - 28^th July 2019 – Shoalhaven Turf Club

· Jervis Bay Marine Rescue Kayak event – preliminary discussions

Filming Applications assessed, and permits given – July – October

· Kathmandu Spring/Summer 19 - Collers Beach, Ulladulla Head – 30^th, 31^st & 1^st August

Filming Applications currently being assessed:

· Ferrari Advertisement - Kangaroo Valley – August 2019

Upcoming Supported Events:

Event Name	Date of the Event	Venue/Location	Economic Benefit (REMPLAN)
August
My Travel Festival	10th	Nowra	$270,000
Husky Running Festival	18th	Huskisson	$353,000
NSW State Holstein Show	18th - 26th	Nowra	$244.000
South Coast Soul Festival	23rd – 25th	Bewong	$328,000
September
Bondi2Berry	7th	Berry	$179,000
South Coast Food and Wine Festival	13th – 15th	Berry	$3,346,000
October
Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival	18^th – 20^th	Kangaroo Valley	$532,000
Bird Haven Festival	18^th – 20^th	Shoalhaven Heads	$506,000
River Festival	26^th	Nowra	$1,763,000
Sand and Sea Festival	25^th – 27^th	Huskisson	$543,000

Results

· Selected by DNSW to represent the Sydney Surrounds South Region at the Destination Business Events Conference 18^th – 21^st September 2019.

· South Nowra Billboard scheduled for 2019 with supported events.

· EOI for AIME 2020 complete, working with several Shoalhaven operators on joint attendance in partnership with DNSW.

· Arranged several site visits for prominent conference organisers to Willinga Park, the conference space is due to be completed in September, so support is continuing to ensure as many partnerships as possible are developed.

· Collaboration with the Dunn Lewis Centre in Ulladulla to support future conferences and events.

· An increase in the number of organisers listing their events on the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse, this ensures the event appears on DNSW’s website and Shoalhaven.com.

· Event Permits Issued – July – October

§ Love Connection Wedding Fair - 6^th - 7^th July 2019 – Ulladulla Civic Centre

§ Shoalhaven NAIDOC Fun Day - 10^th July 2019 – Nowra Showground

§ Ngulla NAIDOC Day - 12^th July 2019 – Ulladulla Civic Centre

§ Aussie Night Markets - 12^th - 13^th July 2019 – Nowra Showground

§ Berry Duathlon - 27th July 2019 – Berry Showground

§ Men’s Shed Market - 18th August 2019 – Shoalhaven Heads

§ Husky Running Festival - 18th August 2019 – White Sands Park, Huskisson

§ NSW State Show Holstein Event - 18^th - 26^th August 2019 – Nowra Showground

§ Capital to Coast - 23^rd - 25^th August 2019 – Small Running event with Multiple Stages between Canberra & Huskisson

§ Trek for Timor - 14th September 2019 – Kangaroo Valley

§ NSW Rowing Regatta - 28^th September 2019 – Paringa Park / Shoalhaven River

§ Hobie Fishing Event - 5th - 6th October 2019 – Palm Beach, St Georges Basin

§ Lions Country Fair - 5^th October 2019 – Lions Park, Sussex Inlet

Supported Event Results

2018 / 2019 Supported Events Wrap Up

The aim of the Tourism Event Support Program is to drive off-season visitation, supporting year-round jobs in the region and evening out traditional peaks and troughs in visitation. The 2018 / 2019 Financial Year saw a strong mix of sport, art, culture and music events across the Shoalhaven. In total, 27 events were financially supported, with an estimated economic impact (based on REMPLAN reporting) of over $22 million.

StoryFest - 19^th – 21^st June – Ulladulla/Milton

The inaugural event was deemed a huge success by organisers and attendees alike. The next event is planned for 19^th – 21^st June 2020. Full details on final numbers and visitor statistics due soon.

