Destination Action Plan 2015–2017 November 2014

12 APOSTLES

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Images used within this document are supplied courtesy of Visions of Victoria. Cover page image by Mark Watson. All other photographer credits refer individual images.

AcknowledgmentsThe development of the 12 Apostles Destination Action Plan has been facilitated by Great Ocean Road

Regional Tourism Ltd.

The process brought together representatives from all stakeholder groups that benefit from the visitor

economy; local government, state government agencies, industry and the community to develop a

plan. This Plan seeks to identify the challenges and opportunities facing the 12 Apostles and to establish

achievable affordable priorities that if delivered would increase the 12 Apostle’s competitiveness.

Specifically we would like to thank the individuals that participated in the plan development process:

Facilitators

Liz Price

Bill Fox

Mark Cuthell

Terry Binder

Sean Fitzpatrick

Chris Maguire

John Maher

John McInerney

Richard Nessler

David Pope

Andrew Stubbings

Carolyn Woods

Matt Bowker

Tim Marwood

Julian Benson

Josie McInerney

Sarah Hellesey

Neil Trotter

Tanya White

Melanie Pollock

Destination Action Plan Leadership Group

PO Box 1467 Warrnambool Victoria 3280 t 03 5561 7894 e info@gort.com.au www.greatoceanroadtourism.org.au Imag

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IntroductionGreat Ocean Road Regional Tourism Ltd is undertaking the preparation of a Tourism Strategic Master

Plan for the Great Ocean Road region which extends from Torquay in the east to the South Australian

border in the west.

A core strategy is to recognise that visitors to the region are primarily attracted to destinations and

experiences. Therefore the development, marketing and management of the regions destinations is

pivotal to the success of the whole region.

This Destination Action Plan for the 12 Apostles identifies priority strategies and actions which if

implemented over three years will enhance the competitiveness of the destination. These strategies

will also be reflected in the Tourism Strategic Master Plan for the region to facilitate regional

collaboration and cooperation.

The Plan has been prepared by a facilitated workshop process involving business and community

representatives who considered and reached consensus on tourism development, marketing and

management opportunities and challenges. The group then identified and agreed on the key

priorities and actions that would make a positive difference to the growth and sustainability of the

visitor economy and experience.Note: The initial workshop focused on the broader region of the Corangamite Shire. Having facilitated the first session Liz expressed concern that the differences in the regions and their priorities were difficult to represent in one plan. It was agreed that a separate plan be developed for the northern part of the Shire.

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The visitor economy Visitors to Port Campbell are major contributors to the strength of the local economy.

The visitors may be leisure travellers (domestic and international), visitors to friends

and relatives, holiday residents, business visitors, students or day-trippers.

Their expenditure is new money contributed to the local economy which supports jobs,

real estate value and the provision of services, facilities and activities in the community.

The total tourism contribution to the Great Ocean Road region is $1,832 million, 20,000

jobs, 11.1% of Gross Regional Product and 11.6% employment share.

SOURCE: Victorian Regional Satellite Accounts 2011-12 produced by Deloitte Access Economics.

Corangamite Shire statisticsThe Corangamite Shire attracted 90,000 domestic overnight visitors [a 3.2% drop on

the previous year], representing a market share of 5.3% of total visitors to the Great

Ocean Road – 1.7 million domestic overnight visitors (YE December 2013). Visitor nights

data is unavailable for the Shire as it is statistically unreliable for the five year time

periods. Yet statistics indicate that for the YE December 2013 domestic visitors stayed

on average 2.3 nights in the region. They spent on average $130 per night in the region

(Total $27 million).

SOURCE: National Visitor Survey, YE Dec 2013, Tourism Research Australia).

International overnight travel statistics to Corangamite were unavailable.

ObjectivesThe common objectives for tourism are:

1. To increase visitor numbers

2. To increase visitor length of stay

3. To increase visitor expenditure

4. To increase visitor dispersal (geographically and seasonally)

5. To increase visitor satisfaction plus

6. Retain and leverage iconic status of Great Ocean Road

from both a national and international aspect.

Critical to the success of the Port Campbell Region is the need to

increase length of stay as this will lead to increased expenditure

and increased dispersal. To facilitate increased length of stay,

marketing and promotion must provide more detailed information

on the breadth and depth of product available.

To transition the perception of the destination, as a passive photo

opportunity, greater emphasis needs to be given to detailing

what there is to see and do; to experience the best of what the

destination offers.

Current visitation must be underpinned by excellence in customer/

visitor servicing and all operators need to maximise opportunities

to on-sell product and experiences within the region.

