Agenda of Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group

Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group – Monday 10 May 2021

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TA21.12 Tourism Manager Update

HPERM Ref: D21/10277

Department: Tourism

Approver: Robert Domm, Director - City Futures

Reason for Report

To give a brief outline of the Tourism Manager’s activity over January – March 2021.

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.

Staffing Update

Staffing

· Kate Selig has commenced in the role of Tourism Investment & Events Specialist. Kate comes from Destination NSW and has a diverse background in tourism.

· Coralie Bell is currently acting in the Media & Communication Mangers role whilst Kate Crowe is on Maternity leave. Coralie is continuing to head up the Tourism Team.

General

Letters of Support given
Several grants have been available such as the Tourism Experience Enhancement Funds from Destination NSW and others:

· Paperbark Camp

· Jerrinja Aboriginal Land Council

· Worrowing Estate

· Bannisters Hotels

· Arty Farty Party (Kids Festival)

· Surfside Cudmirrah

· Laguna Lodge

· South Coast Food and Wine Festival

· Cupitts Winery

· Willinga Park

Provided feedback on Proposed Planning Changes:

There have been a number of proposed changes to NSW Planning legislation of late, to help bounce back after COVID and to make business easier. Tourism provides a submission to Council’s planning department who prepare a combines response from SCC.

· Agritourism - we wrote a submission in support of the Agritourism planning changes which intend to simplify the planning process for small business activities and low-impact agricultural development on NSW farms, such as farm gate sales, farm stays and farm events. This will be considered internally and Council will consider a formal position in the near future.

· Building Back Better Business – we provided internal feedback to support the Industrial and Commercial planning changes that allow for flexibility and diversity in use of industrial areas such as warehouses as event, food and beverage and attractions.

Q3 KPI reporting:

Tourism Manager has reviewed Tourism related KPIs and comments have been submitted to Council’s Corporate Performance & Reporting Team.

Memberships of the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group

Following the STAG e-meeting on the 24^th March 2021, a report was submitted to the Ordinary Meeting of Council held on Tuesday 27 April 2021 recommending to extend current memberships for the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group. In accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group, the following members had their memberships resolved at Council Ordinary Meeting 27 April 2021.

· James Lin

· Brenda Sambrook

· Juliet Barr

· Rob Crow

· Mat Lock

· Mark Thirwall

· David Fleeting

· Neil Rodgers

The Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson are overdue for annual renewal, Shoalhaven Tourism recomends that these two positions to be extended another 12 months.

The full STAG Committee includes the following members:

All Councillors

Clr Gash – Voting Delegate

Clr Alldrick – Voting Delegate

Clr Mitchell Pakes - Alternate Voting Delegate

Clr Kitchener – Alternate Voting Delegate

Mr David Goodman, Sports Board Representative

Ms Brenda Sambrook

Ms Juliet Barr

Mr Mat Lock

Mr Mark Thirwall

Mr David Fleeting

Mr Rob Crow

Dr James Lin

Mr Neil Rodgers

Mr David Duffy - NPWS Representative

Attended or presented at

- Recovery Into Resilience Project Team weekly meetings

- Provided feedback to ISJO regarding key priorities on cycling tourism

- Huskisson Triathlon Festival meeting – 14 Jan 2021

- Various Nowra Riverfront Precinct meetings

- Nowra Golf Club meeting – 21 Jan 2021

- Meeting with Strategic Planning regarding Tourist Industrial Zone Berry Bomaderry – 28 Jan 2021

- Met with Berry Business Chamber – 8 Feb 2021

- Agritourism Discussion - 10 Feb 2021

- Feel Creative Tourism Website Strategy meeting – 16 Feb 2021

- AIRBNB Agritourism Webinar – 18 Feb 2021

- L'Étape Australia Communication Sub-Group – 19 Feb 2021

- iVenture and Shoalhaven Tourism meeting – 23^rd Feb 2021

- Grand Pacific Drive Discussion – 8 March 2021

- Plantation point master planning workshop – 9 March 2021

- L'Étape Aus - Wet weather contingency – 15 March 2021

- Clubhouse Australian Tourism Happy Hour – 22 March 2021

- Economic Development Australia and Australian Regional Tourism Research into Local Government spend in Economic Development and Tourism – 28 April 2021

Out in region:

- Site visit to Bundanon with state and federal tourism stakeholders – 25 Feb 2021

- Met new Management Team with tour of renovations at North Nowra Tavern – 12 March 2021

Up Next

· Induction and training of our new recruit

· Recruitment of one (1) new STAG member

· Working with City Futures on key projects for the region including Nowra Riverfront Precinct

· Setting Action Plans for 2021/2022 Financial year

· Councillor Briefing Re: Cruise Ships

· LGNSW Tourism Conference Port Macquarie – Coralie Bell is presenting

Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group – Monday 10 May 2021

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TA21.13 Election of Office Bearers

HPERM Ref: D21/89108

Department: Tourism

Approver: Robert Domm, Director - City Futures

Attachments: 1. Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group - Terms of Reference ⇩

Reason for Report

To decide upon Executive positions on the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group.

