TICT Quarterly - Spring 2020. Moving Forward Together

QUARTERLY

SPRING | 2020 | EDITION 3

SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3

TOURISM INDUSTRY COUNCIL TASMANIA

Image credit: Marnie Hawson

MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER

10

IN FOCUS: RIDING THE STORM OUT

14

POLICY WATCH: A GLOBAL LEADER IN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

22

10 THINGS ALL TOURISM OPERATORS SHOULD BE DOING NOW

1

Locally Expert, Globally Connected Knight Frank are Tasmania’s only full-line statewide real estate agency with offices strategically located in Hobart, Launceston and Devonport.

As part of the Global Knight Frank network we provide specialised Hotel, Motel and business brokerage services.

Affiliations •

Knight Frank has been endorsed by the Tasmanian Hospitality Association (THA) for over 30 years.

•

Knight Frank is the only endorsed Agent for the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania (TICT). Details of our listings are regularly forwarded for distribution to over 4,000 members.

•

Tasmanian

View JANUARY 2020

Knight Frank has a conjunctional selling arrangement for hotels with Cropley Commercial in Victoria, who would sell around 80% of that state’s gaming hotels.

IEW

SM MARKET OVERV

TASMANIAN TOURI

Publications •

Every month Knight Frank emails our hotel, tourism and business magazine to our database of buyers.

•

Knight Frank produces and distributes ‘Tasmanian View’ - a statewide tourism market overview.

Knight Frank Tasmania has transacted

45 Tourism and Leisure sales in the last 4 years valued at over

$287 million.

2

5 Victoria Street, Hobart 03 6220 6999 54 Cameron Street, Launceston 03 6333 7888

48-54 Oldaker Street, Devonport 03 6424 3568

knightfrank.com.au

residential, commercial.

SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3

Locally expert, globally connected.

CONTENTS: Welcome from the CEO

2

A message from our Chair

4

In focus: Riding the storm out

10

Policy watch: A global leader in sustainable tourism

14

Tourism profile: Daniel & Simone Hackett

16

10 things all tourism operators should be doing now

22

Cover page image: Kerry, Alastair, Lucy & Bonnie Houston, Operators of the Ship Inn, Stanley.

To advertise in the next TICT Quarterly or for editorial enquiries contact info@tict.com.au 1

WELCOME: FROM THE CEO

H

opefully, you are reading this when Tasmania’s borders have re-opened to low-risk jurisdictions across the country, meaning we are slowly starting to welcome interstate visitors back into the State.

(I say ‘hopefully’ as I am writing this a few days before October 26, and one thing I have learnt over the past 6-months is to not expect anything to happen until it happens!)

But if it is the case our borders are open let us believe the worst of COVID is now behind us, and our work to rebuild Tasmania’s visitor economy has begun.

Everyone in the tourism industry would have lay awake at some point turning their mind in knots trying to work out the answers to these questions and others, trying to work out what this might all mean to their business or job.

I know I have.

As I heard someone say recently, if these are such ‘unprecedented times’, when exactly did we have ‘precedented times?’

What happens now is really anyone’s best guess.

In other words, there is no going back now, only forward.

Yes, we have sound visitor projections to rely on, and all the modelling suggests we have every reason to look forward to a strong tourism bounce back in Tasmania relative to other parts of the country.

Our challenge as an industry and as individuals working in Tasmanian tourism is to navigate these uncertain times with clarity and a shared sense of purpose, but with the flexibility to respond to the different opportunities and challenges as they emerge.

What I do not think any of us can be completely sure on is the timing of how quickly that recovery happens.

How bad is the national economy going to get over the next 12 months and what is this going to do to consumer confidence and discretionary spending on holidays? How strong a summer can we expect when 2

our largest market, Victoria, is coming out of 6-months of COVID-trauma? What is next year’s winter going to look like? How will our major events program work next year?

What happens when Job Keeper ends?

This edition of ‘TICT Quarterly’ explores our response to these ‘unprecedented times’.