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Our collective strengths§ Internationally recognised site (12 Apostles)

§ Promoted by Tourism Australia

§ Expanding food/local produce

§ Operators with experience in supply side to international markets

§ Opportunity to work more collaboratively with hinterland suppliers

§ Significant number of visitors coming to Port Campbell.

Our valuesTo be a connected and engaged destination that welcomes visitors and shares

with them the opportunity to escape the everyday and immerse themselves in

the experiences, the produce, and the activities provided through the diverse

natural landscapes.

Image: Robert Blackburn

Image: Robert Blackburn

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1. To increase the length of stay (=$)

2. Lack of investment

3. Visitor servicing

4. Decay of assets

5. Community apathy

6. Free camping – How do we manage – benefit from?

Our challenges

§ To increase the length of stay – to promote Port Campbell and surrounds as a destination, not a stop off

§ Lack of both public and private investment both from a development and maintenance perspective§ Ability to influence asset owners i.e. Parks

Victoria

§ Inconsistent visitor experience § Poor customer service exacerbated by a lack

of trained and skilled staff

§ Decay of key assets compromising quality of visitor experience – i.e. 12 Apostles and Gibson steps

§ Community apathy to tourism – active negativity towards any development

Other Priorities

§ Marketing§ Lack of knowledge of the current visitor

market§ Lack of a collaborative approach to

marketing

§ Perception of the destination as a day trip destination – more than 12 Apostles

§ Depth of product – lack of product to compliment natural attractions

§ Events

§ Lack of public transport, access within the region

§ Sustainability of assets

§ Lack of diversity of accommodation

§ Ability to cater for the growth of key international markets i.e. Chinese

§ Lack of a sense of welcome, arrival.

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§ Current visitor numbers including internationals – significant numbers to tap into. HOW?

§ China/India – awareness of markets, meeting expectations, providing a welcoming experience

§ United focus of land managers Parks Victoria, Corangamite, Moyne

§ Shipwreck Coast Master Plan – short term priorities

§ 12 Apostles’ Trail – circuit walk in a linear park (model for trail management – disjointed, no collaboration)

§ Spade ready sites for development§ C30 amendment sites – investment attraction§ Discuss with Parks Victoria – short term opportunities/priorities

§ Visitor Information Centre relocation – develop proposal around Visitor Experience Centre

§ Port Campbell suspension bridge project?§ Reopening of blow hole

§ Boardwalk around Peterborough

§ Detailed community plans – Corangamite website (Gary Moorfield) http://corangamite.vic.gov.au/index.php/community-planning

§ Should a user pays model be implemented? i.e. 12 Apostles etc.

§ 12 Apostles Food Artisans Trail

§ Shipwreck Coast Master Plan§ Opportunity to advocate collectively to attract investment

§ Changing the way the park is curated could change the day trip market to a higher yielding overnight market

Short term

Longer term

§ Targeted product development including:

§ Events – foodie event i.e. pedalicious§ Farm gate

§ Collective and collaborative marketing

§ Community education and awareness and importance of the visitor economy to the region = jobs

§ Greater emphasis on touring – options within the hub or Port Campbell

§ Customer service training and up-skilling – ongoing not a one hit wonder – reputation management/mystery shopping – how do we do differently to capture the people that need it?

§ Population attraction – create competition – change culture – live the dream

§ Staff attraction – almost full employment – not the population base to choose from

§ Greater collaboration, cooperation and interaction between operators

§ Greater emphasis on attracting repeat visitation

§ Missed opportunity to showcase assets i.e. event at 12 Apostles – Shakespearean plays at Loch Ard, Amazing Race

§ Streetscape project – Port Campbell.

§ Targeted product development including

§ Adventure product§ Restaurant/café options

§ Greater emotional connection – health and wellbeing

§ Growth in key international markets i.e. Chinese

§ Staff training – consistent – ingrained in business and industry philosophy.

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Characteristics Rating Comments

1. Strong local organisations focused on their core role of visitor servicing 5.3

2. Strong regional organisations focused on their core role of regional marketing and development 5

3. Local government support 5.9

4. Strong, consistent and effective leadership by individuals or organisations 5.4

5. Strategic planning for the region with economic, social, environmental and cultural objectives supported by local destination plans

6.1 Region has focussed a lot on planning, need to focus on delivering outcomes.

6. Consistent visitor service excellence 4.7

7. Research driven cooperative marketing 4.6

8. A breadth and depth of tourism infrastructure, experiences and events matched to market demand 4.1

9. Risk management plans in place 3.3

10. Supportive communities which understand the value of tourism. 3.9 Community apathetic or negative to tourism development. This is an impediment to growth.

