Our 2021 International Toilet Tourism Awards are open for business. Yes, it's time to talk dirty again! Or maybe that should be clean? Why should you enter? Here's 3 great reasons: Toilets are a key brand asset for tourism Over the years at MyTravelResearch.com we have seen how important great toilets are as a brand asset. They literally tell customers whether or not your destination or business is thriving. Indeed as Ged Brown of the Low Season Traveller Podcast mentioned when we caught up on the awards last week that is … [Read more...]
The Post-Covid Future for Grey Nomads
Have we reached the end of the road for the Grey Nomad experience? In this post, we look at what's really going on for this important market It's almost too obvious to be worth saying that everything has been upended by covid-19. Currently, Australians are trapped not just within their national borders but their own states. NT has said that its borders may not open until 2022. And we’ve been hearing about the devastation of retirement savings for older travellers. And of course, we know that being older is strongly correlated to being … [Read more...]
Content Marketing Can Make Your Tourism Business Resilient
When the going gets tough, the tough (should) get marketing We in the tourism industry can sometimes feel life is really hard for us. The pressure can feel unremitting: economic pressure shocks like terrorism (I am writing this a few weeks after the attacks on New Zealand and Sri Lanka). So when I am advising small businesses and destinations, they’ll often say they find it hard to find the time to do marketing. In particular, time to do marketing consistently i.e. the regular posting of videos, newsletters etc., But there is one very good … [Read more...]
Help us shape the future of tourism in Central Australia
Tourism Central Australia (TCA) is conducting a review of its structure and organisation. It is inviting all members of the travel and tourism community who engage with or care about the Red Centre to participate. We're conducting the review on their behalf and there are lots of ways to engage How you can help Complete a questionnaire (click the link that best suits you) TCA members: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TCAmembers Former TCA members: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TCAlapsed Other businesses in the region: … [Read more...]
Nominations Open for ARTN MyTravelResearch.com YTP Award 2016
It's that time again...But nominations are now open for the ARTN MyTravelResearch.com Young Tourism Professional Award. If you are under 30 and driving the future of regional tourism in Australia have the opportunity to grow that on a larger stage. The programme includes mentoring from Bron and I, a $2,000 bursary we provide to support professional development as well as the chance to sit at the table as an ex-officio member of the ARTN Board. And of course there's the title!If you are now a Young At Heart Tourism Professional rather than a … [Read more...]
Talking dirty: how toilet tourism can change the world
Every year I love reading about the Ig Nobel Award. This is an international science award that every year recognises a great truth about humans. If we can make an emotional connection to an issue, we are more likely to do something about it. The idea of the award is to recognise science that ‘first makes you laugh and then makes you think’. The same is true of #toilettourism: the impact that toilets can have on the visitation of a place. Whenever we talk about it – including when Bron published her piece last year on the subject - people … [Read more...]
Developing and managing dark tourism
Late last year I spent a few days in Medellin (Colombia). For many people, the name Medellin will be associated with the ultra-violent rule of the cocaine cartel chief Pablo Escobar. In fact, over the last 20 years, Medellin has undergone a remarkable and heartwarming transformation. But that link to Escobar remains through the emergence in tours to key sites associated with him - dark tourism. What is Dark Tourism? The tour is one of a growing body of experiences known as ‘dark tourism’: defined as any travel associated with death, … [Read more...]
How Culture and Heritage Tourism Boosts More Than A Visitor Economy
Culture and heritage tourism plays a critical role in building the visitor economy and goes even beyond that. A recent survey showed that over 50% of respondents polled agreed that history and culture are strong influences on their choice of holiday destination. Culture and heritage tourism is a fast-growing and high-yielding sector Statistics also indicate that culture and heritage tourism continues to grow as rapidly, especially in OECD and APEC regions. We estimate the direct global value of culture and heritage tourism to be well over … [Read more...]
How Indian Tourism Can Be Increasingly Incredible
No longer a slumbering giant, Incredible India is thoughtfully attracting varied tourism markets with an increasingly sophisticated marketing strategy. But there’s always room for more ‘incredibleness’ What are the drivers of increasing tourism to India? I’m feeling guilty. Since returning from Australia Business Week in India in mid-January I've written a lot about how Australia can profit from the source market opportunity that India represents. But I didn’t join the trade mission for that reason. Our purpose was to extend the … [Read more...]
ANZAC Day Reflections for Business and Tourism
Each year I revisit this post around Anzac Day (25th April). Every ANZAC day reflections / lesson is still valid. In 2021, these lessons are perhaps more valid than ever as we tackle the largest pandemic since the Spanish Influenza pandemic that followed World War One. I'd love your feedback - which tourism lessons resonate for you? Powerful experiences lead to deep reflection In September 2012, I visited the Gallipoli peninsula and the sites of the Gallipoli offensive. It was for me an incredibly moving experience. My grandfather … [Read more...]