We speak to tourism operators who have successfully - (and, yes, be prepared, I am going to use that other horrible term of 2020) - ‘pivoted’ - their business over the past few

SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3

As I heard someone say recently, if these are such ‘unprecedented times’, when exactly did we have ‘precedented times?’

In other words, there is no going back now, only forward.

months. What has worked for them and what is the legacy of COVID on their business?

We have also asked two of our industry’s best and brightest, Sam Denmead and Jake Smith, to name up the ten key things every tourism operator should be doing right now to prepare for 2021.

We explore the opportunities to position Tasmania right now as a global leader in climate conscious tourism, and profile the Australian Tourism Award winning, Daniel and Simone Hackett.

Thank you to Rachel Williams from Millwood Media, and our designer, Adele Close, for helping to bring this edition of TICT Quarterly together quickly.

This is the third edition of TICT Quarterly. We think we are on the right track – but if you have suggestions or ideas for content to make it more relevant to you, please let me know.

Luke Martin Chief Executive Officer Tourism Industry Council Tasmania 3

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR: A SUMMER AHEAD LIKE NO OTHER

N

There is no ‘Taste’, or ‘Falls Festival’ to look forward to, and the projections indicate our visitor numbers are likely to be more like a normal Winter than the busy Summers we have come to expect.

4

ormally at this time of year we would all be gearing up for another bumper Summer season.

For me, this means a busy December of chocolate and cheese sales leading up to Christmas, before the peak visitor season starts at the farm on Boxing Day. Usually we would also be busy planning staff rosters and stocktake for our stall at the ‘Taste’, while juggling our kids going to ‘Falls’.

There is no better place to be in Australia than Tassie over Summer, and there is usually no busier time to be in tourism in Tasmania than over the next few months.

This Summer is going to be very different.

There is no ‘Taste’, or ‘Falls Festival’ to look forward to, and the projections indicate our visitor numbers are likely to be more like a normal Winter then the busy summers we have come to expect.

Each of us is working out in our own way how we are going to sustain our businesses over the next few months and navigate these uncertain conditions. Deciding to employ or re-employ staff, budgeting out into 2021, and making decisions about where to spend scarce marketing dollars to maximum effect.

While I am very optimistic about our tourism recovery there is no doubt the next 6-12 months will continue to

challenge everyone in our industry. We need to continue to support one and other, and we need to work strategically through the challenges of a recovering visitor market.

We can have confidence that we have the ear and support of government, and there will continue to be assistance provided to operators at all levels of industry.

The new T21 Visitor Economy Action Plan clearly outlines our priorities over the next 12 months.

• Restoring visitor demand and access to the State as quickly as possible; • Supporting businesses to keep their heads above water by reducing costs and providing targeted direct assistance to operators where its most needed; • Restore our events program in a post-COVID environment; • Keeping an eye firmly on the long-game and making decisions now that lay a path towards a very strong future for Tasmanian tourism over the next decade.

From TICT’s perspective, we believe all our immediate efforts must go into restoring visitor demand as quickly and strongly as possible.

Getting the visitor market back is critical as government assistance such as Job Keeper reduces.

of this every day, is all a part of being in tourism now. It is what our visitors expect and our community demands.

If you need help in achieving this, please reach out and ask for it. There is support and advice on hand from the State Government, TICT and other industry bodies.

If you are not taking the restrictions seriously, ask yourself why and consider the risks you are posing to yourself and your industry colleagues.

Ultimately, we are all in this together, and one slip-up by one business could impact on us all. Don’t be the operator who let’s everyone else down.

By doing what’s expected of us, and applying some effective tourism ‘Moneyball’ with good marketing, access and incentives to stimulate our most lucrative visitor markets as they do re-open, I believe we can head into the uncertainty of 2021 with confidence the worst might now be behind us.

SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3

This means restoring our aviation access into the State and making the most of our Spirit of Tasmania ships.

Since COVID first emerged we have consistently called for an extension of the Australian Government’s Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme to effectively make it free to bring your vehicle across Bass Strait. This is a quick-fire and effective way of filling the ships over the Summer and Autumn months to boost visitation into regional destinations.