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group

1. Extend the following Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group to December, 2021 in line with the extension of membership of current members.

a. Rob Crow - Chair

b. Mark Thirwall – Deputy Chair

Options

1. As recommended above.

Implications: Approving this recommendation will provide STAG with a continuity of experienced industry-based representatives in line with the Terms of Reference.

2. Formally thank Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of STAG and conduct election for new office bearers.

Implications: Recruiting new office bearers will potentially result in risks such as lack of continuity. Should a new Council be elected in September this year, they may decide to restructure the committee and new election for office bearers need to occur.

Background

In accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group, the Group appoints a Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson on an annual basis by a vote of members of the Advisory Group.

The role of Chairperson is:

· To chair the meeting and exercise functions, as determined by STAG.

· To be the spokesperson for the committee, as directed by STAG.

· To advocate for STAG and represent its decisions.

· To sign off minutes endorsed by STAG.

· To call Extraordinary meetings of the Advisory Group

The role of the Deputy Chairperson is to act as Chair when the Chair is not present at meetings.

Election Process

At the time on the agenda when the election of office bearers is listed, the following process will be followed:

(1) The chairperson to step down from the chair (unless their position is not up for election). An appropriate Senior Officer of the Council or other official should assume the chair for the nomination process.

(2) Individually for each position the following is to take place:

a. Nominations are called for that position and are acknowledged by the chair

i. They may be received in writing prior to the meeting or provided verbally at the meeting

ii. The Chair shall confirm acceptance of each nominee prior to their inclusion in the ballot.

b. If only one nomination is received, that person is declared as elected

c. If more than one nomination is received, the Committee will be asked to resolve whether the election is to take place by open voting (i.e. show of hands) or ordinary ballot (i.e. written votes recorded and provided to the chairperson in secret)

d. Where a large number of nominations are received, the Committee may elect to proceed by a preferential ballot, whereby ballots are consecutively taken and the nominee with the least number of votes is excluded from running after each ballot, until there are two preferred candidates remaining and a final ballot is undertaken and declared

e. The nominee with the most ballots is declared as elected

f. In the event of an equal number of ballots being cast for nominees, the position shall be determined by draw. The name drawn by the chairperson will be appointed to the position

At the conclusion of the elections, the Chairperson shall reassume control of the meeting and proceed with other business.

Next Steps

Endorse the recommendation

Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group to endorse the recommendation or alternate option. Council staff have spoken to existing Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson separately who have advised verbally they are happy to continue their positions on the industry group.

Risk Implications

Following a difficult 2020 for the Shoalhaven tourism industry, guidance from an experienced industry group is important. Extension of current Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson allows for that stability and guidance to continue, at least until December when the new positions are appointed for the Group.

Council is assembled in September, resulting in unnecessary disruption of the industry group. Re-recruiting Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson may result in a lack of continuity and leadership for the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group.

Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group – Monday 10 May 2021

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TA21.14 Visitor Services Update

HPERM Ref: D21/90153

Department: Tourism

Approver: Robert Domm, Director - City Futures

Reason for Report

To give an update on Visitor Information Services activity from January 2021 to March 2021

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

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

Options

1. Receive the report for information.

2. Request more information.

Visitor Centres

Both Nowra and Ulladulla Visitor Centres have continued to be very busy during this last quarter, with many accommodation inquiries, and requests for things to do in the Shoalhaven.

- Accommodation bookings continue to be strong for the rest of the year.

- Many Shoalhaven operators have been reporting that this has been the busiest season for many years.

- There has been renewed inquiries for weddings in the area.

- SEC Ticket inquiries and sales are increasing as the Entertainment Centre releases new shows.

- Bookeasy sales are up 200% year on year, due to the agency agreement with Council and its camping grounds.

- Shoalhaven Visitors Services has introduced Live Chat to shoalhaven.com and has been testing its operation.

Volunteer Recruitment

Volunteer/Shoalhaven Ambassador Services have been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic due to restricted activities at the visitor centre. This included the mobile pop-up centres at Huskisson, Vincentia and Sussex Inlet.

Since the relocation to the Nowra Administration Building, there is limited room and at this stage we have continued with the suspension of Volunteer Services.

A trial was run with the return of one volunteer at the temporary location in the Admin foyer over the last quarter.

The decision has been made to recommence volunteer services upon return to the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre.

Supplementary Visitor Information Centres

Visitor Services supports ten supplementary visitor centres throughout the Shoalhaven.

The supplementary centres had been visited and stocked in March in preparation for Easter and the upcoming holiday season.

There has been some enquiry to establish some new supplementary centres within the area. This will be reviewed in coming months.

The supplementary centres have reported being very busy over the last three months, with many visitors calling in for some information on activities in the area, and maps.

