Tourism on course to recovery
IT’S been said over and over, but 2020 has brought us challenges that none of us could have imagined.
Like you, my tourism business has been put into hibernation and I too am facing the challenges of navigating a whole new world of operating COVID-safely and working out how to make that viable.
Working out what markets might travel when, how to restructure my sales and marketing accordingly and how to meet new consumer expectations following what we’ve all been through in the past few months – and continue to face in international markets.
I’ve spent the past many weeks, like you, supporting staff, reconsidering my business model and plans, and thankfully watching that Australian curve flatten.
Now, while we still have many challenges to overcome, we are at a point of optimism. Australia has done a terrific job of handling this pandemic, and that is being recognised around the world.
Restrictions are beginning to ease in line with our good management of this pandemic to date and understandably must continue to be managed.
There are now some clear guidelines for businesses on what planning and documentation they need in place to operate, and the option of increased patrons once industry-wide plans are in place.
There is also much work behind the scenes to support event organisers, to track a road map forward for them, and consider what COVID-safe means for events.
What I see, is an opportunity for true innovation. We all know from our own experiences of lockdown that our outlook and our expectations have changed. That we may be slow to return to life fully as it was, and that we have new expectations around health, safety and hygiene.
We may also prefer less crowded experiences. So this is a chance for us to look at how we deliver experiences – whether those are boutique or large-scale tours, the way we provide accommodation, and of course, how we deliver events.
This is an opportunity to consider if what we were providing before, will still deliver on expectations in a postCOVID world. How we can innovate our product offering to provide something that meets new expectations, and importantly, cuts through in what will be an incredibly competitive environment.
From a TEQ marketing perspective, there has also been a necessary review of target markets, of campaign approaches, budgets and the way we support industry.
The team is putting the final touches on a campaign which has had multiple iterations as we anticipated what travel may be allowed when.
Importantly, the upcoming school holidays will be key to restarting intrastate travel and boosting economies across the state, and our campaign will be in place to support that.
We have teams working to support multiple government departments to support the tourism and events industry, including helping to staff a newly formed Tourism Response Team which sits behind the newly established business hotline – 134 COVID.
We’re continuing to work on our series of video and live updates to keep the industry informed and engaged with everything that is needed to know.
We also keep our dedicated COVID-19 web pages updated daily, breaking down the vast amounts of information to the key points tourism and events businesses need to know.
I want the tourism sector to know that TEQ’s board, and the entire team, are here to support all through this time and as we continue on our course to recovery, please continue to reach out to TEQ’s destination teams at any time.
I am certain more than ever that Australia and specifically Queensland has what the world now wants.
Fresh air, wide open spaces, pristine produce and authentic indigenous content all underpinned and powered by Queensland’s incomparable tourism operators.
I wish you all the very best in the immediate days and weeks ahead as businesses restart. TEQ looks forward to supporting everyone on that journey.
WE’RE CONTINUING TO WORK ON OUR SERIES OF VIDEO AND LIVE UPDATES TO KEEP THE INDUSTRY INFORMED AND ENGAGED WITH EVERYTHING THAT IS NEEDED TO KNOW