We have also proposed to Government a complimentary voucher initiative for long-term rental car hire for those more inclined to fly-drive.

We know the domestic drive holiday market is likely to be one of the first visitor markets to recover once travel restrictions ease, and Tasmania must compete on price and ease of access with other regional destinations across Australia.

We also have a responsibility as a tourism industry to host our visitors safely.

Many Tasmanians are anxious about borders re-opening and fearing the worst. Some in our own industry have voiced concerns about the risks posed in welcoming visitors back into their communities.

Applying COVID Safe Plans and new cleaning procedures, managing social distancing and contact tracing in our businesses, and staying on top

If you are not taking the restrictions seriously, ask yourself why and consider the risks you are posing to yourself and your industry colleagues.

Ultimately, we are all in this together, and one slip-up by one business could impact on us all. Don’t be the operator who lets everyone else down.

Daniel Leesong Chairman Tourism Industry Council Tasmania

5

RDG2004

CONNECT YOUR GUESTS WITH

TASMANIA’S WILD SIDE

Talk to us about how to become a referral partner.

6

03 6471 4300 GORDONRIVERCRUISES.COM.AU PROUDLY TASMANIAN OWNED AND OPERATED

MARKETING OUR DESTINATION FOR RECOVERY Like most businesses we have also planned our program around a range of scenarios.

It’s a flexible program that will enable us to turn elements on and off and swap out our creative assets to ensure we can optimise the market opportunity that is available to us and to enable us to respond to changing sentiment and conditions.

It’s exciting to be back out in market with our new brand platform ‘Come down for Air’ that we launched in October last year. This received a great response from industry and the market. Our brand is perfectly placed, it positions Tasmania as the antidote to the straitjacket of modern life which particularly for our audiences in Melbourne and Sydney has never been so tight. The next phase of this work is to show the variety of experiences Tasmania has to offer tapping into the yearning to get out and about and experience something new.

Road trips were starting to become more fashionable before COVID and with the flexibility, safety and an opportunity to revisit childhood memories of long family car trips they are very much back on the holiday list for many Australians. To tap into this growing demand we are launching a new self-drive touring program which includes three new drive journeys.

SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3

On Sunday 11 October, we launched the start of our biggest ever marketing program in the interstate market.

This program is designed to put Tasmania firmly within the minds of travelling Australians to drive demand and convert this demand into visitation.

Driving demand and supporting restoring access to the State are key priorities in the T21 recovery action plan and are at the heart of our work.

I

n such a fluid environment we have been closely monitoring the impacts of COVID on the travelling Australian market and our customers and how our destination is being perceived. This will ensure our program is going to hit the mark and work hard within a competitive domestic travel landscape.

Australian consumer sentiment has been impacted by lockdowns and second waves and the uncertainty that lies ahead. The feeling of trust and safety is at the forefront of our customer’s minds. Our most recent survey that monitors our brand has shown we have built considerable trust as a destination with our audience which will hold us in good stead as borders open.

We know there is still a desire to travel and to reconnect with family and friends. For some people travel will occur quickly while others will wait to see what happens once borders fully open up. The uncertainty with the opening and closing of borders, being stranded, travel protocols and quarantine as well as potentially losing money through having to change and cancel plans are all weighing on people’s minds.

It’s also leading to much shorter booking windows.

7

MIND THE NEIGHBOURS THEY POO ON THE LAWN

Honestly, you can’t go anywhere on Maria Island without being surrounded by them. Wombats.

Pademelons. Wallabies. It’s ridiculous. They’re everywhere.

Suppose that’s what happens when you turn an entire island into a wildlife sanctuary. You can hear them too, rustling about, singing to each other, munching away next to you, while you’re just trying to take in the old historic convict buildings and the windswept landscapes.

It’s very distracting.

Darlington Maria Island National Park

8

discovertasmania.com.au

SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3 Photo: Lisa Kuilenburg

Our Unordinary Adventures program will also showcase our mountain bike, golf, fly fishing and walking experiences targeting people who travel to pursue their passion and adds depth and breadth to our destination offering and appeal.