Familiarisations

Familiarisation (famil) visits are an important part of our operations for the purpose of engaging with our operators and for staff to become familiar with properties, and the facilities that they provide.

However, due to COVID-19, all familiarisation visits to our operators had been suspended.

The situation has been reviewed and famil visits can now go ahead, following Covid-19 guidelines.

Famils will re-commence in the next quarter.

Nowra Visitor Centre Relocation

The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre renovations have been progressing well. We expect to return to the Entertainment Centre in mid-May.

The Nowra Visitor Centre and Box Office has worked exceptionally well in its temporarily location in the Admin building foyer.

Visitor Centre staff have done an excellent job during this busy period, while maintaining their professionalism in dealing with customers and operators.

Financials

The table below shows income for January 2021 to March 2021, broken down into sales categories and compared to last year’s results.

INCOME NOWRA

Description	Jan 2021 to Mar 2021	Jan 2020 to Mar 2020	*Variance*	YTD +/- *	YOY +/-**
Souvenirs	$1,114	$1,597	-$453	-33%	-27%
Books/Maps	$1,244	$1,686	-$442	+23%	+21%
Local Product	$1,515	$1,748	-$233	-40%	-36%
Total	$3,903	$5,031	*-$1,128*	-22%	-16%

*YTD +/- shows the % difference between the total income for the current financial Year to Date vs the same period last year.

** YOY +/- shows the % difference between the total income for the 12-month period vs the same period last year - Year on Year. This is useful to reflect impacts of seasonality.

Comments:

While operating in the temporary site, our full merchandise range could not be fully displayed. This has negatively impacted the sales.

We have been investigating the implementation of online sales to boost revenue.

Bookeasy sales have increased by 200% YTD, due to strong bookings at Council’s showgrounds.

INCOME ULLADULLA

Description	Jan 2021 to Mar 2021	Jan 2020 to Mar 2020	*Variance*	**YTD +/-***	YOY +/-**
Souvenirs	$1,475	$3,060	-$1,585	-45%	-45%
Books/Maps	$1,071	$921	+$150	-9%	-8%
Local Product	$3,530	$4,037	- $507	-29%	-26%
Total	$6,076	$8,018	*-$1,942*	*-22%*	*-30%*

*YTD +/- shows the % difference between the total income for the current financial Year to Date vs the same period last year.

** YOY +/- shows the % difference between the total income for the 12-month period vs the same period last year - Year on Year. This is useful to reflect impacts of seasonality.

Comments:

Due to COVID-19, merchandise stands were moved from the prime selling positions, and the amount of stock on display was reduced.

Sales have started to increase since COVID-19 has eased.

ENQUIRIES - NOWRA

Description	Jan 2021 to Mar 2021 Total Number	Jan 2020 to Mar 2020 Total Number	Variation Total Number	*YTD +/-**	YOY +/-**
Counter	3,946	3,435	+511	-46%	-44%
Emails	1553	1,042	+511	-1%	-1%
Phone SEC	1,182	1,884	-702	-58%	-50%
Phone VIS	4,652	1,813	+2,839	+150%	+113%
Phone Total	5,834	3,697	+2,137	+30%	+25%
Volunteer	18	214	-196	-96%	-90%
Total	11,351	8,388	+2,963	-12%	-10%

*YTD +/- shows the % difference between the total number of enquiries for the current financial Year to Date (YTD) vs the same period last year.

** YOY +/- shows the % difference between the total number of inquiries for the 12-month period vs the same period last year - Year on Year. This is useful to reflect impacts of seasonality.

Comments:

Number of visitors to the counter have been affected by COVID-19, and to the temporary relocation of the Visitor centre. However, the year-on-year figure is improving.

Nowra has achieved a 35% increase in inquiries for this quarter compared to last year, due to the centre being very busy during this period as many more visitors have discovered the Shoalhaven.

There has been a large increase in phone calls to the Visitor Centre, with 14,406 calls been received to end of Quarter three. This figure is set to increase with the return of SEC ticket sales, as shows recommence in May.

ENQUIRIES - ULLADULLA

Description	Jan 2021 to Mar 2021 Total Number	Jan 2020 to Mar 2020 Total Number	Variation Total Number	*YTD +/-**	YOY +/-**
Counter	3,137	2,582	+555	-8%	-8%
Emails	26	9	+17	+100%	0%
Phone	1,596	1,105	+491	-4%	+10%
Volunteer	0	0	0	0%	0%
Total	4,758	3,696	+1,062	-5%	-2%

*YTD +/- shows the % difference between the total number of enquiries for the current financial Year to Date vs the same period last year.

** YOY +/- shows the % difference between the total number of inquiries for the 12-month period vs the same period last year - Year on Year. This is useful to reflect impacts of seasonality.

Comments:

The Ulladulla area has been extremely busy over the period, resulting in more inquiries to the visitor centre.

