Former physiotherapist, 2012 Masterchef Australia finalist, and most recently CEO of Sydney's Lotus Dining Group, Mindy Woods is currently studying sustainable horticulture and bush food with the goal of protecting native foods, the environment and re-igniting Indigenous culture.

You must taste a culture to truly understand it. That’s why Mindy, a proud First Nations woman, opened her very own native inspired restaurant Karkalla on Ancestral country, creating opportunities for indigenous and non-indigenous people to connect with Aboriginal culture, art, and stories through food.

Visit Northern Tasmania CEO, Tracey Mallett, sat down with Mindy at the 2023 Tasmanian Tourism Conference where they discussed all things native Tasmanian food and the many ways in which this can be incorporated into tourism and hospitality businesses. If you are into your food – and let’s be honest, who isn’t? – then you must give this episode a listen. 

Food is a natural connector – you already have people’s buy-in before they take their first bite. But there’s so many opportunities to tell the story behind the food. Mindy explains how we, as Australians, come from the land of the original storytellers. We come from such a rich and abundant culture, and we often forget this and what’s in our own backyards. Australians travel elsewhere for food experiences, but we have the world’s oldest surviving civilisation and ingredients right here.

Behind every producer and their land is a great story to tell, and it’s by collaborating and connecting with others – especially the Tasmanian Aboriginal community – that you discover what this story is and how you can share it with visitors and locals alike. It is within these conversations and learnings that positive impact is maximised. 

Today’s episode is brought to you by our partner, VXT. VXT is a purpose-built organization with the sole purpose to train a hospitality and tourism workforce to deliver the Tasmanian workforce. VXT offers an array of industry-led, outcome-focused training courses both online and around Tasmania. Thanks to VXT for their generous support of TICT and for helping to make this episode of Talking Tourism possible.

Talking Tourism Episode 144 – Tourism strategy…without the BS with Tom Wootton & Anne Greentree.

Both Tom and Anne have had (and continue to have) an incredible influence on tourism in Tasmania. Among many things, Tom was the inaugural CEO of the regional tourism organisation, West by North West. Whereas, Anne has spent the past four years as the Director Visitor Economy Strategy at Tourism Tasmania. While in this role, Anne has worked alongside the state government and industry to develop the 2030 Visitor Economy Strategy – which is now live (and can be read here). 

In today’s episode, TICT CEO Amy Hills sits down with Tom and Anne to chat all about tourism strategy – a topic which they delivered a Day 1 workshop at the 2023 Tasmanian Tourism Conference.

Whether you are starting out fresh in the industry, or thinking it’s time to review , having a strategy in place for your business doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Tom and Anne say to simplify it into 3 steps: your current state, your future state, and the steps in between. Ask yourself: What am I doing now? Where do I want to be? What are the steps to get there? 

However, it is important that you also take into consideration the future vision of the tourism industry as a whole and the future vision for Tasmania as a destination. This is where the 2030 Visitor Economy Strategy comes in. Not only does it detail the vision, values and themes, but it shares the forecasting work which has been undertaken to understand the global and domestic factors of what future demand could look like for Tasmania. 

Strategy is different from operator to operator, but every business needs a purpose and vision. All it takes is to think about how you are different from your competitors and how you complement the Tasmanian brand. It is important that the steps you take to achieve this vision are SMART: Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Relevant; and Time-bound. 

Today’s episode is brought to you by our partner, Cumulus Studio. Cumulus Studio is an award-winning architecture and interior design practice with offices in Hobart, Launceston, Melbourne and Adelaide Among its most notable Tasmanian tourism designs are the award-winning Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre and the iconic Pumphouse Point. Thanks to Cumulus Studio for their generous support of TICT and for helping to make this episode of Talking Tourism possible.

Recognised as one of Australia’s nine most influential female entrepreneurs, Hailey Brown has become a catalyst for change within the tourism industry. Upon recognising that blind and low-vision tourists were precluded from travelling as tourism marketing is visual, she created the world’s first sensory audio tourism app, Vacayit. She is highly experienced in the field of accessible tourism, universal design, inclusion, and diversity and aims to drive positive societal change around how destinations and operators market their experiences.

Visit Northern Tasmania’s Chief Executive Officer, Tracey Mallett, sits down with Hailey at the 2023 Tasmanian Tourism Conference where she presented on how tourism operators can market their inclusive tourism experience.

Hailey gets straight to the point and says it all comes down to operators making a start and simply considering people with disability. Ask yourself the question, are you thinking of every single customer? 1 in 5 people live with disability in Australia – and this includes a vast array of physical and mental disabilities. Start off by targeting one, and the continue to build off that.