We are also looking to re-enter the New Zealand market which is likely to be the only international destination available to us at least in the first half of next year.

Our program is designed to leverage the similarities we have with New Zealand and show our neighbours across the ditch that our culture, heritage, wildlife and perspective on life is well worth the trip.

Our intrastate campaign ‘Make yourself at home’ has been in market since June and has been well received by Tasmanians who have taken up the call to get and about and explore our beautiful State. This program will continue until June next year to support industry while interstate markets rebuild.

While the world around us has changed, the fundamentals that make us such a special destination is our collective passion for this beautiful state and our close connection between people and place these remain core to our marketing program and the experience our visitors are seeking.

Keep up to date with our program via tourismtasmania. com.au or sign-up for Tourism Talk.

Emma Terry Chief Marketing Officer, Tourism Tasmania

9

IN FOCUS: RIDING THE STORM OUT

We’ve heard myriad stories of the financial destruction and despair that COVID-19 has brought to many businesses.

B

ut a number of Tasmanian operators have proven that you could find positives from the pandemic pain if you were quick to pivot in the crisis.

For Kerry Houston, the problem has been managed with a calm approach.

Kerry and her husband Alastair spent a year renovating Stanley’s iconic old 1840’s pub and transformed it into the increasingly popular Ship Inn Stanley in July, 2019.

They couldn’t believe it when the North West was hit by the state’s worst outbreak of the virus and their booming business fell silent.

“It was quite shocking. We had internal contingency plans in place for things like staffing issues or problems with the building but we had no contingency for a pandemic.

It had never crossed our mind,” she says.

“We didn’t know how we would come through the hardest lockdown in Australia at that stage in the North-West and thought we’d be seen as a pariah of Australia. Our social media followers dropped like flies at the time which was really interesting to watch people “unfollow” you.”

Kerry admits their response to COVID was not developed with a complex thought process or deep analysis.

“We had a mainland newspaper ring our PR person wanting to

10

do a story on what specials we were offering to encourage travel and we actually hadn’t thought about it,” she recalls.

“We remembered hearing one of the TICT podcasts which talked about offering a special discount of ‘stay three nights, pay for two’ because rather than devaluing your price you could maintain your price range but provide an extra night as a gift, which actually encouraged people to stay in the Stanley and North-West region for a longer period of time too.

“It’s been amazing - one weekend we thought we had the most expensive driveway in the country - there was a Maserati, BMW and Mercedes in the driveway and those people would normally be in the South of France or Croatia or cruising the canals of Europe but instead they were at the Ship Inn Stanley!”

“It was an unknown market but we just did it and haven’t really looked back.”

The Ship Inn Stanley expanded its offering during the enforced break, with the conversion of the adjacent old billiard hall to a guest lounge due for completion in Summer.

“For couples who are travelling together it is nice for them to have their own rooms but be able to meet in a communal space where they can bunker down and feel safe,” she said.

“You can’t worry about what is out of your control. You can only set up your safety procedures to the best of your ability with

SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3 Photo: Marnie Hawson

the resources available to you because you don’t want to be the business responsible for a cluster so that is a big responsibility.

“We have a lock box now instead of personally greeting each visitor with a sit down chat on arrival which gives flexibility benefits for check-in, so there have been little positives.”

Frogmore Creek implemented a successful initiative to keep customers engaged and workers employed during the height of the pandemic.

The Cambridge cellar door and restaurant adapted within a week, offering take-away with

a difference, says Business Development Manager Damian Mather.

“We wanted to continue to provide Tasmanians with the delicious food, beautiful wine and great customer service that we are renowned for,” Mr Mather said.

“We’ve never played in the sphere of take-away because we thrive on the relationships we have with tourists and locals that come in. But we pivoted to develop Frogmore At Home where we created a menu so our followers could replicate our dishes at home, even including garnishes from our

garden to complete the dish.