What’s Next – Quarter Four

· Continue support and review of Supplementary Visitor Centres.

· Maintain contact with operators, offering advice and information, including links to helpful resources and information.

· Return Visitor Services back to the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre.

· Assess and introduce online shopping option for merchandise sales.

· Recommence volunteer services to the Visitor Centre.

Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group – Monday 10 May 2021

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TA21.15 Destination Marketing

HPERM Ref: D21/94644

Department: Tourism

Approver: Robert Domm, Director - City Futures

Attachments: 1. Tourism Adventure Campaign Strategy - Autumn 2021 ⇩

2. Aboriginal Advisory Committee Report - Tourism Marketing Update ⇩

Reason for Report

To provide a summary of Destination Marketing activity from January 2021 – March 2021

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

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

Options

1. Receive the report for information.

2. Request more information.

Industry News

Dine & Discover
Shoalhaven businesses topped New South Wales for pickup of Dine & Discover Vouchers with 187 businesses offering the vouchers to consumers in time for Easter.

New Precinct Marketing Parnerships

· Shoalhaven Film Project, a multi-part series on recovery of the community from bushfires produced by Michael Pignataro from Essential Film, and Allan Baptist featuring interviews and destination content.

· Cooperative of Business Events South Coast and Bangalay Luxury Villas and Dining to create a business events promo video for the region.

New Product

The Social - new small bar in Wason St, Ulladulla with relaxed vibe and gourmet snacks.

Harvest Bar - moved from Milton to the old grounds of St Isidore on Crooybar Rd.

Island Sushi - reopened in food truck at Lakeside Cudmirrah Park for now.

South Yeast Brewing Co - new brewery and brewpub with food trucks in South Nowra.
Picnic Naturally Jervis Bay - new picnic creator for beach and bush set ups.

Brows and Bouquets - Gypsy Carmen, florist and Batari Brows, brow bar in Ulladulla.
Ookini Japanese Kitchen - new Japanese food truck frequenting breweries and markets.

Publicity

Overview

A publicity campaign for Autumn Adventure has resulted in a large amount of diverse editorial earned, alongside a large number of organic articles for the region, totalling around 200 articles for the quarter.

Highlights

Publication	Reach	Links / Update
Nine Travel	1.08M	Australia’s Favourite Beach Holiday Destinations - Including Jervis Bay
Vogue Living	34K	The Best Australian Coastal Towns to Visit Next - Including Mollymook
Urbanlist	1.2M	Level Up Your Next Local Escape, These are 12 Of the Best Regional Hotels in NSW - Including Shoalhaven Heads, Huskisson, and Mollymook
SBS Food	334K	Immerse yourself in Australia's bush tucker experiences - Including Berry
News.com.au	3.3million	NSW spots surprise in TripAdvisor’s top 10 emerging destinations list
Daily Telegraph	280K	South coast eats: Here are some of the best places to eat in the Shoalhaven
Concrete Playground	747K	Twenty Romantic Getaways You Can Book on the South Coast and in the Southern Highlands - Including Bawley Point, Nowra, Termeil, Callala Bay, Nelligen, Kangaroo Valley, Pebbly Beach, Milton, Vincentia
Concrete Playground	747K	Nine Sports Where You Can Camp, Hike and Swim with your Dog in New South Wales - Including Bendalong and Currarong
Canberra Times	101K	Ten Great Spots to Soak Up the End of Summer - Including Bannisters
GQ	76K	14 Pit Stops Between Sydney and Melbourne You Can’t Afford to Miss - Including Ulladulla, Huskisson, Berry, Worrigee, Milton
Sitchu	75K	Long Weekend Getaways for the Whole Family - Including Berry, Mollymook, and Jervis Bay
Daily Telegraph	280K	Best NSW holiday destinations for Easter long weekend in 2021 - Including Jervis Bay
Time Out Sydney	1.03M	The best cheap holiday destinations in New South Wales - Including Huskisson
AWOL	1.3M	Why A Trip To Shoalhaven NSW Is So Much More Than Just Stunning Beaches - Including Kangaroo Valley, Cambewarra, Huskisson, and Currarong
Local Editorial
ABC Illawarra Radio	8.1million	Interview piece with She Who Hunts Op Shops on her visit to Shoalhaven
South Coast Register	6K	Nowra Eateries Encourage Locals to Apply for Dine and Discover Vouchers

Peak Season Marketing Strategies

· As usual, for peak season communication strategies were put in place to disperse visitors including targeted posts on social media, partner web updates, and live traffic posts. Conscious Traveller and 100 Beach Challenge messaging was the lead.

· Feedback from summer holiday pre-emptive marketing for Hyams Beach was positive with heavy utilisation in the village but no major issues.

· Easter pre-emptive marketing helped to disperse people on a very warm and busy weekend, no major issues were encountered.

Autumn Adventure Campaign – In Market

· During February and March, the Adventure campaign was in market promoting nature-based tourism with local guides to provide a deeper connection to place and country, and in turn more conscious and sustainable travellers.