Further to this, Hailey says it’s about both infrastructure and experience. It’s more than just widening a doorway or putting a ramp in – it’s about every touchpoint of the visitor journey. Resources such as Tourism Australia as well as peak bodies and service providers have lots of information that will point you in the right direction to get started. But it all starts by asking and listening to people with disability – asking the question, what can make your experience better?

Disability awareness training for your staff is a very good starting point as it will teach your staff to be welcoming of everyone. There is also a lot of opportunity within technology. Hailey’s organisation, Vacayit, creates immersive sensory audio guides for people who are blind and vision impaired off the back of recognising an obvious gap in how tourism operators were marketing their products and experiences purely off of sight alone.

Hailey is hopeful that Tasmania’s tourism industry – one that thrives off of working collaboratively – can lead the way in accessible tourism experiences.  

If you want to take that first step and to look at your business through an accessible lens, please contact Hannah Lang, our Quality Tourism Advisor, who can provide you free access to complete the Accessibility Accreditation Module. Email us at [email protected]. 

Today’s episode is brought to you by our partner, Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service. PWS presents, protects and manages Tasmania’s extraordinary landscapes in partnership with the community. They work to conserve the state’s natural and cultural heritage while providing for sustainable use and economic opportunities for the Tasmanian community. Thanks to Tasmania Parks & Wildlife for their generous support of TICT and for helping to make this episode of Talking Tourism possible.

Taihlaura Denman-Francis is a Managing Marketing Consultant at Kingthing. In this role, Taihlaura enjoys the thrill of dreaming up big ideas for her clients. She has an undeniable passion for all things in the digital space, and her favourite things are strategic planning, marketing tactics, social media management and digital advertising. Taihlaura is also a Launceston Tamar Valley Tourism Association (LTVTA) committee member, where she’s been able to use her marketing prowess to provide more avenues for tourism operators in the area to discuss, share and learn.

Taihlaura delivered an insightful workshop at this year’s Tourism Conference, titled ‘Designing effectively on Canva’ and in today’s episode, she sits down with Tom Wootton to chat all about it. 

For those who are not aware of Canva, it is a simple to use, cloud-based design platform which can assist you to design anything you can possibly think of – social media tiles, letters, invites, logos, business cards, email signatures etc. Instead of using an app such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Canva is an online tool which you can access via the internet. There is a free version or a pro version for the cheap price of $164.99 per year (which is cheaper than Netflix!).

Taihlaura explains some simple yet important design techniques and things to avoid doing, such as ‘font frenzy’, the use of negative space in your design, not over-crowding content and keeping the use of colour to a minimum.

We’ve all heard, ‘less is more’ but Taihlaura explains how important this truly is when designing effective marketing material. Tourism products and experiences are often communicated visually, which means investing time and energy into a platform like Canva can go a long way to creating high-quality material that makes you stand out from the crowd. Digital marketing doesn’t have to be daunting – just jump onto Canva and give it a go!

Today’s episode is brought to you by our partner, the Department of State Growth. The Department of State Growth brings together four interrelated divisions developing a strategic approach that drives economic growth, and supports the community, industry, and business in the creation of jobs and opportunities for Tasmanians. Thanks to the Department of State Growth for their generous support of TICT and for helping to make this episode of Talking Tourism possible.

Nic Cooper is a Regenerative Tourism Specialist at The Tourism Collective but is also a small business owner on the Mornington Peninsula. He has extensive experience spanning destination marketing, product development, and customer engagement with a particular passion and expertise for sustainable and regenerative tourism.

Visit Northern Tasmania CEO, Tracey Mallet, sits down with Nic at the 2023 Tasmanian Tourism Conference where he delivered a Day 1 workshop about regenerative tourism. 

For those not aware of regenerative tourism, Nic says it can mean different things to different people, however he essentially boils it down to ‘doing tourism for good’. It’s all about going beyond sustainability and instead having a long-term positive impact on the community and environment. The benefits of regenerative tourism are all-encompassing, but for tourism businesses particularly, it can help attract more customers as well as making you more marketable. This is especially important for Tasmania as it manages the balance between protecting the things that make it different and growing the visitor economy. 

Tracey and Nic delve into the tips and tricks on how tourism businesses can enter the regenerative tourism space, and the key piece of advice is to simply make a start. Nic says it’s about progress, not perfection. It’s not a tick-box exercise, but continuous work. Ask yourself the question, ‘what are the negative impacts of our business and how can we change them into a positive?’ Start with the short-term, immediate changes you can make and then map out the middle to long-term goals. 