“We’ve got a great team of chefs and other staff who contributed ideas and our Front of House teams became delivery drivers servicing the routes, which really contributed to the success of the offering and became part of the connection to our guests.”

As restrictions eased, the business reopened in stages and is now opening five days a week at its Cambridge venue and also its city venue, The Lounge by Frogmore Creek under Macq01.

The Frogmore At Home concept is continuing and will 11

Photo: Frogmore Creek

be scaled back up if needed to cater for those not comfortable venturing out and about once borders reopen.

Kerry and Damian both say that there is a sense of optimism for parts of the industry and they are joined in that opinion

by Holger Strie, the Owner and Managing Director of Trek Tours Australia, which operates a number of outdoor adventure experiences around the country, including two in Tasmania.

Mr Strie says forward bookings are back to pre-Covid levels.

“We are planning for the long term because short term planning is very, very difficult and stressful in the current climate,” he said.

“Our bookings for nine months ahead are solid but we just don’t know when we will be guiding our next trip and we have to plan for a worst case scenario.

12

“If the border reopening goes smoothly and confidence builds up I am expecting it to be as good a Summer as last year.

“You have to expect the unexpected and thankfully we had had a really good 12 months’ prior so we had a good buffer. A lot of businesses probably capitalised on such a good climate and borrowed more money to expand but we were cautious that has helped us through despite not having much cash flow for six months.”

The extra time associated with closed doors has meant the Trek team has had capacity to deliver on planned diversification initiatives.

Prior to COVID-19, the business had invested in former forestry and farming properties at Glengarry and Exeter, on the West Tamar, in a bid to offset its carbon emissions.

“Our philosophy and story is all about how tourism businesses can impact positively on the environment and because our guides and our guests all fly everywhere we have a big carbon foot-print we want to off-set.

SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3

Trek Tours Australia

Trek Tours Australia

Photo: Marnie Hawson

“We bought the degraded properties and our guides have been kept in work helping to improve the soil and pasture and biodiversity. We have become primary producers with cattle, goats and sheep and tourism will play a big role on the properties once we are back up and running with on farm stays before and after trips.

“We believe we have an important role to play in changing perspectives on native forest logging on both sides of the debate through showcasing how careful management of biodiversity can increase carbon sequestration, conservation value and still maintain high profitability.

“It was always the plan to do it but we have diversified a lot more quickly to future proof our business. COVID probably sped up the project by five years.”

The trio proving how imperative it is to innovate and make the most out of a bad situation.

Words by Rachel Williams, Millwood Media 13

POLICY WATCH: A GLOBAL LEADER IN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Achieving our T21 climate objectives.

We are blessed to live in an amazing environment.

Over the last 9 months for many of us, this has been especially valued.

14

T

he Tasmanian Tourism industry has always valued our unique island environment.

During the T30 consultations becoming a leader in tourism sustainability particularly in relation to carbon emissions and the environment was one of the key areas continually identified by industry.

In the immediate term, priority 4 in the T21 Visitor Economy action plan prioritises becoming a carbon neutral destination and developing a program to support practical sustainability measures.

The opportunity for the Tasmanian Tourism Industry to be a global leader in environmental sustainability is a compelling one. We are arguably one of the best placed destinations on the planet to be able to credibly achieve key outcomes. Our predominate renewable energy generation, a small, connected community and existing quality of our environment positions us well.

Our visitors and potential customers are more and more seeking a light environmental footprint when they travel and selecting destinations where this is achievable. Being sustainable is important both for long term industry success and the wellbeing of our communities.

A program that delivers Tasmanian based outcomes is important as the impact of climate change and pollution impacts increase.

The environments that make Tasmania unique and support the visitor experience will require a more help to stay healthy in the future than they have in the past.

Engaging visitors as part of a sustainability program to be part of the solution is not only a great brand and experience opportunity but essential for the long-term Tourism economy.

The TICT and a reference group will, over the coming months, explore options of what a program to deliver priority four of the action plan could look.

Initial work has not identified an existing model that fully meets our needs. The opportunity is to develop a program that works for Tasmania. In doing this a few key principles are being used to keep on track.