· Top tier media famils with two-to-three-day itineraries were organised in March with Daily Telegraph ESCAPE, AWOL, Time Out Magazine and news.com.au.

· A full week Instagram meet up with five local up-and-coming photographers and professional Australian-based International photographer, Robert King (220K Instagram) was organised resulting in 25 posts, 8 reels and 200+ photos for the library.

· A key partnership with Australian Geographic and Australian Geographic Adventure was pivotal for campaign brand awareness, with two 10-page editorial pieces in each plus a double page ad and digital advertising.

· An editorial and advertising campaign with Wellbeing and Wild Magazines were booked to promote the wellness side of nature-based tourism.

· Google and social media ads were deployed to generate leads direct to the shoalhaven.com/adventure landing page.

Below is the double page ad for Adventure as well as a montage of images from the photographers instameet.

Visitor Guide – in Progress

· The team is currently working the next 64-page guide for release in September.

· Current stocks of the 2020 guide will last through, omitting the need for a 2021 guide altogether.

· 80 – 100,000 copies to be produced to allow for flexibility in demand for print material in a post-COVID world.

· The advertising response has been very positive (approximately total 18 pages at the time of the report).

· An editorial brief for external writer has been completed.

· The request for a quote for print is in market.

Wine and Whales - Planning

· The wine and whales campaign will lead our marketing activity for winter and spring 2021.

· This campaign ran in 2020 with exposure in publications such as Gourmet Traveller, Channel 7, and Broadsheet but was cut short due to COVID-19.

· This years’ editorial and famil targets include SMH Traveller, The Australian, Concrete Playground.

· Digital media advertising and press release will be launched in late-April.

· An additional food tourism angle will run alongside wine and whales with focus on Slow Food South Coasts’, ‘Snail of Approval’ and ‘Chef’s Alliance’ program.

Below is an example a print and digital placements for wine and whales:

Aboriginal Product Development

· The Marketing team is working with around 13 Aboriginal operators one-on-one to assist the development of cultural product in the region.

· Discussions are ongoing with Destination NSW (Sandy Wilkins) regarding support through their ‘First Program’ including potential in-region workshops with NATOC (National Aboriginal Tourism Operators Council).

· The team is investigating new resources in region due to the Aboriginal Business Advisory Initiative such as referrals to the local AEDO Network (Aboriginal Enterprise Development Officer) to improve training, education, employment and business outcomes.

· Operators in the region would find value in mentorship programs, therefore the team is investigating the NIAA (National Indigenous Australians Agency) programs which have tourism grants and a national mentoring program ($10 million over four years).

· A report was prepared and is attached for the Aboriginal Advisory Committee (meeting 3 May) consisting of marketing and product updates as well as discussions around collaboration with STAG as discussed at the February meeting, see Attachment 2. At the time of writing this report the committee had not yet met to discuss this report.

Other Projects

· Business events product development

· Refreshing inclusive tourism content

· Grand Pacific Drive collaboration

· Digital Asset Management project (content library)

Digital Marketing

Highlights

· Shoalhaven.com users continue to grow considerably year on year as we recover from bushfires and COVID-19 (up 92%) and quarter on quarter (up 6%). This is a great indicator of our strong recovery and industry position in 2021.

· The website is currently undergoing a refresh to allow for new functionalities and a move over to a WordPress CMS as there are new features and enhancements available that were not available when the site was built four years ago. There will also be some improvements to design, mainly to make the site more mobile-first as 70% of users are on mobile.

· Growth in Instagram followers continues to outperform Facebook, with an average of 1,000 new followers per month. This can be attributed to the target markets for the Adventure Campaign being younger and heavy users of Instagram, as well as the photographer famil and lifestyle influencers we hosted in February creating and sharing beautiful content.

· Both the Tourism Talk and Visitor email newsletters are performing above average industry open rates, with Tourism Talk at a high open rate of 34% and the Visitor email at 32% (industry average is 21.33%). This can be attributed to the extra demand for interstate travel as well as a large number of government initiatives and grants for operators we are communicating.

Shoalhaven.com

Year on year comparison:

	January – March 2020	January – March 2021	Difference
Users	95,981	184,329	Up 92%
News Users	93,113	179,752	Up 93%

· Unique users to shoalhaven.com are up by 92% from January – March 2021 compared to the same time in 2020, with new users also up by 93%. This is an extraordinary increase which can be attributed to the influx of visitors in a COVID-free and bushfire-free environment and the re-sparked interest in domestic travel.

· Visitor Guide downloads and mail outs from the site amounted to 23,751 during this quarter which is a 44% increase in downloads in comparison to the previous quarter and a 42% increase year on year. This can be attributed to our digital advertising campaigns targeting downloads as well as the increase in campaign activity to stimulate off-season visitation.

