Destination Development team is responsible for a wide range of supply-side activities, all designed to enable WA’s tourism destinations to deliver on the Experience Extraordinary promise.

There are a range of Destination Development activities being undertaken in the Great Southern region – some by Tourism WA and others through partnerships with the Development Commission, Local Government and other parts of State Government.

The National ANZAC Centre (NAC) in Albany has had an amazing impact:

• It has been a talking point world wide - Lonely Planet ranked the NAC number 21 out of its top 26 worldwide new experiences for 2015.

• National Geographic – the marketing team will tell you about the ANZAC program being developed for Nat Geo channel.

• Also the catalyst for change locally. The people of Albany and the Great Southern are embracing tourism like never before - as a sector that offers real economic opportunity right across the region.

Taken to using the phrase – virtuous circle of tourism development – there is so much happening in the Great Southern region. Each by itself might not change the world, but together these initiatives will change the nature of tourism in this region.

1

The Department of Parks and Wildlife is a key partner for tourism development in the Great Southern.

Redevelopment of the Gap is an example of the visitor infrastructure being developed by Parks and Wildlife. Until now, viewing opportunities were limited and the continued weathering made venturing onto The Bridge unsafe.

In response, $5.75 million, funded through Royalties for Regions and Parks and Wildlife’s capital works program, was committed to a new development in the area which will be opened in December, in time for the busy summer holidays.

The Upgraded facilities on Breaksea Island have helped create interesting local experiences i.e. helicopter rides and tours of the Island.

In the Fitzgerald River NP, low impact camping around Bremer Bay is under development.

For Parks and Wildlife to then package these attractions in a catchy way like ‘Getting High in Nature’ helps make these products easier for visitors to buy, and easier for Tourism WA and Australia’s South West to market.

We are pleased that Parks and Wildlife see the benefits of tourism development.

2

Off the Coast but still in the Great Southern:

The phenomenal Granite Skywalk at Castle Rock in the Porongurup National Park has been an integral part of recent Tourism WA famils program, taking media and trade groups to experience its wonders. This activity has helped put this attraction on the visitor map.

Parks and Wildlife also have a submission in to the Government to re-develop portions of the Treetop Walk, to reinvigorate the product as a means of attracting both new visitors, and previous visitors to revisit.

3

Landcorp is another key partner for tourism development, and they are leading the charge to attract an iconic hotel back to the Middleton Beach precinct.

4

This is the preferred concept plan, with the hotel opening directly onto the beach –no road between them. There are not many such sites in Australia, which will increase its attractiveness to investors and developers.

Landcorp is currently preparing statutory documents for the planning framework, which will go to Council early next year for approval.

Tourism WA will be working with Landcorp on the development of a hotel investment attraction strategy over the coming months – we don’t expect it to be easy to attract an investor to regional WA, but the more that can be done to de-risk the site, and the more that the virtuous circle of tourism development can do to increase demand to Albany and the wider region, the easier our job will be.

The Expression of Interest for an investor/developer will go to market in the middle of next year.

5

As well as working with partners on their initiatives, our Destination Development team leads a number of programs, many of which are funded through Royalties for Regions or by the Commonwealth Government – and some of these have included grants for industry.

6

At the Tourism Conference in September, the Premier launched the Food & Wine Tourism Strategy for WA.

Tourism WA is currently recruiting a Project Manager to provide dedicated resource to implementing the strategy, which covers five key strategic areas (shown above).

The Great Southern already has a number of culinary events:

• Taste Great Southern, which includes the Porongurup Wine Festival, Mount Baker Graze and Albany Oyster and Sardine Festival

• Mt Barker Grapes and Gallops

• Katanning Mulicultural Festival

Region also has some ‘must try’ products, such as Oysters, Pork, Lamb, Wine – Riesling and Shiraz, Spirits, Asparagus and Berries.

Development opportunities for this region

An example is the Great Southern Regional Wine Trail – incorporating Albany, Porongurup, Mt Barker, Franklin River and Denmark.

Another focus is to develop regional festivals and events across the year which will complement the region’s natural and man-made attractions.

Plus the potential for growth in commercial fisheries, including abalone, finfish and oysters –and the associated tourism benefits which might follow.

7

Cruise shipping – This has been a fantastic success story

The cruise sector brings two key benefits to regional ports:

1. Daytrippers who will spend money, if you can offer them the right experiences

2. Mega famil – give visitors a great time on shore, and encourage them to return for a longer holiday. And of course, tell their friends.

There is an industry led WA Cruise Committee which, along with Tourism WA, is implementing the WA Cruise Shipping Strategic Plan 2012-20.

Matthew Bird from the City of Albany represents this region on the committee.

One key element of the strategy is training.

Tourism WA, in partnership with City of Albany, delivers specialised training to cruise ship volunteers ahead of cruise ship visits, to help volunteers deliver a positive shore experience to cruise ship visitors.

8

Albany has proven to be a fantastic cruise gateway:

• 7 ships and more than 12,000 passengers have visited Albany to date in 2015

• More than 30 cruise ship visits scheduled from 2015/16 and into 2017/18/19.

You can see the ship visits listed here…. Just to show you the length of the list!

Economic research undertaken by the cruise ship industry show impact on Albany in 2014/15 (see above).

Western Australia

• Western Australia leads the rest of the nation in terms of growth in the cruise sector with visiting ships generating $275.3 million in 2014-15, a $159 million increase on the previous year.

• WA recorded a total of 101 cruise ship visit days, a 48.5 per cent increase from the previous year.

9

All cruise passengers to Albany experience the National Anzac Centre.