AFL Junior Championships - Nowra

750 players between the ages of 8 and 17 plus their family members attended the carnival over the 3 days. 500 of these players came from Central NSW & Sapphire Coast and stayed in the Shoalhaven for 2 - 3 nights. 250 players came from Eurobodalla, Shoalhaven & Illawarra, about 20% stayed in Nowra across the 3 days. All players from Sapphire & Central West were accompanied by 1 or 2 parents and siblings for the 3 days, attendees from these areas report using the carnival as a reason to have an extended holiday in the area.

AFL staff and umpires stayed at the Nowra Quest for 2 nights, booking 17 rooms. In total accommodation is required for an estimated 1600 players, coaches, managers, team support, parents and spectators.

Sussex Inlet Family Fishing Carnival

The Carnival has been supported for many years and has a proven track record of attracting visitors from outside the region to participate in the event. This year initial reports indicate an increase in participation; however, full details are yet to be compiled. The event does fall within the school holidays, this year funding was decreased due to this. The Event Support Program is specifically developed to drive off-season visitation. Advice, links to other funding sources and other ways the event can be supported have been communicated to the organisers.

Chilli Chocolate Festival, Nowra

Initial reports indicate an increase in visitation on previous years. Marketing into Sydney and Canberra saw an increase in interest from outside the region. The full post event report is still being finalised.

Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group – Monday 26 August 2019

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TA19.43 Destination Marketing

HPERM Ref: D19/255119

Group: CEO Group

Section: Tourism

Attachments: 1. Report - Unspoilt Outdoor Creative Examples (Confidential - under separate cover)

2. Presentation - Unspoilt 2018 Results - Tourism Talk After Hours (Confidential - under separate cover)

3. Media Article - Canberra Times - Sipping the Shoalhaven ⇩

4. Shoalhaven Tourism - Annual Marketing Plan 2019/2020 (Confidential - under separate cover)

Purpose / Summary

To provide a summary of Destination Marketing activity for June – July 2019, and a snapshot of digital marketing results for the Financial Year ending June 2019.

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group:

1. Receive the Destination Marketing Report for information;

2. Form a Marketing Working Group consisting of (insert names); and

3. Endorse the Marketing Working Group to finalise the Annual Marketing Plan 2019/2020 as attached.

Options

1. As recommended

2. Adopt an alternative recommendation

Industry News
Tourism Awards:
Shoalhaven hosted the Regional Tourism Awards at Cupitt’s in Ulladulla. Congratulations to the winners. including: Cupitt for Best in Food Tourism; South Coast Nannies for Specialised Tourism Services; Mt Hay Retreat for Luxury Accommodation; and a silver for Bangalay Luxury Villas in New Product. Winners of gold go through to the NSW Tourism Awards Automatically, with the offering of mentoring to update submissions.

This year Visitor Information Services and Marketing are collaborating on an entry for the Visitor Services category in the NSW Tourism Awards. After winning gold for marketing last year, we are focussing on the VIS accomplishments and believe the innovation of the Visitor Services model, including co-habitation of the centres, Ambassador program and services out in region creates a winning mix.

In other industry news, Pelican Rocks in Greenwell Point won best Fish and Chips in NSW, both People’s Choice and Judges Choice, and are going on to compete in the National Awards.

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Tourism After Hours Networking Events:
Over 60 people attended the July 22 Tourism Talk Networking event, which included an Unspoilt presentation from Destination NSW. Thank you to those STAG members who came along and engaged with operators and industry reps from Destination NSW. Overall, feedback was very positive. Businesses noted the value of meeting other operators for peer review and collaboration. Two more networking events, one in Huskisson and one in Ulladulla are being scheduled for November and invitations will be sent out soon.

Product Updates:
St Isidore is closing, owners are opening a new wine bar called Small Town Milton
Dive Jervis Bay has a new ‘Swim with the Whales’ experience (trial for 6 months)
South Coast Experiences is creating and curating packages for groups and corporates
Far Meadow Table runs cooking workshops and special events on a property in Coolangatta
Jervis Bay Paddlesports has new tours, such as around St Georges Basin and Huskisson

Terrara House has new owners and re-launched weddings, events and catering
Ritual Habitual Coffee Van has closed but opened next door in a store on Edwards Ave
Spirited Tours with Janine Louise (Medium), is conducting Coolangatta Spirit (Ghost) Tours

