Challenges for tourism development in the Region

Workshop Results: What are the key challenges for tourism development in the Sapphire Coast Region?

• ‘Us and them’ divide – local parochialism and apathy 

• Unlocking local experiences e.g. dairy farms 

• Knowledge of history and stories by locals (need local famils) 

• Unconnected villages / hamlets 

• Engaging with Indigenous people 

• Hearing the stories first hand - Get taken by a ‘guide’ 

• Funding for a building at Montreal Goldfields 

• Accelerating the connections – schools 

• Getting the message across the ‘gap’

• Identification of compelling and distinctive stories and experiences that can be developed in authentic products

What is missing ?

"hero stories"

On the 15th of March a meeting was held Sapphire Coast Cultural Heritage Working Group to mobilise the project. One of the key outcomes of the meeting was the identification of possible ‘hero stories’ for heritage tourism in the Sapphire Coast:

• Marine Discovery – the geological processes (meeting of two oceans) that create the abundance of sea life we have today. Links to science , research, and folklore.

• Naturally Inspired – tales of a creative energy stemming from nature; inspiring music, arts and culture; and events (e.g. Four Winds, Folk fest, etc) starting with the early poets.

• Killers of Eden – An amazing tale of humans and killer whales working together linked to whaling history, Indigenous heritage, and a violent past.

• The tyranny of distance – an unspoilt, protected and geographically secluded stretch of coastline home to great walks, ship wrecks, scenic drives (eg Tilba to Tathra) and a history of human courage (e.g. the sailors from Preservation Island and their journey to Port Jackson).

• Out of sight, out of mind – how Eden was to become the Nation’s capital and illegal trade and activities flourished away from the colonies.

• Inspiring endeavours – the history of trade and enterprise including indigenous trails (e.g. Bundian Way), the Matthew Munn story of Merimbula as a corn mill and enterprises such as Bega cheese.

• The Bundian Way – an ancient Indigenous trade route thought to be the oldest trade route on the planet linking the coast to the mountains.

• In the shadow of the mountains – the geological and ecological history of the fertile Bega Valley, the coastal strip and the mysteries of special natural places (Goolaga, Mt Imlay, Lake Wallaga, etc).

• Against all odds – the villages and communities of the gold fields, heroic tales, and how nature continues to shape the landscape.

• A Cultural Corridor – the coast road as an artist’s visual journey. 

• Paradise found – how for generations people have found their own ‘Garden of Eden’ on the Sapphire Coast with

its natural beauty and relaxed lifestyle.

Are there other stories that need to told or that better link the products and experiences in the region?

See page nine of Marks 1st report for a preliminary list of Sapphire Coast Heritage products and experiences. What is missing?

Mark's First Report

Mark Olsen has prepared a report on his workshop with the Working Group which contains the slides from his presentation  and the results of the groups response to the questions outlined in the last posting. You can download the report as a PDF. He has also provided a project overview with the time line and questions.  which you can also down load. Please feel free to circulate these documents to anyone you feel may be a stake holder or interested in this project. The project is working to a very tight time line - it is important you circulate this to anyone you think might be interested

EC3 and SCT Cultural Heritage Working Group Meeting

Mark Olsen from EC3 met with the SCT Cultural HeritageWorking Group this week and workshoped the project. He said that the challenge for the Sapphire Coast is to bring its heritage ‘alive’, to capture the attention of and engage the consumer. For this reason, the EC3 Global team have adopted a ‘story‐based’ approach to the preparation of the Heritage Tourism Strategy, including the development of iconic heritage story lines linking to precincts, journeys and experiences throughout the region.

The workshop was based on four key questions which each member of the working group was asked to respond to:

1. What are the three most important heritage stories/experiences in the Sapphire Coast Region?

2. Is there one heritage story/experience in the Sapphire Coast Region that only the locals know or is not currently shared with visitors but should be ?

3. What are the key challenges to heritage Tourism development in the region?

4. What does success in heritage tourism look like in the Sapphire Coast ?

The response was diverse and stimulating, with a surprising number of over laps.

The SCT Board was also asked to respond to these questions and the invitation is extended to anyone else in the community to contribute their local knowledge. This process of consultation with the community will continue over the next few weeks. Mark is preparing a report on the first workshop.

Consultants Appointed

EC3 Global have been appointed the Consultants to research and develop The Sapphire Coast Tourism Strategy. EC3 Global with ZOIK has pulled together a team of professional strategic tourism planning and marketing specialists to deliver a visitor focussed and practical Heritage Tourism Strategy for the Sapphire Coast region. The EC3 Global Consulting Team has extensive, practical experience in tourism master planning and destination management for tourism including the development and management of cultural heritage and natural heritage. The team has worked extensively throughout regions in Australia and has specialist knowledge of the planning, product development, infrastructure and marketing challenges and opportunities for the Sapphire Coast region.