Today’s episode is brought to you by our partner, Hype TV. As a complete production house, Hype has the capability to facilitate the entire production process from concept creation through to media delivery. Hype’s core production team consists of industry professionals with decades of experience, and they also have an extensive network of production crews across Tasmania to tailor to your needs. Thanks to Hype TV for their generous support of TICT and for helping to make this episode of Talking Tourism possible.

Tim Polmear is Co-Founder of Waubs Harbour Distillery on the beautiful east coast of Tasmania.

Before venturing into the world of whisky, Tim and his wife Bec founded Flat Tummy Tea Co – a herbal tea remedy to help ease indigestion. After falling into the world of influencer marketing, the brand quickly gained momentum and turned into a flourishing e-commerce business. Then, in 2016, Tim and Bec sold the business and moved back to Tassie to start a family, and in 2018, the dream location in Bicheno was purchased and the Waubs Harbour Distillery journey begun.

Tim was one of the Day 2 speakers at the Tourism Conference, and he truly captured the crowd with his raw, open personality and inspiring story, and in today’s episode, Tim sat down with Destination Southern Tasmania’s Damian Mather to chat all about it.

They unpack the reasoning behind starting a new business or developing a new product, and how it’s of course important to have some experience and capital behind you, but more importantly to have courage and determination. At the core of any business is storytelling, and Tim suggests authenticity is the key ingredient to any business’s marketing process.

A key takeaway from Tim’s presentation at the Conference was the question he asked his brother and co-founder of Waubs Harbour, and that was, “If you could create whisky your way, with your dream equipment in the ideal location, how would you do it?” This question was what set the business up and ultimately on its path to greatness. Substitute the word whisky for whatever is relevant to you and your tourism business, and it’s a great question to ask yourself. The answer may very well be the reason behind what makes you or your business stand out from the crowd.

Today’s episode is brought to you by our partner, McDermott’s Coaches. McDermott’s Coaches is Tasmania’s largest coach, tour and specialist transport service provider, supplying tours, transfers and coach charters for large and small groups around Tasmania and interstate. They offer the local knowledge and experience of the McDermott family along with more than 50 staff, all of whom are committed to delivering great service. Thanks to McDermott’s Coaches for helping to make this episode of Talking Tourism possible. 

Today’s episode is with Larni Davies – TICT’s very own Tassie Tourism Ambassador Program Coordinator. A passionate Tasmanian, Larni Davies has 31 years of experience in the tourism industry.

After living interstate and even overseas for six years, Larni returned to Tasmania where she worked as a bushwalking guide with Tasmanian Expeditions; Cradle Mountain Huts; the Bay of Fires Walk and later progressed into management roles. Larni has previously coordinated the Adventure Tour Guiding program at TasTAFE Drysdale in Hobart for many years – equipping students with the knowledge and skills to become professional and competent bushwalking tour guides in Tasmania, and beyond.

TICT’s Kelly Luck sits down with Larni and chats all things Tassie Tourism Ambassador Program. They delve into how the program came about, who it is for, what the program entails, and what the future looks like. 

Anyone can become an Ambassador, but it’s specifically aimed at tourism and hospitality staff to teach them all about their industry in Tasmania, more about their regions and how to tell their stories in an engaging and captivating way to ultimately exceed our visitor’s expectations. Best of all – it’s 100% free! What are you waiting for? Become an Ambassador – www.tassietourismambassador.com.au/about/ 

Today’s episode is brough to you by the Department of State Growth. The Department of State Growth brings together four interrelated divisions developing a strategic approach that drives economic growth and supports the community, industry, and business in the creation of jobs and opportunities for Tasmanians. Thanks to the Department of State Growth for their generous support of TICT and for helping make this episode of Talking Tourism possible.

Today’s episode is with Bart Sobies – an industry professional whose career has spanned more than two decades. He began his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 15 with the launch of his first online business evolving into a prosperous tech company. 

Since then, Bart has founded and led several businesses, all centred around technology, marketing and investment specifically within the tourism industry. One of these is ibooked.online – a leading platform dedicated to helping accommodation owners increase direct bookings and generate revenue. 

Tourism consultant (and overall tourism legend) Tom Wootton sits down with Bart and chats all about his business and his passion – AI. 

Bart explains how ibooked.online aims to teach brand and marketing tools and strategic to different tourism providers, whether it’s those in hospitality to B&Bs, hotels and short-term rentals. He has the answers to those common questions you may ask, such as ‘how do we sell our unique experience?’, ‘how do we get people to book directly through out website?’ and ‘how do we make ourselves stand out?’