The program needs to; deliver tangible outcomes; engage both industry and visitors; be measurable; be credible; be expandable; deliver benefits in Tasmania and be simple and transparent.

SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3

Carbon neutral - Tourism accounts for around 6% of global carbon emissions.

How do we become a carbon neutral or even carbon positive destination in a way that is credible, engages with our visitors and delivers real benefits in Tasmania?

To develop a solution we will undertake initial research and work to understand the size of the sector’s carbon foot print and develop options for how to get to carbon neutral for further discussion.

Sustainability - what visitors experience whilst in the state is key to support a brand position of being a sustainable destination. We will scope practical program areas for supporting the industry to reduce, waste, water and emissions.

There is a temptation to say, ‘we are dealing with COVID -19 right now let’s do it in twelve months’. However, becoming and being positioned as a global leader as a carbon neutral, sustainable destination is a significant benefit. It differentiates Tasmania in the market, supports the brand, generates positive media and can develop new skills that could deliver further economic growth.

Achieving our climate objectives are important now, particularly if we want to aim high and take advantage of being a potential global leader in this space.

Words by Melinda Percival

15

TOURISM PROFILE: DANIEL & SIMONE HACKETT

Tasmania’s remote wilderness conjures images of tranquility.

16

B

ut that perception has been shattered for one couple with a dream of combining conservation with highend tourism.

Daniel and Simone Hackett have been thrust into the political and legal spotlight as they fight to develop a small ecotourism business in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park, alongside an historic hut that they are custodian of.

Never did the couple think they would be subject to death threats and intimidation on their quest to expand their successful tourism business.

From the pinnacle of Australian Tourism Awards glory just a few years ago, to facing financial and emotional ruin, the Hackett’s say they’ve been vilified for using the State Government’s “Expression of Interest” process for tourism development in Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Areas.

Their vision seemed simple enough.

Daniel, who is now a director of the TICT, had fished since he was three, learning the intricacies of the sport in the Snowy Mountains with his parents. He met Simone while studying aquaculture at University and she soon fell in love with the pursuit, eventually becoming one of only four females in the Southern Hemisphere to achieve International Federation of

Fly Fishers casting instructor qualifications.

They started their business RiverFly in 2004 when the tourism industry was in decline - taking the punt with a one page website and 250 business cards, initially offering fly fishing day trips around the Northern Midlands.

In 2012 they were given a licence to establish a wilderness camp at Skullbone Plains, named after the dead bushrangers and escaped convicts found at the location, 10km northeast of Lake St Clair.

A standing camp was erected on the former Gunns land, now owned by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy. Their four upmarket huts were used 10 times a year by anglers as a base to fish Lake Ina and surrounding areas.

It was deemed a flagship product for Tourism Australia, used as a Signature Experience Program for marketing and in 2016 was awarded the Australian Tourism Award for a Specialised Tourism Service.

“It was the pinnacle of our business careers because it recognised our innovations, and we proved that a small tourism business operation could coexist comfortably with a World Heritage Area,” Mrs Hackett says.

The business boomed with never a whisper of discontent or dissatisfaction. But there

SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3 Artist impression of the Halls Island Standing Camp (by Cumulus Studio).

would be a dramatic deviation following the government approval of their EOI for a new ecotourism development at Hall’s Island on Lake Malbena.

Never heard of among the general public, the location will become synonymous with the great Tasmanian environmental debate.

Hall’s Island is around 8ha of land which can only be accessed via a 70m trip in a row boat.

On the island sits a historically important private hut built

by Reg Hall and Dick Reed in 1956, who explored, cut tracks, mapped and named key landmarks in the area.

The Hackett’s were offered

custodianship of the hut in 2014 from the secondgeneration owner, on the provision that the heritage of the building and the island would be promoted and protected for future generations.

“We agreed, on the basis that we could offset our costs and achieve the goals through a small scale, sensitive tourism operation, and that just happened to coincide with the State Government opening the EOI for tourism process,” Mr Hackett said.