Tourism Research Australia Results Year to Date March 2019:
Results for the year ending March 2019 have just come in and the top line results are encouraging for our industry with record results across the markets and indicators that show travellers are staying longer and spending more:
- $914M total estimated spend across the year (2020 target is $1 billion)
- 5.81M total visitor nights – a new record up 11.5%
- 1.67M domestic overnight visitors – a new record up 3.4%

Total visitors are down, mainly due to a drop of around 7% in day trippers. Decreasing day trippers and increasing overnight visitors is likely to be showing a conversion to visitors deciding there is a lot to do, so they are staying overnight and spending more. This is a positive result.

We have seen strong annual growth of International overnight visitors for many quarters now of around 20-30% but this quarter there is a small decrease of about 5%. We will continue to watch this space; however, it is good to see that international visitor nights are up by 20% suggesting those who visit us might be staying for several nights as Free Independent Travellers as opposed to day trips from Sydney.

Publicity
Significant Publicity / Media Articles:

Publication	Reach	Links / Update
Concrete Playground	1.2M	Eight Cafes to Seek Out When You're Road Tripping Down the NSW South Coast https://concreteplayground.com/sydney/best-of/cafes-nsw-south-coast
Channel 9 News Sydney	913K	Journos in region on famil with the new Dive Jervis Bay swim with the whales experience https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=463840560835318
Canberra Times	246,000	Sipping the Shoalhaven – a cover story for the weekend paper panorama with a write up of all the cellar doors https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6281267/sipping-the-shoalhaven-a-guide-to-wineries-of-the-south-coast/
Urban List	900K	Glamping round up including Paperbark Camp https://www.theurbanlist.com/sydney/a-list/sustainable-eco-retreats-near-sydney
ABC News Illawarra	60K	Interview with Coralie re 100 Beach Challenge successes https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-07/council-challenges-residents-to-visit-100-of-its-beaches/11184744?fbclid=IwAR2HDVkXRnxR2Mu-sWuje_0DzvwELigABR6J8_-hyt82Q2eS_zZy6lWxaAo
SMH Traveller	425K	Paperbark Camp turns 20 http://www.traveller.com.au/paperbark-camp-jervis-bay-the-pioneers-of-happy-clamping-h1f55u
MSN (family Travel	65K	Aussie road trips you need to make – including Bannisters and Clyde River Berry Farm https://www.msn.com/en-au/travel/tripideas/aussie-road-trip-stops-you-need-to-make/ar-AAEtjvY
The Australian	300K	William Dangar’s garden, Mollymook, NSW https://www.theaustralian.com.au/weekend-australian-magazine/william-dangars-garden-mollymook-nsw/news-story/298cab8d9d807f512ecc762ad057ff7f
Illawarra Mercury	52K	Paperbark Camp 20^th anniversary https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5974480/paperbark-camp-at-jervis-bay-celebrates-20-years-of-glamping/
7news online (AAP Media)	70K	Romance of times gone by in the Shoalhaven Art and Culture guide. https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/romance-of-times-gone-by-in-the-shoalhaven-c-371123
Sydney News	30K	Launch of the South Coast Food and Wine Festival https://sydneynews.sydney/sydney-news/south-coast-food-and-wine-festival-2019/4232/

Hot Spot report:

Social media continues to generate broad interest of our popular areas, outside of our sphere of influence. Engagement of around 40,000 people in June / July was reported across top level social on Hyams Beach content. We continue to work on dispersal strategies for our 16 white sand beaches to relieve the pressure on the village of Hyams Beach.


	https://www.instagram.com/p/BU56sG5hcHg/
	https://www.instagram.com/p/B0l7mmUgSzl/

	https://www.instagram.com/p/BvgbxFklv09/
	https://www.instagram.com/p/B0f06PGh8Hi/ (with photoshopped shark) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0DgeNiB5jx/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B0A5awfhbIk/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz7yAldhz3o/
	https://www.instagram.com/p/B0bWpvlJRF8/

Influencer Report:
Shares from Tourism Australia and Visit NSW continue to generate engagement for content of our region. @thewhereto was one of our influencers from a recent group food famil.