· A refresh in functionality and move across to WordPress CMS for Shoalhaven.com is underway. A new mobile-first look and feel will also be factored in, to give the site a better user experience and refresh the look and feel.

Website refresh example features to be launched by July 2021:

· Wishlist Itinerary: This will allow visitors to use the ‘love heart’ feature on each product, which will add it to a list feature at the top of their page. We are aiming to remove the pressure that the language ‘build my trip’ may present.

· Search: Search will be presented in the middle of the homepage to help prompt users. We are deploying a search experience program, Elastic, which allows for intuitive customisation features helping control search relevance.

Top 10 Visited Pages of the Quarter:

1. Honeymoon Bay

2. Cart

3. 100 Beach Challenge

4. Home Page

5. Free and Low-Cost Camping

6. Best Snorkelling Spots Jervis Bay

7. What’s on this Weekend

8. Events

9. Booking Results

10. Berry Showground Camping

100 Beach Challenge

Quarterly Comparisons:

	October – December 2020	January – March 2021	Difference
Users	1,025	1,215	Up 19%
News Users	1,003	1,192	Up 19%

· 100 Beach Challenge had its biggest month for summer in January with 715 users on the site playing the game. Total users for the quarter were also up by 19% compared to the previous quarter and up 68% year on year.

· The paid advertising campaign targeting Sydney, Canberra, local and regional audiences contributed to 10,459 total link clicks to the 100 Beach Challenge landing page with an increase in 25% more clicks compared to the previous quarter.

· User generated content continues to grow for us with over 11,682 uses of the #100beachchallenge hashtag.

· Web development is in progress to fine tune the online/offline check-in beaches feature.

Facebook:

· Facebook followers are at 52,729 with an increase of 929 followers since last quarter with a continued growth of 6% year on year.

· Overall, 638,388 were reached by posts in this period with 20,074 total engagements which is on par with the previous quarter.

· Engagement spiked in January with 8,248 interactions which can be attributed to traffic during the summer period and paid advertisements that corresponded with the busy period i.e., 16 White Sands of Jervis Bay, conscious traveller, and low-cost camping.

Top 3 Instagram Posts for the Quarter:

Instagram

Instagram continues to outperform our Facebook content across likes, comments, shares, and video views. However, Facebook still produces higher reach figures across both organic and paid posts.

· Instagram followers have grown by 3,250 in just three months, averaging over 1000 new followers each month.

· In this quarter there was 38,659 total engagements which is up 37% year on year.

· Videos continue to be the hero content on Instagram with 60,267 video views generated across 13 videos for the quarter.

Adventure Campaign Influencers

As a result of working with key lifestyle influencers Najima Rasool (58.3K), Allana Ferguson (78.1K) as well as inspiring photographers Robert King (223K), Somethings Wild (23.8K) and Trent Micallef (14.5K) posting itinerary-like content and stunning visuals we have managed to gain a significant increase in followers by increasing awareness of the Shoalhaven and what we have to offer as a holiday destination for the younger demographic.

· Najima Rasool – top performing post

· Allana Ferguson – top performing post

· Robert King – top performing post

· Trent Micallef – top performing post

Earned Social Media Engagement

· Strong relationships with Tourism Australia and Destination NSW marketing teams have resulted in more content posted. An Easter post highlighting Booderee National Park posted across their platforms was their top performing post for the first week of April.

Facebook:

· Reach: 437.3k

· Engagements: 16.1k

· Video views: 157.5k

Twitter:

· Impressions: 117.9k

· Reach: 79.2k

· Engagement rate: 1.6%

Instagram:

· Views: 736,409

· Comments: 809

The above figures were provided to Shoalhaven by Tourism Australia

· As a result of our 100 Beach Challenge famil in April, Robert King secured a carousel post on the 100 Beach Challenge lesser-known beaches on Earth Focus (6.4M) resulting in 45,000 likes and 342 more followers to @visitshoalhaven.

Paid Advertisements Overview

· This quarter we continued to push Shoalhaven Visitor Guide engagement and 100 Beach Challenge advertisements across Google and social media as well as the Adventure campaign which launched mid-February.

Google

· In November last year we employed Dynamic Search Ads which uses our website content to target ads and fill in the gaps of keyword-based campaigns this resulted in an increase of 140% conversation rate and 37% less cost per click (CPC).

Social Media Advertising

· Social media ads for the quarter reached around half a million people with a total of almost 1.4 million impressions leading to 19,480 clicks to shoalhaven.com.

· Ads in January totalled 5,601 link clicks overall at a cost per result of $0.14.

· The Adventure campaign generated 3,677 link clicks across February and March with a lowest cost per result of $0.31 which is impressive for a new campaign.

· Overall, our paid advertising campaigns contributed to 21,616 click through to our website which is 11% of our total users to the website for the quarter.

Tourism Talk Newsletter

· Total subscribers for Tourism Talk is 1,700 subscribers.