They proposed to install four small pods about 30m away from Hall’s Hut - three accommodation pods measuring 3m x 3m and

communal pod measuring 5m x 4m to facilitate nature tourism such as bushwalking, historical interpretation and kayaking.

“The standing camp footprint is tiny, and it’s 15km away from the famous picture postcard part of the Walls of Jerusalem that 7000 people a year go to visit,” Mr Hackett said.

But nothing could prepare the couple for the fight they’ve endured against those opposed to the concept - with many angered by the use of helicopters to fly visitors to the area.

“If you are a recreational bushwalker you can go anywhere and bushbash 17

your way in to Lake Malbena across sensitive wetlands. But commercial operators are held to a higher standard. The only way that we can access the site in an environmentally friendly fashion is via a 9-minute helicopter flight, which also provides equity of access and diversity of experience to a wider range of visitors,” he said.

“We have capped the number of bookings to 30 a year which in turn deliberately restricts the amount of helicopter use we’ll require.

Only 60 days per year will feature flights, and our use is capped at a total 40 odd hours per year, flying along the eastern boundary of the TWWHA. The landing is outside of the national park.

We believe the impact is measurable and minimal.

“There are plenty of other tourism operators who conduct scenic flights over the area, but because we are landing to drop off and pick up visitors, it is regulated more much more strictly.”

The project received conditional State Government approval under the EOI process through a State Reserve Activities Assessment.

A Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act assessment was approved in September 2018, after 6 months and two public comment periods.

That approval was appealed by the Wilderness Society, which was upheld in November, 2019, on legal grounds.

A parallel planning process for a development application was also required by the Central Highlands Council.

18

One of the original Walls Of Jerusalem bushwalking maps, by Reg Hall (Supplied D Hackett).

Despite a recommended approval, the council voted against the DA at a meeting that ended with police presence to control crowds.

That decision was successfully appealed at the Resource Management Planning and Appeals Tribunal in November, 2019. However, the Wilderness Society appealed the DA to the Supreme Court in July 2020, unsuccessfully, and have since lodged a second appeal to the Full Bench of the Supreme Court.

“Tasmania is world famous academically as a leader of environmental conflict - don’t forget that it took Simon Currant 14 years to do Pumphouse Point, Saffire took seven years to get approval and the Overland Huts and Three Capes Track faced stiff opposition from the same groups,” he said.

This is the new frontier in environmentalism, it’s called lawfare, and at the end of the day the opponents will keep arguing the legalities and keep going in circles in an attempt to cripple us financially.

SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3 The historical Halls Hut (image A Gibson).

19

Simultaneously, the Tasmanian Land Conservancy have not renewed the Hackett’s licence for their original business at Skullbone Plains, 10km south of Lake Malbena and also in the World Heritage Area, in what they label a political decision.

“It’s an absolute absurdity, we generated $170,000 worth of cash and in-kind funding for the TLC and conservation. Now the TLC has put our business in jeopardy and put at risk three full-time equivalent staff, 500 associated room nights of accommodation and the associated business that generates for restaurants and cafes - the flow on effect of this decision is actually quite massive,’’ Mr Hackett said.

“There has been no explanation why.”

After five years of fighting, the Hackett’s say they are more determined than ever to succeed.

“We believe in what we are doing. The science stacks up, and we’ve followed the assessments to the letter.

Commercial tourism, high-quality presentation, equity of access and experience are all important goals of the TWWHA Management Plan,” she said.

“We have had many death threats over phone calls, and things stolen and vandalised.

I can deal with certain things but when you get Tas Police call and say they are 20

RiverFly’s standing camp at Skullbone Plains. (Supplied D Hackett).

concerned for your welfare, its is extremely concerning, especially when you have children.

“But we won’t give in to the ideological bullies. I don’t like extremists, and I am happy to beat them on the science, and I know that once we are operating Tasmanian’s will think it is great because it will be another sustainable and iconic product.”

As we go to print, the project is being reassessed with a third round of public consultation via the EPBC and a decision is expected in December.

The RMPAT appeal was heard in October and a decision on that is also expected before the end of the year.