Winter/Spring Opportunities
Alongside our planned strategies, we have had some great opportunities come about:
Australian Geographic – 6 page The Wool Road Article, Road Trip feature (ACT focus)
Tourism Australia – Six Instagram stories will go live on @australia (3.8m followers) in November. We were approached by the content team at Tourism Australia and as a result commissioned the following content by local influencers @SomethingsWild: Berry Donut Van, Ben’s Walk, Bannisters By The Sea; Stand Up Paddle Boarding Jervis Bay; Vintage Shopping Berry: Jim Wilds Oysters.
She Hunts Opp Shops - A famil is planned with Melbourne based influencer @shehuntsoppshops in September to curate a story with her partner and child around opp shopping, forest adventures and eco experiences.

Unspoilt Campaign Update
As of 23 July the Unspoilt campaign was 67% complete. Overall results for the Shoalhaven are: 142,741 website visits (16% up YoY), 60,719 leads to industry (39% up YoY), with a 43% conversion rate. One of the main success measures of this campaign is the number of leads sent to operators own ATDW listings on the visitnsw.com site. 43% is a great conversion rate showing that consumers are engaging in the landing page content and following through with a click over to a business listing in order to research or make a booking direct.

This year an accommodation landing page was added to the promotional mix on visitnsw.com and this page is doing well with over 50% conversion rate. At this point in the campaign, social media is driving the most leads to visitnsw.com South Coast landing pages overall.

in July, conversion partner Stayz delivered an EDM to their email database of around 40,000, and also sent family influencer (@Julescoffey with 64K followers) to the Shoalhaven for a famil. The other conversion partner combination, Australia Traveller and booking.com, is achieving good editorial exposure, but a low number of booking conversions, this will be addresses in the remaining month of the campaign.

Shoalhaven heavily invested in the publicity component of this year’s campaign as editorial has a very high return on investment and is great for our brand awareness. Publications who have visited us this winter include: Her Canberra; NW & OK; Who Magazine; Stella Magazine (Sunday Telegraph); Sydney Morning Herald Traveller and more. This is a great result, showing demand from high level publications to travel and cover the region, this is more interest than we have ever seen before.

A report was provided by Destination NSW showcasing examples of Shoalhaven outdoor advertising placements that ran in May (digital roadside, bus shelters etc). Please see attached: 2. Report - Unspoilt Outdoor Creative Examples (Confidential - under separate cover) for full details. Images below are visitnsw.com landing page and outdoor bus shelter advertising placements.

Winter Food and Wine Campaign
Publicity campaigns this June and July have been successful due to a collaboration between the Shoalhaven Tourism Team, the Destination NSW team, and an external Publicist from Sydney, Original Spin. There have been several opportunities to combine resources and pitch famils to well-known foodie publications through working collaboratively with the South Coast Food and Wine Festival.

Two group famils brought several journalists to the region to visit cafes and restaurants, meet producers and visit multiple winery cellar doors. This was a strategic approach, so they could enjoy their wine, with the help of a driver. The Shoalhaven is still an emerging wine region, so it was great to see two full features of the region published: The Canberra Times (Sipping the Shoalhaven) and Gourmet Traveller Wine (yet to be published).

Cafes and restaurants in the Shoalhaven are such an important part of our foodie scene. A couple of stand-out famils include Alex Carlton from The Australian Travel and Leisure, who said the Shoalhaven was one of the ‘best food and wine famils’ she had ever been on. A comprehensive article from Concrete Playground on eight cafes throughout the region was published in June, this online publication is the go-to for younger demographics and has a huge reach (over one million views to their website per month) so this was a great result.

Our group famils also utilised our Producer Guide as a road map to visit locals such as: Jim Wild oyster shucking lesson; Pia from Phyco Health Seaweed; The Treat Factory Cow to Cone experience and an Oyster and wine tasting masterclass with Australia’s Oyster Coast and Cupitt Winery. These experience help demonstrate the foodie goodness of our region and connect the producer with the consumer.

