Case Study
Fraser Coast Trade Ready Program
Fraser Coast Tourism and Events is the Fraser Coast’s official Regional Tourism Organisation, responsible for the ongoing promotion, marketing and destination development of the Fraser Coast region. As the region’s RTO, FCTE implements a number of industry development programs throughout the year to empower and educate tourism operators to better promote their individual tourism products and experiences, generating increased levels of awareness for the Fraser Coast in the process.
DR Tourism has worked with the FCTE team for a number of years on a variety of projects, including the Fraser Coast Trade Ready Program for the past 3 years.
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I have operated my fishing charter business in Hervey Bay for close to 10 years and in the 2016/17 financial year I was fortunate enough to be offered a place on the Fraser Coast Trade Mentoring Program. This program has helped me transform by business and allow me to more effectively reach my target markets both domestically and internationally. My fleet has expanded from 1 vessel to having 4 vessels and guides to offer guests, we have developed new mother shipping product options and our business is also a part of Tourism Australia’s ‘Great Fishing Adventures of Australia’ program which has generated strong levels of awareness for my business and the fishing credentials of the Fraser Coast.
A huge thank you to Robbie and Danielle for their guidance and assistance through this program – a must do for any tourism operator!!
Andrew Chorley – Hervey Bay and Fly Sportfishing
Our Challenge
In the past, the Fraser Coast has experienced a lack of tourism product and experience exposure due to only a handful of operators working in the domestic and international trade space. This was due to a lack of understanding surrounding the benefits and importance of working with trade partners amongst tourism operators, and FCTE has keen to address this issue in a strategic manner to increase the number of Fraser Coast tourism products and experiences being sold and featured through trade partners on a global scale.
DR Tourism was contracted to design and implement an industry development program that not only increased the number of local operators working in the trade distribution space, but to also increase the number of operators attending the Australian Tourism Exchange each year.
The Process
We liaised closely with FCTE and a number of Tourism Operators to develop a highly detailed, intensive, one on one and face to face mentoring program that was able to be tailored to meet the needs of the specific businesses taking part in the program. The mentoring sessions included a number of elements focused on gaining an understanding of how the trade distribution system works, how to correctly price tourism products and experiences, how to create packages, and how to effectively work with trade partners to increase occupancy and profitability.
In some instances, brand new products and experiences were developed to better meet the needs of key markets.
The Outcome
Key outcomes of the program included each mentee gaining a far more solid understanding of the tourism trade network, the benefits of working with trade, and ensuring that each mentee has a correctly priced tourism product and experience. Over the past 3 years, 12 new tourism products have either attended or been launched at ATE, with highlights including the development and launch of a brand new Fraser Island Eco Sailing Product and the inclusion of Hervey Bay Fly and Sportfishing in Tourism Australia’s ‘Great Fishing Adventures of Australia’ campaign.