Words by Rachel Williams, Millwood Media

Christmas is just around the corner, and the Hackett family is hoping for a miracle.

“We have already outlasted four state ministers and three federal ministers, and giving up is not in our DNA,” Mrs Hackett said.

Watch this space!

SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3

The Podcast Series for Tasmanian tourism operators and industry professionals.

60 Bite Size Conservations with our best and brightest, the influential and the inspiring in Tasmanian tourism.

Listen in the car, at the desk, in the shower, walking the dog…

Wherever and whenever suits you.

Best of all, they’re 100% FREE Stream from www.tict.com.au Or search for ‘Talking Tourism’ wherever you get your Podcasts.

Talking Tourism is an initiative of

21

10 THINGS ALL TOURISM OPERATORS SHOULD BE DOING NOW

PLAN

Where do you see yourself in the future? What will it take to get there? At what point exactly do you break even, make profit?

If your operating model has changed will this support you moving forward. Where can you reduce costs or outsource some of the work? Where do you see yourself/your business in medium to longer term? What do you need to succeed?

PEOPLE

Know the people you want to sell your product to. Look at your ideal customer and clearly articulate who that person is.

Then look at your product – are you meeting their needs in every way?

W

ith borders opening up, our industry and business should start to pick up soon. While 2020 has been a year we’d all like to pretend never happened, it’s important that we are all looking ahead and are focusing on 2021. It’s a time of opportunity to reset and recharge. If you haven’t already spent the time to work on your business, here’s a checklist of really important things you should be doing right now in your business, that all start with P!

22

POINT OF DIFFERENCE

Conduct a competitor analysis to find out what your competitors are doing. This will help find your niche and determine your unique selling point. Once you find it, own it.

Be undeniably good.

PROFIT

Your team may know HOW to do their jobs, but do they know WHY doing it a certain way is important and how this impacts your profit? Their actions not only impact your business, but also their pay cheque. And this is more evident than ever.

Right Now. A profit culture can drive your team’s performance to drive profit for your business.

PROMOTION

SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3

Audit all your promotional material and marketing activity – Are your promo materials the best they can be? Graphics, images, video, words. What’s your story? Have you told your backstory well, is it clear who you are, why you’re in business and what you offer on your website? What are you communicating to your potential customers? What sort of language are you using?

Are you making it easy for them to know you’re open and what’s on offer?

PARTNERSHIPS The power of partnerships.

Reach out and collaborate with like-minded business. Find the best suppliers – are you using Tassie products where possible?

Brand Tas, industry bodies, etc. leverage opportunities out of these relationships.

PROCESSES

POSITIVE IMPACT

Consider your impact – Are you giving back to the environment and the community? Are you Perfect your processes and get your systems sorted. How many inclusive in your workplace?

Do you support positive impact of the things you do in your businesses? Are your team on business are all in your head? the same page? What’s your Write the ops manual; write up all your procedures – complaints legacy? policy, online review response policy, position descriptions etc; Create templates that will help Keep everyone safe, we’re not you save time later. Ensure your COVID Worksafe plans are out of the woods yet. Protect in place and all staff are across it. yourself, your staff, your customers, your business and the reputation of Tasmania.

You don’t want fingers pointing at YOU if something happens!

PROTECT

PAUSE

Stop and breath. Take some time for yourself and reflect.

Are you contributing positively to your businesses and community,? Are you leaving a legacy that you’re proud of?

Find ways to celebrate yourself, your business and others within your networks - after all we are all in the same boat.

By Sam Denmead (Green Hat Tourism), and Jake Smith (Former GM, MACq01 Hotel)

23

TICT PARTNERS SUPPORTING TASMANIA’S TOURISM & HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Tourism Tasmania

Tasmanian Travel Guides

24

breathe life

into Tasmanian holidays SPRING | 2020 | ISSUE 3

We

1300 827 822 | www.tasvacations.com 25

Level 5, 29 Elizabeth Street Hobart TAS 7000 (03) 6231 2244 info@tict.com.au www.tict.com.au 26