· Most popular content was the first Tourism Talk sent in January highlighting the new government grants followed by the bespoke advertising call out. Open rate hit a high of 36% and a low of 32% for this period, which is higher than the industry average of 21.33% according to Mailchimp.

Visitor Email Newsletter

· Subscribers to our Visitor email database sits at 7,876 subscribers resulting in an increase of 10% compared to last quarter with a 32% high open rate and low of 31%.

Up Next

- Marketing Plan for 2021/22 financial year

- Grand Pacific Drive collaboration

- Business Events product development

- Wine and whales campaign roll out

- Finalising Visitor Guide content

Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group – Monday 10 May 2021

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TA21.17 River Festival Update

HPERM Ref: D21/94843

Department: Tourism

Approver: Robert Domm, Director - City Futures

Reason for Report

To update the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group on the Shoalhaven River Festival January 2021 – March 2021.

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group receive the Shoalhaven River Festival Committee report for information.

Options

1. Receive the report for information.

2. Request further information.

Chair’s Report – Shoalhaven River Festival 2021

The Shoalhaven River Festival will be going ahead this year on Saturday 23 October, 2021. The Festival will operate from 12pm to 10pm. We are intending to re-name the Festival and refresh its image, the process of doing that including community engagement is currently being explored.

The site for the Festival will be on the eastern side of the Bridge, with activations along the southern river bank due to contruction western side of the bridge. We intend to engage with the CBD Revitalisation Strategy Committee to ensure that if synergy exists, it is optimised, including lead up event(s) that will serve to heighten the public interest in the Shoalhaven River Festival.

At present there is a small organising committee that will definitely require increased numbers and extra support.

Launch

We are intending to have a public “launch” mid to late May to raise awareness, garner support, and receive ideas. This will precede a public notification/information package, distributed to potentially affected residents. We are intending to create a lighting/water/sound event to replace the traditional fireworks display, this may be a challenge and the committee will need additional support.

Event Permit process

We will be embarking on the permit process immediately including

· DA,

· Water permit

· Navy application, etc.

Funding

We will be re- applying to Council and Shoalhaven for “ traditional” grant funding as well as seeing whether or not extra funding may be available to assist with the ‘light/water/sound event’, including the placement of some permanent infrastructure such as power, toilets etc.

We are approaching this Festival as the first in a three year cycle until the bridge work is completed. Now that the date, and willingness to go ahead has been confirmed, we will be approaching potential financial sponsors.

Community Engagement

We want to encourage a strong community participation at each level, and engage the “breadth” of the Shoalhaven region. – Schools, Community organisations and interest groups, CCB committees etc.

Opportunities

We want the Festival to be part of a whole weekend of activities, particularly as the Festival finishes at 10pm on Saturday night. There is a sports day on Saturday in Huskisson, this we see this as complementary. Lets see what activities could occur or that we could emphasise, on Sunday and Friday to create a strong weekend.

We will be engaging with all river users to seek their involvement in the Festival, re- awakening their interest.

STAG involvement

We would appreciate STAG input into all of the above. We want to celebrate the Shoalhaven community and welcome visitors to the gateway to the region, and capture the spirit of the River that gave the region its name.

The Chair of Shoalhaven River Festival for STAG at the next committee meeting.

David Fleeting, on behalf of the SRF committee.

2021 Shoalhaven River Festival

Tourism continued involvement

· Shoalhaven Tourism will continue to provide support as needed and the Event Liaison Officer will attend meetings and provide advice as required.

· The River Festival will be required to formally update STAG at each meeting via a report. Minutes of meetings and any relevant reports will be provided to Council as needed via STAG.

Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group – Monday 10 May 2021

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TA21.18 Event and Investment Report

HPERM Ref: D21/149617

Department: Tourism

Approver: Robert Domm, Director - City Futures

Reason for Report

To provide a summary of Events and Investment activity from 1 January 2021 – 31 March 2021.

Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority)

That the Shoalhaven Tourism Advisory Group receive the events report for information.

Options

1. Receive the report for information.

2. Request more information.

General

· Kate Selig has started as the new Tourism Investment and Event Specialist. Kate has come from Destination NSW where she spent three years working on a variety of projects within the Communications Team.

· The Nowra at Night Festival has been delivered in partnership with the Nowra CBD Revitalisation Strategy Committee with funding from the Festival of Place – Summer Fund. The event was designed to rejuvenate Nowra‘s night-time economy, bring the community together and support local businesses following a challenging 18 months.

L’Étape Australia

· The March L’Étape Australia event was cancelled due to an extreme rain event.

· The proposed new date is Sunday 28 November 2021 (pending approval).

· In the lead up to the March event community members raised significant concern around road closures. In response to community concerns, L’Étape event organisers have developed a community engagement strategy and revised communications plan to ensure that the community are consulted throughout the event planning stage.