Advertising partnerships for foodie content are finishing up with Eat Well Magazine publishing recipes from Shoalhaven Chefs and Producers in their July publication (see image below). Online campaigns across Facebook, Instagram and google are rolling out throughout August and September, encouraging downloads of the Producer Guide.

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International Marketing Update
Discover Jervis Bay has been contracted for another three years to work in Asia markets and deliver visitation to the region. Alongside this activity, an EOI process for an industry development partner to help businesses become international ready will begin soon.

Visitor Guide Update
Visitor Guide advertising bookings are coming in, with one month to go $35K or our $65K target is locked in. The team is mapping out editorial pages, utilising popular content on the website as a reference, then constructing the publication over September and October, ready for distribution in December. There are also 10,000 issues of the current (2019) guide to be distributed as soon as possible, either via another magazine tip on or café/venue drops in Sydney and ACT.

Digital Marketing Update:
Our digital marketing report will focus on some statistics from the full financial year (2018/19) compared to the financial year before (2017/18) as well as some more recent information from the recent June / July period where relevant.

Shoalhaven.com update:

Overview 2018/9 Financial Year
Web traffic has seen high growth in sessions, users and page views across this financial year. Users of our website have grown 124% year on year, most of these being new users of our site. Our target is 20% annual growth, so this is a great result. A combination of relevant and rich content across our site, plus paid digital marketing strategies to drive traffic attribute to this excellent result.

Pageviews to our site in the last financial year soared up to 829,000 from 37,400 the previous year, but there is still more work required to increase the pages viewed per visit and time spent on site. 63% of this traffic comes from organic search, a further 11% comes from people typing our address into a browser or using a bookmark. This demonstrates growing brand awareness and successful SEO (search engine optimisation) tactics.

A significant 700% jump in traffic to our events pages has largely come from organic search, suggesting that changes to the way Google displays its event search queries is working in our favour. Approximately 11% of all site traffic comes from our social media channels, and our top referrer is visitnsw.com (primarily from events and natural attractions pages), followed by well-known blogs such as the Urban List, Concrete Playground, and our own 100 Beach Challenge.

Our trip builder is being utilised by approximately half of our web visitors with almost 64k itineraries built, 2000 shared, and 1800 customised (changes to a shared itinerary) in 2018/19 financial year.

Top line stats | shoalhaven.com l year-on-year

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June/July Update
On a month to month basis, June and July web users are up 20% with a 15% growth in new visitors to the website. Pageviews are up 17%, with just over 100k in the 2-month period. Our top pages during this time were Events, What’s on this Weekend, Honeymoon Bay and Walks.

Top 5 visited pages | shoalhaven.com
1. Visitor Guide (paid views up 300%, referrals up 200% mostly from Facebook)
2. Honeymoon Bay (up 112%)
3. Home Page (up 11%)
4. Events (up 90%, organic search traffic, referrals from Visit NSW and Shoalhaven City Council)
5. What’s on this weekend (up 700%, organic search traffic, referrals from Visit NSW)

Top 10 products used in Shoalhaven.com itinerary builder
(click to view product)

1. Honeymoon Bay

2. Ritual Habitual Coffee

3. Hyper Hyper Coffee

4. Hyams Beach Store and Cafe

5. Bistro One46

6. The Treehouse Cafe

7. Marlin Hotel

8. Palm Beach Caravan Park

9. Foodscape Tours South Coast

10. Sanddancers Bed and Breakfast in Jervis Bay

Paid Digital Advertising:

Overview 2018/19 Financial Year
Paid advertising is important to entice new people to our website and remind people who know us to come back to the Shoalhaven. Our paid digital advertising had a return on investment of engaging two people for every dollar spent, or costing us 50c per engagement, whilst last year engagements were costing around 70c, our ceiling cost is $1 per engagement. This shows efficiency in our digital marketing.

Outside of partnerships like Unspoilt, our paid campaigns showcased our downloadable brochures such as the Visitor Guide, Walks, Surfing, Art and Culture, Producer Guide to 5.7 million people, generating 157k comments, likes, shares and clicks back to our website, resulting in 1,300 conversions, downloads or request for copies of the guides.

