TRANSCRIPTS INTERVIEWS ON ABC 936 HOBART

TRANSCRIPTS INTERVIEWS ON ABC 936 HOBART TUESDAY 27TH JULY 2010 PLUS COMMENTARY ON TRANSCRIPT REMARKS On Tuesday 27 th July, Advance Tourism sponsored an advertisement in the Hobart Mercury criticising Tourism Tasmania for their approach to destination marketing and the organisation s attitude towards the needs of the private sector. Advance Tourism also made it clear that Tasmania s presence on the mainland has fallen away and the state is not competitive. These comments caused considerable media coverage and opened up much public discussion which was the objective of the exercise. There was radio coverage throughout the day and the three TV channels attended a special media conference in the morning. From this came wide coverage around the state in the evening. Today there was print media coverage in the Mercury and the Examiner Tourism Tasmania chose not to speak to the media. Instead Tourism Industry Council CEO, Daniel Hanna became the spokesman for Tourism Tasmania. On the ABC Drive program, Norm White, Advance Tourism was interviewed by Louise Saunders who then continued on with an interview with Daniel Hanna. Advance Tourism obtained a transcript of the two interviews and they are shown below. There are some interesting observations to be noted. Item: SAUNDERS TALKS TO NORM WHITE, DIRECTOR, ADVANCE TOURISM, ABOUT THE NEWS THAT TOURISM TASMANIA WILL NOT RESPOND TO CLAIMS BY A VICTORIAN-BASED TOURISM COMPANY THAT FEWER VISITORS ARE COMING TO TASMANIA, DESPITE THE GOVERNMENT HAVING SPENT $150 MILLION ON MARKETING CAMPAIGNS SINCE 2004. WHITE SAYS THE TASMANIAN TOURISM INDUSTRY IS BEING DOMINATED BY THE BUREAUCRACY OF TOURISM TASMANIA, WHICH IS USING A 1990S ADVERTISING APPROACH IN THAT ALL THEY THINK THEY MUST DO IS PROMOTE TASMANIA, AND PEOPLE WILL COME. LOUISE SAUNDERS NORM WHITE LOUISE SAUNDERS NORM WHITE Norm White, good afternoon to you. Good afternoon, Louise. What is your issue with the expenditure in Tasmania on tourism funding? Some people know I was in Tasmania for some years, years ago with TAA, and since I've been back on the mainland, I've been a consultant 1

working in tourism throughout the nation, and in fact I have knowledge of what goes on in other parts of the world. It is of great concern to me personally that the Tasmanian tourism industry is being dominated by the bureaucracy of Tourism Tasmania, they alone decide how they will spend the taxpayers' money, and they are not delivering what the Tasmanian tourism industry needs in the way of a quality destination marketing performance. Being situated on the mainland where I live, I study constantly what happens in Melbourne and Sydney, I can assure you that Tasmanian tourism as a destination is losing market share, it's losing ground, and is nowhere near as competitive as other destinations that are attacking the Melbourne and Sydney markets. And I felt it was time that there was debate in Tasmania to bring about some attention to this problem. Contributing to this is the fact that Tourism Tasmania will not tolerate people who express views contrary to what they believe. They don't agree with people who disagree with their actions, they don't agree with people who want to go in a different direction, they won't tolerate new ideas, they won't tolerate new concepts, and they are quite frankly dragging the Tasmanian tourism industry downhill. NORM WHITE: LOUISE SAUNDERS NORM WHITE So how are they getting it wrong in terms of advertising, and targeting the tourism market? Well, Tourism Tasmania is using a 1990s advertising approach, they believe that all you have to do is to promote Tasmania, and people will come. Tasmania's competitors don't agree with that view, and they're using the 21st century digital age techniques of digital marketing, use of digital newsletters, digital age newsletters, and many other techniques. Who s missing out, is it specifically those smaller members of the tourism market, do you believe? I think that Hobart and Launceston benefit from the short term visitor market to some degree, because they're close to airports, but when you get away from Hobart and Launceston, particularly if you go to the West Coast and the East Coast, there are serious deficiencies, and Tourism Tasmania doesn't seem to recognise that there is a problem there to be solved The it s always going to be, I guess, to most peoples' minds, as you say, Launceston and Hobart you're most likely to fly into, so you can probably come for three days, the cost of a flight, a couple of nights of accommodation, and not necessarily need much in the way of transport. Anything else, and to most peoples' minds, Tasmania becomes an expensive option. Is that fair? 2