ZOIK is a collective of skilled marketing and advertising professionals with the expertise to provide cost effective and innovative advertising solutions for the services industry. As a fully integrated creative agency ZOIK offers a team of senior advertising and creative professionals with experience in producing successful consumer communication projects. ZOIK has extensive experience in designing and implementing destination and tourism product marketing plans with measurable objectives, schedule of actions and itemised budgets.

The methodology proposed by the EC3 Global team, aims to deliver a practical strategy to deliver iconic heritage stories and experiences appealing to the Experience Seeker market. The aim is to link these directly to the branding and experiences of Australia’s Coastal Wilderness branding and experiences. It is their understanding that the Experience Seeker target market are motivated to immerse themselves in ‘stories’ and ‘experiences’ and that there is a need to deliver these in contemporary and innovative ways, rather than only selling ‘products’.

Expected Outcomes

The Heritage Tourism Strategy will, for each heritage element, where relevant:

· Identify high quality experiences at optimal locations

· Identify relevant experience, information, marketing, product and infrastructure gaps

· Provide strategies to address these gaps including relevant commercial and investment opportunities

· Identify labour intensive heritage management programs and package them in a form where they can be readily proposed in heritage employment grant programs (in particular the Commonwealth’s $65m Heritage Grants (Jobs Fund) program – see

http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/programs/jobs-fund/index.html

· Identify strategies for linkages between the heritage element on offer and other identified heritage elements in the Heritage Tourism Strategy and the presentation and promotion of the ACW brand

· Noting existing protected area management programs, identify any additional action that may be required to ensure tourism does not negatively impact on heritage values

· Provide a prioritised list of actions, time frames and responsibilities to ensure delivery of experiences

· Provide internet ready web page material (including information and images) that allows the strategy to woven into the SCT web site (linked to the promposed ACW site) and be available for inclusion on regional heritage related web sites (businesses and organisations)

Strategy Background

The project will produce a strategy to deliver cultural heritage tourism in the Sapphire Coast.

The Sapphire Coast has rich natural, Aboriginal and European historic and cultural heritage, and boasts magnificent outdoor recreation opportunities as well as spectacular world class coastal wilderness and forested scenery.

The region is a key component (along with Victoria’s East Gippsland) of Australia’s Coastal Wilderness National Landscape (ACW)

The SCT Business Plan has a section on Cultural and Heritage Tourism (Section 5.4) which discusses the nature of the Indigenous, historic, cultural and natural heritage in the region.

Section 5.5 outlines plans for new tourism product.

5.5.3 Cultural and Heritage Tourism

See section 5.4. In line with the socio-demographic trends (section 3.1.4) and emerging preferred activities (section 3.2.1) the Board will develop a program to enhance cultural and heritage tourism. The Board will in particular foster partnerships with community organizations and assist where practicable with the development of cultural events, artistic programs and the provision of information and interpretation programs.

The Cultural Heritage Strategy will compliment the Australian Coastal Wilderness initiative of the National Landscapes program and its target Market The Experience Seeker:

There are three things enunciated by Tourism Australia as being at the core of Australia’s global tourism appeal – our people, lifestyle and environment. There is also a global consumer who finds these assets appealing (Experience Seekers).

National Landscapes identify those areas that provide the very best of Australia for the Experience Seeker – people who travel to experience difference and like to “get off the beaten track” and immerse themselves in local culture. Importantly, the Experience Seeker also stays longer and travels more widely than other visitors – bringing greater benefit to Australia’s regional economies.

SCT wishes to maximise the opportunities provided by the region’s recognition as a world class attraction. This strategy is based on three elements:

1. Keep the target market longer

Having attracted the ‘experience seekers’ to the region SCT wishes to entice them to increase their length of stay with products that match their aspirations to learn, engage and experience. SCT believes that, within the NL core experiences there are a further suite of outstanding attractions in the region (particularly the region’s natural, historic and cultural heritage) that will be of particular interest this market.

2. If you are renowned to one discerning and demanding market others will follow.

SCT is motivated by the tourism axiom:

Get the message right for the few ideal visitors and the rest will respond- always. A cutting edge brand position statement with exceptional delivery of the brand promise will attract and audience to that brand whose depth and breadth will be astounding. (G Whitfield).

The basis of the strategy is thus, by getting it right for one demanding market (Brand Australia’s experience seekers), the offering will have a very high degree of relevance to a range of other potential visitors, domestic and inbound. The appeal of this element is enhanced by the finding quoted above that, re domestic tourism “ the largest average annual growth is in cultural and heritage activities, forecast to increase by 1.7% per year on average between 2006 and 2020.”

3. If the visitor is coming here for a top class event – keep them here

The region is becoming increasingly well known for quality cultural events, in particular the Four Winds Festival, the Merimbula Jazz Festival, the Cobargo Folk Festival and the Bermagui Sculpture on the Edge event.

The strategy will seek to provide a framework for event organisers to weave the region’s brand edge into their event presentation and promotion.