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Hi all,

I hope that the regional visitation is enough to keep the till turning over. Visitation in the last few weeks has been reasonably good based on conversations I have had with a few of you.  As mentioned previously, we are running a regional social marketing campaign which seems to be tracking well. But regional visitation is not enough.

We have been actively lobbying various Government bodies on a number of issues, mentioned in our previous eDM, and we are working with VTIC to push for clarity on a sectoral reopening schedule. We are seeking a relaxation of rules where it makes sense – the ‘blanket’ approach to restrictions is punishing specific sectors unfairly.  I’ll share more on this work in a week.

One key question is: when will Melburnians be able to come and visit us? Well, it won’t be October 19th. We should have a better idea within a few days I hope, but right now, if I were to guess, I’d say it’ll be another month or so – frankly, the patience of many is starting to wear thin. People are over this, and if the Government doesn’t start sensibly easing some restrictions, it will be interesting to see what happens. I’ll leave it there.

Ok, let’s dive in.

VTIC FREE programs
These are free and open to everyone – VTIC members or not.  They are well worth a look, but you need to act fast.

Tourism Recovery Consultations

• Businesses receive a 90-minute consultation with one of their experienced tourism industry consultants.
• Open to tourism, events and hospitality businesses
• The program aims to help businesses prioritise and organise their next steps and set some realistic goals to kick start your recovery. By the end of the session, you will determine at least 3 actions to work on.
• The program is open to 150 businesses – and they are nearly at the half-way mark already.

For more information, click here.

Tourism Digital BizKeeper

• A 6-week practical and interactive digital program delivered by Tourism Tribe.
• This program has been tailored for businesses that do not have a digital expert in-house – very much a foundation level.
• The program is limited to 50 businesses.
• Applications close this Sunday (18 October)

For more information, click here.

ATDW free listings extended to 31 October

The deadline to renew an expired ATDW listing or create a new listing free of charge has been extended. Of course, this is also offered as part of your $179 partnership package, and we are massively grateful to the huge number of you who have supported us and signed up in the last few weeks.

There is a free ATDW training session planned for 20 October.  Register your interest here.

Upskill my business

Small Business Victoria is offering small business owners training and resources to strengthen your business.  Employee wellbeing, cashflow management, business resilience are some of the topics covered.  It is well worth a look.  Check it out here.

DMT update

Website

Our new website is going absolutely gangbusters, with massive traffic growth and the lowest bounce rate I have ever seen on a website I’ve been involved with (and I have been involved with a few) and high engagement (time on site etc).  We are publishing new articles every week, helping with the SEO.  Partners: if you haven’t submitted your website business, please do so ASAP! Visit dmrtourism.com.au/business-listing/

Daylesford Macedon Life Magazine

We have (very) limited advertising space available in the upcoming summer Daylesford Macedon Life Magazine.  If you are interested in 1/3 page ad or a business listing (all other size ads are sold), please contact .  Content/material is due 27th October.

This season we will be publishing a total of 157,000 copies.

127,500 copies will be inserted into The Saturday Age on 14^th November, an additional 20,000 will be strategically dropped into letterboxes in metropolitan Melbourne, with a further 10,000 copies distributed between Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and throughout our great region.

If there was ever a time for us to do the magazine, it’s now.  So we are!

Region to Region

Our regional Facebook advertising campaign is up and running. We’re targeting our regional neighbour’s, stretching across our state.  With over 110,000 impressions thus far, we’ve had visitors motivated to explore and search for places to stay on our website. It’s part reason our website is going gangbusters, and again why it is essential to submit your listing.

Campaigns
Christmas is less than three months away, and it’s time to get in front of our audience, inspiring them with your gift ideas.  Introducing…drum roll…’Countdown to Christmas’, a new campaign that will create interest in our region and its products and give you the opportunity to reach a truckload of people.

Here’s how it works. Due to the way this campaign links to listings on our website, this competition is exclusive to our partners. It will commence on the 1st of November and run for 30 days. If you’re keen, you have to submit this form by next Tuesday (October 20^th).

Regional Tourism Review
Remember that?  Initially, the recommendations were to be released late last year. After being slightly delayed, the fires took centre stage and then old mate Covid came along.  So, quite sensibly, the review and possible restructure of regional tourism was wrapped up into the recovery work (and budget).  We should know within a small number of weeks what the future holds for our region.  Hopefully by the next industry forum…which will be in a couple of weeks via Zoom.  Stand by for details.

Cheers

Steve and the DMT Team