To make it extra special, passengers on selected ships calling at Albany in 2015/16, including the Crystal Serenity, MSC Orchestra and the Astor, will receive a special commemorative ANZAC Day $1 coin from the Perth Mint.

10

On 17 December 2016 The World will dock in Albany on its way through to Sydney.

The World is a private cruise ship with 165 residences, ranging from studios to two and three bedroom apartments. The residents live on board the ship as it travels the world (see 2016 route above).

11

Tourism WA shares responsibility for implementation of the Royalties for Regions funded Caravan and Camping (C&C) Action Plan with Parks and Wildlife, Department of Local Government and Main Roads.

The Action Plan has 11 recommendations to improve supply, delivery and promotion of C&C experiences, including:

• Upgrading and increasing visitor facilities at camp sites and campgrounds, including National Parks,

• Preparing for new commercial caravan parks and camp grounds including our Camping with Custodians initiative in Kimberley and under investigation for extension into the Pilbara,

• Black waste dump points along major touring routes,

• Infrastructure and facilities to meet overflow demand,

• Upgraded and new 24 hour MRWA road side rest areas, particularly in the North West,

• Marketing of the State’s diverse C&C experiences,

• Training park managers and staff to increase skills in online marketing and customer service.

Denmark has been a beneficiary of the Action Plan, with 2 grants from Tourism WA.

• The first grant supported the Shire with the cost of installing a now functioning black waste dump point at the Denmark VC site (surely a key factor in Denmark winning Top Tourist Town!). The Shire added value to the DP site with potable water to fill tanks and with a power point for charging appliances.

• The second grant is for the Shire to establish an overflow camping ground integrated within McLean Park sporting and recreation facility. The Shire will completed this project this

12

financial year.

12

In 2015/16 some of the Action Plan priorities Tourism WA will progress include:

• Grant funding $1M to 6 local governments, from Denmark to Esperance, to upgrade visitor facilities at 15 existing nature based camping grounds and to establish 1 new camping ground and 1 new overnight rest area for RVs.

• Shire of Denmark – Parry Beach; City of Albany – Camping grounds at Cosy Corner east, Torbay west, East bay, Betty’s Norman’s, Cape Riche and RV rest area at Wellstead; Shire of Plantagenet – Kendenup; Shire of Jerramungup –Millers Point, House Beach; Shire of Ravensthorpe – Starvation Bay, Masons Bay; Shire of Esperance – Alexander bay, Quagi beach, Munglinup beach, Thomas River

• Continued support to local governments for installation of blackwaste dump points along priority touring routes

• Continues support to TCWA and the Caravan Industry Association of WA (CIAWA) for industry training and accreditation initiatives, which can be organized at a local or regional level.

• Deliver 15/16 dedicated marketing plan in collaboration with DPAW and CIAWA; our preference for consumer marketing campaigns is for operators to buy in and be involved.

13

This initiative is supported by $4.2 million over 4 years from Royalties for Regions. This program aims to support the sustainability of the Visitor Centre network across the State.

The Regional Visitor Centres Grant Program includes:

• Network grant - $440K, provided to the Visitor Centre Association for training and marketing activities that support all accredited VCs

• Individual Visitor Centre grants - $40K to $100K

The first round for 2015/16 closed at the end of August 2015 – and the outcomes will be announced shortly.

The next round of individual grants is yet to be confirmed date wise. Encourage youto keep up to date with Tourism WA corporate website for more details.

14

There are currently some 120 Aboriginal tourism experiences in the State, but there is opportunity for more products in the market and more Aboriginal people to be engaged in the tourism industry; employed in mainstream businesses and in owner/operator scenarios.

Tourism WA has secured $4.6 million over four years from Royalties for Regions for the Aboriginal Tourism Development Program. Funding commenced this year.

The ATD Program is focused on marketing and product development – its objective is to support the growth and development of Aboriginal Tourism in the State. Tourism WA appointed WAITOC to deliver the ATDP program. WAITOC will:

1. See the continuation of a dedicated annual marketing plan to promote the State’s current suite of Aboriginal tourism experiences;

2. Work with up to 15 Market Ready Aboriginal tourism businesses to assist them in business and product delivery to transition to export ready status; and

3. Work with up to 5 Emerging Aboriginal businesses to support them in their foundation years.

While the marketing will assist Aboriginal tourism businesses across the State, the business development support is directed to the Kimberley and the South West in the first instance.

WAITOC called for EOI’s from eligible businesses a few months ago, and is currently finalisingrecipients.

Please look at the corporate website for more information on this program.

15

Tourism Demand Driver Infrastructure (TDDI) is a new model of Commonwealth funding which is shared amongst the States and Territories. It replaces the previous TQUAL or TIRF funding that you may recall from previous years.

The Australian Government has set some key conditions on the general use of the funding, but in essence it is focused on developing Demand Driver infrastructure in order to grow appeal and visitation to a destination.

Another key requirement is for matching financial contributions.

WA has been allocated $5.063 million from TDDI over 4 years - which commenced in 2014/15.

Funds from this initiative are allocated via two methods:

1. Tourism WA Board selection of a transformative project from each of the 5 tourism regions.

TDDI funding has been provided in Busselton and Esperance to enable cruise ships to safely tender passengers into these destinations. This will have a flow on effect to Albany as a regional port, because the more ports available to cruise ships in WA, the more cruise lines are bringing ships into the State.

2. Contestable grant program ($2.5 million) - open to State and Local Government organisations or Not For Profits. Applications are now closed with assessment currently ongoing, expecting announcements on successful applicants to be made by the end of October/early November.

16

17

Swimming at Greens Pool - part of our brand film for the South West.

Thank you for your time and the opportunity to present.

Are there any questions?

18