Our paid digital campaigns are an important component of our dispersal strategy. During the summer holiday period, our dispersal campaigns reached over 100k people with messaging about the White Sands Coast and 16 White Sand Beaches, along with the 100 Beach Challenge.

Facebook Update:

Overview 2018/19 Financial Year
Despite downward trends in engagement and audience growth for many brands due to the new Facebook algorithm favouring friends and family over business, our Facebook growth has continued, if not modestly over the last financial year. KPI’s are to grow audiences 10% year on year and we have seen 7% growth across Facebook audience development, but we are happy with this result under the circumstances. Engagement of around 9% growth annually is a strong statistic, considering the loss of reach due to the changed algorithm. It shows that the audience we are connecting with are engaged with our content.

Financial Year growth:

Facebook	2017/2018	2018/2019	Change
Followers	52824	56493	+7%
New Followers	2646	3671	+38%
Engagement	106421	116212	+9%

June/July Update
We continue to post according to our key promotional pillars and schedule our posts three weeks in advance. Our top organic posts (not paid) from June & July are heavily food and wine focussed and from both owned and media relationships. A variety of content types included video, media shares, and images.

Click on the links to view:
1. Video: Shoalhaven Stories – Meet Sunny & Kaiki from Island Sushi. 28 June. (18k reach pre-boost)
2. Media Share: Hyper Hyper named in top 5 coffee shops in Australia. 18 July
3. Media Share: Concrete Playground article on our 8 best eateries. July 29
4. Image of Murray’s Beach cave. June 4
5. Image of South Coast Wine Festival launch. June 25

Tourism Talk Newsletter:

The B2B monthly newsletter is sent to a list of around 2,000 operators, with an above average open rate for our industry. Operators who subscribe have grown by around 200 in the last financial year, largely through product development across our Arts and Culture and local Producers Guide businesses.

We are working on finalising our ‘Tourism Talk’ website to go live this year. We can then publish content and opportunities as they happen so operators can be more in touch. This site will also be a great place for information such as applying for event permits, funding opportunities and marketing templates as well as checklists and handy tips.

Popular content across our Tourism Talk newsletters in June and July includes our Tourism Talk After Hours events our bi-annual Operator Feedback Survey and Visitor Guide advertising opportunities.

Visitor Email Newsletter:

The monthly visitor newsletter has around 6,000 subscribers and a 30% open rate, which is above average for the travel industry (Around 15-20% benchmark). This audience has grown by 43% (1,521) this financial year, which is well above our 10% target.

We build this audience by prompting people to opt-in when they download or request a mailout of our guides across multiple landing pages, but we are also exploring new ways to grow this ‘owned audience’ with some simple acquisition and retargeting campaigns on social media and browsing platforms.

2018/2019 Financial Year Highlights

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Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group – Monday 26 August 2019

Page 0

TA19.44 Visitor Services Update - year ending June 2019

HPERM Ref: D19/261559

Group: CEO Group

Section: Tourism

Attachments: 1. Action Plan ⇩

Purpose / Summary

To give an update of Visitor Information Services for year ending June 2019.

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group:

1. Receive the Visitor Services Update Report for information;

2. Endorse the Visitor Services Annual Plan 2019/2020 as attached.

Options

1. As recommended

2. Adopt an alternative recommendation

Visitor Services Overview

The Volunteer Ambassador Program has continued throughout the year with three new recruits attending the Nowra Visitor Centre, raising the number of regulars to the centre to 8, the number of regional volunteers increased to 40. Two of our volunteers have secured payed employment with the VIS as casual positions became available,

Familiarisation visits (famils) continued this year with 16 famils conducted, visiting 113 operators throughout the region. The personal experience of visiting a property, meeting the operator or undertaking an activity is invaluable to staff development. Operators see that staff are invested in their success, it has a beneficial effect in terms of opening lines of communication and developing opportunities to collaborate.

Mystery shopping surveys were performed throughout the year, with the Nowra and Ulladulla Visitor Centres averaging 97% in customer satisfaction. This confirms our commitment to providing excellent customer service to our visitors, we will continue to monitor the customer experience, making improvements where necessary.