· Shoalhaven Tourism will work closely with event organisers to provide feedback on the L’Etape communication and marketing plans. As a major international event this is a fantastic opportunity for the region and through a collaborative partnership with the event owners, we hope to maximise the economic and social benefits of the 2021 event.

Event Support

· Due to COVID-19 Big Country Music Festival has been postponed from May 2021 to May 2022. This event delivers an estimated $1.9million in economic benefit to the region and we look forward to welcoming it 2022.

· Fairgrounds Music Festival were successful in their RISE grant funding application. We are excited to welcome back this hallmark event that delivers on average an estimated $4.9million in economic benefit to the region.

· The new Event Support Funding Program will commence in the new financial year. The team are currently working through the communications plan for the launch.

· Staff continue to provide letters of support for Regional Events Acceleration Fund grant applicants.

Available Grants

Regional Events Acceleration Fund:

To support the social and economic recovery of our regions, the NSW Government’s $20million Regional Events Acceleration Fund will help attract new major international and domestic events to regional areas and support the growth of existing regional events. The fund is open until December 17 2021.

For more information visit: https://www.nsw.gov.au/regional-growth-fund/regional-events-acceleration-fund

Tourism Australia’s Big Fund Program:

Tourism Australia has announced further commitment to the Bid Fund Program with an additional $3 million to cover new pledges and confirmed bids for a further 12 months through FY21/22. The Bid Fund Program is designed to increase the conversion of bids for new international business events by offering financial support at the critical bidding stage.

For more information visit: Business Events Australia Bid Fund Program

In Progress

Business Events

Growing off-season and midweek visitation through business events is an ongoing focus for the team. We are currently working with marketing to finalise the business events brochure and campaign so we can grow visitation amongst the high yielding MICE Market.

Events:

Event Permits Issued 1 January 2021 – 31 March 2021

· January – Australia Day Breakfast – Berry

· January – Australia Day Breakfast – Callala Bay

· January - Australia Day Breakfast - Mollymook

· January – Moona Moona Duck Derby – Moona Moona Reserve, Huskisson

· January – Huskisson Park Run – Huskisson

· February – Huskisson Triathlon Festival – White Sands Park, Huskisson

· February – Richard Quinn Support Regatta – Vincentia

· March – Game Fishing Tournament – Woollamia / Huskisson

· March – L’Étape Australia – Kiama/Berry/Kangaroo Valley

· March – Fun Fair – Milton Showground

· March – Australian Surfboat Rowers League Nationals

· March – Game Fishing Tournament – Huskisson

· March – Ultimate Campers Muster – Kioloa

· March – Smith Family Challenge – Sussex Inlet

· March – Marriott Park Markets – Nowra

· March – Relay for Life – Nowra

· March – Rugby 7’s - Ulladulla

· March – Hobie Kayak Bream Series – St Georges Basin

· March – Milton Food & Wine Festival – Milton

· March – Terra Nova Adventure Race – Callala Bay

Postponed/Cancelled Events 1 January 2021 – 31 March 2021

· January – Berry Show – Berry Showground

· January – Australia Day Breakfast – Nowra

· January - Epiphany, Blessing of the water - Vincentia

· January - Foodies Night Markets - Culburra Beach

· February - Nowra Show - Nowra Showground

· March - L’Étape Australia - Berry/Kangaroo Valley

· March - Shoalhaven Pro Junior - Culburra Beach

Event applications currently being assessed April– June 2021

· March – Nowra at Night – Junction Court, Nowra

· March – Anzac Day Services (x11) – Shoalhaven LGA

· May – KV Pump Track Opening – Kangaroo Valley

· May – South Coast Beef School Spectacular – Nowra Showground

· May – Nowra Water Dragons Regatta – Nowra

· May – National Motoring Heritage Day – Berry

· May – Ampol Huskisson Opening Event – Huskisson

Filming applications assessed, and permits issued 1 January 2021 – 31 March 2021

· January – Open for Business – Mollymook/Lake Conjola/Ulladulla

· February – Seafolly Shoot – Callala Beach

· March - Billabong Shoot - Huskisson

Filming applications currently being assessed April– June 2021

· N/A

Tourism Event Support Program

Supported Events October – December 2020

Event Name	Date of the Event	Economic Benefit
Highland Valley Forage	6^th March 2021	$60,000
Milton Food & Wine Festival	27^th March 2021	$768,000
Gymnastics NSW State Champs	26^th - 28^th March 2021	$365,000
Terra Nova Adventure Race	27^th - 28^th March 2021	$219,000
Australian Off-road Championship	27^th - 28^th March 2021	$448,000

Events currently being assessed / approved:

· 2021 Beta International Climbing Festival

Up Next

· Launch of the new format Event Support Funding Program.

· Update Event Policy and Event Application, including public exhibition period.

· Working with event organisers around the delivery of events in a post COVID-19 environment. The team is supporting industry by directing them to relevant information and providing advice around possible opportunities.

· Industry and product development to upskill Shoalhaven event organisers.