NORM WHITE: NORM WHITE: That s not fair. I think people look for value more than that, I mean people will spend money and go for 10 days cruising around from New Zealand to Australia. The cost of having 10 days in Tasmania isn't as expensive as taking a cruise, if people compare like with like. But Tasmania is not marketing itself on the mainland as a competitor to cruising choices, it's not marketing itself as a competitor to some of these more distant locations in Australia, which you can't do on a twonight stay, kind of thing. Do you think they should send the money outside the Government sector, I'm about to talk to Daniel Hanna from the Tourism Industry Council, do you think there are more effective ways perhaps, of direct marketing, or regional marketing that would work better than Tourism Tasmania? The answer is to take - I'll give you a good example. There are three regional tourism organisations in Tasmania. Tourism Tasmania doesn't want them, because it means they've got to have independence, and they've got to have technical people who know what they're doing, and that would be embarrassing to them. They won't agree to regional tourism organisations being in the state, but if you had three regional tourism organisations that were headed by competent, experienced tourism executives, what they would be doing is working with tourism businesses to help them to be more effective as competitors, they would be working with them to educate them as to how they can make a better deal with their business. The Regional Tourism organisations would be bringing together these partners to be more effective. We need three regional tourism organisations active on the mainland, combating the lost competition. You don't need a bureaucracy in Hobart, doing nothing on the mainland, when you have three progressive groups representing the state, and they ll be over there promoting their part of Tasmania more effectively than a Hobartbased organisation can do it. At the end of the day, while Tasmania stays with bureaucracy, running a commercial industry, you're not going to go forward, because your competitors are being managed by competent, private sector executives, who know what they're doing. NORM WHITE: Norm White, I'll leave it there, but I appreciate your time today. Thank you. Thank you very much for inviting me. Thank you. Norm White is with Advance Tourism, the ad's in the Mercury I think, only the Mercury, today. 3

The next interview with Daniel Hanna, CEO Tasmanian Tourism Industry Council followed immediately Item: CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY COUNCIL OF TASMANIA, DANIEL HANNA, TALKS ABOUT TOURISM IN TASMANIA AND HOW THE INDUSTRY CAN HELP PROMOTE ITSELF TO MAINLAND TOURISTS. INTERVIEWEES: DANIEL HANNA, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, TOURISM INDUSTRY COUNCIL OF TASMANIA Tourism Tasmania's declined to make any comment today. Daniel Hanna is CEO of the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania. Daniel, good afternoon. Good afternoon Louise. Do you think Norm White has some fair points to make about the marketing of Tasmania? Oh, I'm not quite sure where he's getting a lot of his information from. Some of the things he's claiming are that Tasmania's declining visiting numbers and declining market share, when all of the research available is pointing the other way. Tasmania's actually been performing quite strongly, even in difficult economic times. And really I think our marketing is reasonably effective. If you look at things like the Roy Morgan survey that shows plenty of people in Melbourne and Sydney are aware of Tasmania and Tasmanian marketing. Is it perfect? Well, no destination has got it perfectly right yet. But in national terms, I think we do a pretty good job. The issue of whether people are getting out into the regions and spending the time necessary to get outside the sort of the Launceston and Hobart areas, has been one that's come up before. Do you think that's been adequately addressed? Are your members benefiting in regional Tasmania? Yeah, it's cer... look, it's certainly an issue Regional dispersal is something that the Tourism Industry Council and I know Tourism Tasmania are both very concerned about it as well. One of the best ways to do that is to try and increase the length of stay, so getting people to Tasmania, even more likely to stay here longer means that the chances are they're going to visit more than one region. So more than just the port that they arrive at. And particularly, length of stay is heading in the right direction. In fact, we're up to nearly an average of 10 nights now that people stay But look, it is right that not every region around the state is doing extremely well. There are particular parts of the state that we need to work with and try and improve regional dispersal. Mmm. 4

But look I don't know any destination around the country or around the globe that's got that right where everybody can benefit all the time. Well it's a difficult one with Tasmania isn't it? I mean are we effective to Tasmania as a whole experience: come to Tasmania. Or the regions competing against each other: come to the North West, as opposed to come see Port Arthur? Yeah, and look Tasmania is seen by most people, mainland or international, as a single destination. People think about Tasmania as the place they want to go. There is a role for regions and zones to then sit underneath that if you like, to show the diversity of experiences. So when you get people coming here, and I guess we've all heard it from visitors that have come to Tasmania, they say; well, if I'd known how much there was to do here and the diversity, I would have stayed longer. That's the challenge is firstly to get people aware of Tasmania, excited about coming here. And then start to show them the diversity of experiences and the range of products. And I think by and large we're doing that. The other point I'd pick up on, on what Norm was saying around digital marketing and digital distribution, I think you'd find Tasmania is actually one of the leaders there and Tourism Tasmania's been very strong on trying to work with the industry to get more operators into the online environment and particularly through online distribution and digital marketing So I think they've been quite proactive. The industry and industry council are also aware of that. We know consumers are changing their behaviour and we, industry and government, have got to be there as well. And does that include things such as what if those short-term, get the best deal kinds of websites? Yeah, look, I think it's been led by consumers, a lot of the changes in tourism. They're no longer trusting what you might call traditional sources of information They're looking increasingly at web based resources, you know, the growth of things like TripAdvisor is a great example where And they're looking also to sites like Wotif that are seen as giving a good deal and good value.people can compare products from those that have actually missed it It's important for Tasmanian Tourism products to always be there, be available, be bookable and payable in the online environment, because that's where consumers are now. They trust the online 5