Many operators reported good bookings over the year due to an extended shoulder season. School holidays combined with Anzac Day and Easter resulted in one of the best Easter holiday seasons experienced for some time. However, there were some reports of May /June being quieter than previous years.

Volunteers

This year we have a total of 48 volunteers, the regional volunteers are trained by Visitor Services staff and are insured under Council’s policies.

Volunteers have been a tremendous help, often being the first point of call for visitors that enter the centre. This year they handled 1,197 inquiries at the Nowra Visitor Centre, while the regional volunteers handled a combined 5,343 inquiries over Huskisson, Vincentia and Sussex Inlet locations.

Two volunteers were subject to a mystery shopping visit, both scored 100%. This is a testament to the training of our volunteers and shows their enthusiasm to deliver the best for Shoalhaven Tourism.

Familiarisations

Famils this year have been very rewarding for Visitor Centre staff and have become an essential part of continuous improvement and currency of knowledge to better serve customers. Twice a month a group of operators are selected to visit. Visits are based on expressions of interest, changes or new improvements to an experience or a new operator taking over. 16 famils were conducted this year, visiting 113 operators and/or attractions.

Visits took place in Berry, Shoalhaven Heads, Bawley Point, Murramarang, Callala Beach and areas of the Bay and Basin, sharing time between accommodation providers and attractions. Information and photos gathered during these visits are used to create reports and update records creating a valuable shared information resource.

Visitors Guide Distribution

Over 78,000 of the 2019 Visitors Guides have been distributed to date. 38,500 have been distributed locally to accommodation providers, cafes and attraction businesses. 14,500 have been distributed regionally throughout the NSW Visitor Information Centre network and interstate through centres in the ACT and Northern Victoria. 15,000 have been distributed through cafes in the Sydney and Canberra markets and a further 10,000 have been distributed nationally as magazine add-ons.

Supplementary Centres

Supplementary Centres have been instrumental in delivering visitor information at various destinations around the Shoalhaven. We have 10 supplementary visitors centres geographically situated across the region:

Jervis Bay Maritime Museum, Huskisson, a level 3 accredited centre

Berry Music Store, Berry

Caltex Garage, Shoalhaven Heads

Outdoors and Beyond, South Nowra

Point Gallery, Greenwell Point

Between the Flags, Sanctuary Point

Culburra Newsagency and Garage, Culburra

Sussex Inlet Marina, Sussex Inlet

Dunn Lewis Centre, Ulladulla

Bawley Point Newsagency, Bawley Point

Three new centres were established this year at South Nowra, Culburra and Sanctuary Point.

Over 3,000 visitor guides and 2,500 A5 guides were handed out by the supplementary centres. Throughout the year many of the supplementary centres have been upgraded with new display stands. Our aim is to complete the upgrades this financial year.

Mobile Services

Mobile services are becoming an important part of distributing information. The aim of this service is to get the information out to where the visitors are, assisting them to identify activities that may be suitable, resulting in them staying longer and spending more.

Eight mobile services were set up over the holiday periods at Huskisson, Sussex Inlet and Vincentia. The Huskisson mobile service was coordinated by the VIS team, while the Sussex Inlet and Vincentia pop up centres were managed by our regional volunteers.

The mobile centre in Huskisson over the Christmas/New Year period ran for approximately 3 weeks. The staff handled 2,729 inquiries, mainly focussed on beaches, recreational activities, nature-based activities and general direction inquiries. This gave staff and volunteers the opportunity to promote the areas around Jervis Bay and beyond, encouraging people to visit places away from known hot spots.

Vincentia and Sussex Inlet had mobile pop up centres over Christmas, Easter and long weekend holiday periods. Vincentia handled 629 inquiries over Christmas, with a further 529 over Easter and long weekends. Most inquiries were for general information, guides, recreational activities and maps. Sussex Inlet had a successful period, with a total of 1,456 inquiries. The inquiries were mainly local in nature, asking what to do in the area. It was interesting that 1/3 of the inquiries were from first time visitors to Sussex Inlet.