Bart then talks about AI and its emergence and growing popularity. He admitted to becoming quite obsessed with AI, but saw the opportunities it had to help tourism operators. Bart’s main piece of advice when it comes to AI is, if you haven’t already used it, give it a go. Not only is it a tool to ask questions, but it can also provide feedback on your business processes and how you handled certain situations.

Today’s episode is brought to you by our partner, Moo Brew. Moo Brew is the official beer of the Tasmanian tourism industry. Inspired by the art, creativity, and innovation of Mona, the Moo Brew range of contemporary lagers and ales are brewed in Tasmania, and designed to be enjoyed while experiencing all the state has to offer. Thanks to Moo Brew for their generous support of TICT and for helping make this episode of Talking Tourism possible. 

Lauren Cameron is TICT's newly appointed Carbon Action Advisor. Lauren is a sustainability and communications specialist, whose career spans fifteen years working across sustainability, international development, tourism and media. Having started out as a journalist with The Advocate in Tasmania’s northwest, Lauren has since worked as Chief Editor of a sustainable lifestyle magazine in Hong Kong, managed international development programs in Vietnam, partnered with sustainable tourism operators across Asia, and worked in the Environment and Development Division of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

For those that missed her at the Positive Impact 2 Conference, Lauren launched the TICT Emissions Reduction Initiative - a project supported by the state government to make Tasmania a leading destination for climate conscious travel by 2030. 

In this episode, Kelly Luck (also from TICT) chats with Lauren all about the initiative, how Tassie tourism operators can get involved, and the importance of reducing our carbon emissions. 

The key takeaway from this episode is the EOI period to be involved with the initiative closes on Friday 1 September - so make sure you jump onto the TICT website via this link to read more info and apply: https://tict.com.au/emissions-reduction/

Today's episode is brought to you by our partner, the Department of State Growth. The Department of State Growth brings together four interrelated divisions developing a strategic approach that drives economic growth and supports the community, industry, and business in the creation of jobs and opportunities for Tasmanians. Thanks to the Department of State Growth for their generous support of TICT and for helping make this episode of Talking Tourism possible.

Fanus Ghebrezgabhier is a Senior Trainer at F45 Moonah. F45 has taken Australia and the world by storm to become the fastest growing gym brand on the planet. Originating in Sydney, Australia, the ‘F’ stands for functional training, a mix of circuit and high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts geared towards everyday movement, and the ‘45’ is the total amount of time each class runs for. 

In today’s episode, Luke and Fanus compare the similarities between the fitness and tourism industries in terms of staffing and social media marketing. 

Fanus explains the ‘community feel’ and ‘energy’ of F45 is what makes it stand out from any other offering and is therefore its unique selling point. F45 showcases these values throughout its entire business but especially through its staff. However, they encounter similar workforce challenges to what many of our tourism operators are currently experiencing, including high staff turnover.

A major reason contributing to the mass success of F45 is its social media marketing. Tasmanian tourism operators have a great social media presence, however Fanus explains the importance of staying relevant and on-trend to allow your business, product, or service to cut-through the social media clutter. Something which F45 have excelled at is training up its staff to take a lead in this space. Fanus sees this as an opportunity for tourism operators as well. 

Today’s episode is brought to you by our partner, Cumulus Studio. Cumulus Studio is an award-winning architecture and interior design practice with offices in Hobart, Launceston, Melbourne and Adelaide Among its most notable Tasmanian tourism designs are the award-winning Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre and the iconic Pumphouse Point. Thanks to Cumulus Studio for their generous support of TICT and for helping to make this episode of Talking Tourism possible.

Nunami Sculthorpe-Green is a proud palawa and warlpiri woman, and founder of Blak Led Tours Tasmania, an Aboriginal tourism business that is passionate about truth-telling and the representation of Tasmanian Aboriginal stories. 

Recognised for her profound impact on the Tasmanian tourism industry, Nunami was awarded the 2022 Tasmanian Tourism Minister’s Young Achieve Award.

In today’s episode, Luke Martin* chats with Nunami about how her business came to fruition and what she hopes the future of Aboriginal tourism in Tasmania looks like. Nunami talks in great detail about the personal and professional journey of building her business from the ground up, and some of the people that helped her along the way.

Today’s episode is brought to you by our partner, the Department of State Growth. The Department of State Growth brings together four interrelated divisions developing a strategic approach that drives economic growth, and supports the community, industry and business in the creation of jobs and opportunities for Tasmanians. Thanks to the Department of State Growth for their generous support of TICT and for helping to make this episode of Talking Tourism possible.

*This episode was recorded prior to Luke's departure from TICT.