environment and more than that they're going that's only going to grow in the future. So we're certainly trying to meet this challenge of how can we get more of our tourism operators into the online environment. I think we're doing it reasonably well compared with other destinations. But we've got to all be there in the very near future. LOUISE SAUNDERS Daniel Hanna, appreciate your time. Thanks for joining us. It's a pleasure Louise. Thank you. Daniel Hanna from the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania COMMENTS ON REMARKS BY DANIEL HANNA ABOVE Daniel Hanna 1 I'm not quite sure where he's getting a lot of his information from. Some of the things he's claiming are that Tasmania's declining visiting numbers and declining market share, when all of the research available is pointing the other way. Tasmania's actually been performing quite strongly, even in difficult economic times. 2 I think our marketing is reasonably effective. Norm White Advance Tourism s figures all come from Tourism Research Australia (TRA) in Canberra, the industry s top authority on industry statistics. Most regard their statistics as the best available. Tourism Tasmania statistics are at odds with TRA figures and certainly far removed from the business results of Tasmanian tourism businesses. Some believe Tourism Tasmania cooks the books with their statistics. Well TTIC and Tourism Tasmania are entitled to their view. But they are alone. Tourism Tasmania is not marketing the State, it is not targeting business outcomes. The Tourism Tasmania bureaucrats are limited to advertising and promotion because they have yet to demonstrate they have the skills of professional tourism marketers. The writer has been a professional tourism marketer for five decades associated with many complex and successful campaigns but I don t see Tourism Tasmania demonstrating such skills. 6

3 plenty of people in Melbourne and Sydney are aware of Tasmania and Tasmanian marketing 4 But in national terms, I think we do a pretty good job. 5 One of the best ways to do that is to try and increase the length of stay, so getting people to Tasmania, even more likely to stay here longer means that the chances are they're going to visit more than one region. So more than just the port that they arrive at. 6 we're up to nearly an average of 10 nights now that people stay 7 look I don't know any destination around the country or around the globe that's got that right where everybody can benefit all the time. 8 Yeah, and look Tasmania is seen by most people, mainland or international, as a single destination. The word aware is the key word. Plenty of people are aware of BMW motor cars but they are not rushing to buy them. Marketing is not about awareness, it is about getting customers to buy. Tasmania s competitors are offering programs built around customers buying. Awareness is only a small part of such programs. Many customers are aware of Tasmania but they choose to go to NZ instead. By Tourism Tasmania standards yes you are doing a pretty good job. But by comparison with Tasmania s competitors Tasmania s marketing is poor especially when their professional business approach is considered. Daniel does not say how getting people to visit more than one region will be achieved. Promotional activities have not worked for years and the Marketing Zone concept is very good 1990 s thinking. Tasmania needs 21 st century thinking and an approach that targets business results. That is why the three proposed Regional Tourism Organisations with professional managements are so necessary. Tasmania needs to copy the successful Queensland and NZ approach of regions competing with each other to grow the pie. Such competition will educate the market more effectively than the single approach of Tourism Tasmania. Very few people would accept this figure in the modern era. It does not sound right. Here are a few examples, Queenstown NZ, other NZ locations, Gold Coast Qld, California, Hawaii, Hong Kong, to name a few. Professional marketing would make a world of difference to Tasmania. This is the 1990 s doctrine expressed by Tourism Tasmania. Visitors to Tasmania come to visit Hobart, Launceston, Cradle Mountain, Port Arthur, etc. The attractions which are the reason for their visit happen to be in Tasmania. 7

People go to WA but they don t go everywhere from Margaret River to Kununurra. Modern tourism marketing eg Queensland is driven by destinations within the state like the Whitsundays or Christchurch in NZ. 9 People think about Tasmania as the place they want to go. 10 I guess we've all heard it from visitors that have come to Tasmania, they say; well, if I'd known how much there was to do here and the diversity, I would have stayed longer. 11 That's the challenge is firstly to get people aware of Tasmania, excited about coming here. And then start to show them the diversity of experiences and the range of products 12 digital marketing and digital distribution, I think you'd find Tasmania is actually one of the leaders there and Tourism Tasmania's been very strong on trying to work with the industry to get more operators into the online environment and particularly through online distribution and digital marketing Their first thoughts are about Tasmania in general but then where do they go, the Pennywheel Race at Evandale, historic towns of Ross, Oatlands, Richmond, Westbury, Stanley, perhaps Gordon River Cruises, walking through Cradle Mountain etc. That s what brings them to Tasmania. The more attractions they know about the longer they are likely to stay. If Tasmania had three active Regional Tourism Organisations promoting places like the Huon, St Helens, Bicheno, Stanley, Boat Harbour, Zeehan Museum, etc (like Tourism Tasmania is not doing) visitor volumes would improve. Tourism Tasmania was formed in 1996 and is still using 1990 s marketing methods. They haven t been successful yet and never will be with their old fashioned methods which don t match modern competitive practices. When tourism businesses around Tasmania read this they will probably have their biggest laugh for the year. 8