As part of our trial to attend major events, mobile services were set up at the Husky Triathlon Festival and The Bay Games. From a tourist perspective, the Husky Triathlon Festival was successful, with many inquiries and a lot of information given out. There were many families supporting participants, wanting information on things to do in the area as they planned to return to the Shoalhaven.

Financials

The table below shows income for the financial year ending June 2019, broken down into business units and compared to last year’s results.

Income – Nowra

Description	Year to June 19	Year to June 18	*Variance*	+/-
Souvenirs	$11,141	$10,200	+$941	+9%
Books/Maps	$12,356	$10,811	+$1,545	+14%
Local Product	$16,376	$17,370	-$994	-5%
Total Merchandise	$39,873	$38,381	*+$1,492*	+4%

BookEasy Sales	$139,765	$164,643	-24,878	-15%
BookEasy Commission	$17,230	$18,413	*-$1,183*	-6%
SABO Sales	$668,804
SABO Tickets	14,063	18,123	-4,060	-20%
SABO Commission	$40,013	$48,945	*-$8,932*	-18%
Other Income	$503	$708	*-$205*	0%
Total	$97,619	$106,447	*-$8,828*	-8%

Comments:

Total accommodation sales from BookEasy are not included in the final total figure, only the commission earned. SABO is the ticketing system employed at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre (SEC).

BookEasy sales have decreased by 15% this year. This is due to a lot more competition in the online booking space. Also, there has been a huge increase in Airbnb in the area, taking business away from traditional booking platforms. We will review our BookEasy operations this year.

Sales in Nowra showed an overall increase in merchandise sales for the year. After a major push, local product sales have settled this year as we strive to find the product to fit the demand. We will continue to focus on this area of sales in the coming year. Book and map sales have shown a healthy increase this year, this could partly be due to NRMA not stocking maps anymore and other outlets lacking range.

The overall decrease of sales for the year was due mainly to a decrease in ticket sales at the SEC. Tickets sales have decreased for shows as there is the continuous push for customers to buy online, further reducing the market for over the counter and phone sales, which attracts and additional $5.50 charge.

Income - Ulladulla

Description	Year to June 19	Year to June 18	*Variance*	*+/- %*
Souvenirs	$12,170	$11,118	+$1,052	+9%
Books/Maps	$6,977	$6,100	+$877	+14%
Local Product	$18,390	$18,728	-$338	-1%
Total	$37,537	$35,946	*+$1,591*	*+4%*

Comments:

Ulladulla sales have also increased this year, mainly in the areas of souvenirs, books and maps. Demand for locally branded souvenirs has also increased. There is the need to continue to source local product to fill the demand where possible.

Enquiries - Nowra

Description	Year to June 19	Year to June 18	Variation	+/-%
Counter	25,260	21,886	+3,374	+15%
Emails	6,080	5,982	+98	+1%
Phone	11,291	11,811	-520	-4%
Volunteer	1,197	294	+903	+4%
Total	43,828	39,973	+3,855	+9%

Comments:

Counter inquiries have increased this year with more visitor inquiries coming from an extended shoulder season. 48,828 inquiries have been handled by Visitor Services to end of June 2019. Additionally, VIS staff sold 14,063 tickets for the Entertainment Centre at the counter, yielding commission back to the Visitor Centre of $40,013.

Enquiries - Ulladulla

Description	Year to June 19	Year to June 18	Variation	+/-%
Counter	17,466	17,968	-502	-2%
Emails	87	84	+3	+0%
Phone	5,831	7,293	-1462	-20%
Volunteer	8	0	+8	+0%
Total	23,379	25,345	-1966	-7%

Comments:

Ulladulla VIS has handled 23,379 enquiries to end of June 2019, a decrease of 1,966 on last financial year. However, most of the decrease has been in the reduction of phone calls to the centre. Phone inquiries have decreased as more tourists access their mobile phones for information. Counter inquiries have been maintained throughout the year, with an increasing number of visitors from overseas.

2019/2020 Plan

The Visitor Services Annual Plan 2019/2020 is attached for STAG endorsement.