Diagnostic rating

Industry research has established that the

following factors are present in successful

destinations that are achieving the above

objectives. The workshop participants

considered these factors relative to Port

Campbell in reaching consensus on the

priority strategies and actions. A focus

on continuous improvement of all these

factors will contribute to the competitive

growth and sustainability of the visitor

economy of Port Campbell.

Success factors

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Action Plan implementation The following Action Plan outlines priorities and actions as a guide for Great Ocean Road Regional

Tourism Ltd, 12 Apostles Business & Tourism Association and the Corangamite Shire Council to

collaboratively and cooperatively implement the Plan. To facilitate this, an Implementation Leadership

Group of representatives will be formed. While the Plan identifies primary organisational responsibilities

and in many cases joint responsibility, it is reasonable to expect that the Implementation Leadership

Group will consider and review this progressively. One key consideration will be the availability and

securing of resources to progress the implementation of the Plan in a timely manner. It may also be

appropriate and necessary to involve other organisations and to seek funding for specific projects.

The Plan does not commit any organisation to the actions proposed but is a guide to pursuing priorities

and actions which will make a positive difference to the achievement of the tourism objectives noted

above.

The priority actions have been assigned a KPI priority rating as a guide. These ratings are:

HIGH within the first year

MEDIUM within one to two years

LOW within three years

Progress of implementation of the Plan will be undertaken annually by Great Ocean Road Regional

Tourism Ltd in consultation with the Implementation Leadership Group. This may result in a revision

and updating of the Plan. Regardless, a new plan will be prepared in three years.

The Destination Action Plan will provide input to the preparation of a Strategic Master Plan for the

Great Ocean Road region.

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Actions Responsibilities Priorities

Short term (some early wins – those things you can readily influence). Product development priorities:

1. 12 Apostles Trail project (1) a. Provide greater clarity around what the product is. Prepare a project outline and communications strategy and communicate

the product potential (1 page snapshot)

b. Prepare a business case

Corangamite Shire Council, 12 Apostles

Project Steering Group

12 Apostles Business & Tourism Association, 12 Apostles Food Artisans

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i. Project outline – redefine

ii. Description of projects/actions

iii. Projected costings

iv. Project communication

v. Prioritising

vi. Management structure

‘PRIORITY 1

Develop new products and experiences targeted at the needs of current and future visitors that encourage increased length of stay.

It was identified that the region needed significant investment in new product development to meet the changing needs of the market and to encourage increased length of stay. Critical is the development of a more diverse range of accommodation including larger scale accommodation to accommodate the group market. Additional products identified included active, adventure, health and wellbeing, events etc as well as greater diversity in the food offering including the need for an emphasis on ‘local’ seafood i.e. crayfish.

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Actions Responsibilities Priorities

2. Develop local products and experiencesa. Consolidated desktop analysis of Great Ocean Road Destination Management Plan 2011 piece for Corangamite to facilitate a

product gap analysis/opportunity analysis

i. Product gap analysis/opportunity analysis1. Activities – sea kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, weather and condition proof boating, soft adventure, (market plan should

direct what is developed here – what is domestic or key internationals looking for?

2. Health and wellbeing – spa and wellness in key natural iconic environments – connectivity with food artisans

3. Seafood experience

4. Cultural program

b. 12 Apostles Food Artisans Trail (2)

i. Encourage the development of new products/farm gate experiences

ii. Increased and improved signage

iii. Marketing and communication both internally and externally food, culture and wellbeing

c. Support geothermal spa potential – feasibility study

Corangamite Shire Council, Local Tourism

Associations, Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism Ltd

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3. Develop an events plan and an events committeea. Review, identify and develop or attract events i.e. – Shakespeare at Loch Ard

b. Identify the challenge due to the size of community in building events i.e. lack of volunteers

c. Undertake an audit of current calendar of events (Corangamite Shire Council)

d. Undertake an analysis and assessment of events that have ‘tourism’ growth potential/enhance/sustainability

e. Assess opportunity timing/product gaps for new events

f. Investigate event management tools/risks – re sustainability assessment, burnouts/$$/capacity

Corangamite Shire Council, Local Tourism Associations,

Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism Ltd

Longer term (strategic and reliant on government/investor funding – where you have little influence)

1. Support ongoing projects identified through Shipwreck Coast Master Plan.

PRIORITY 1 cont.

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Actions Responsibilities Priorities

1. Develop a basic marketing plan/framework

§ Opportunity to develop ‘in-region’ research collection project – Monash University vs Deakin University – program.

12 Apostles Business & Tourism Association,

Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism Ltd to

assist

High

There was a general consensus that the visitor market was rapidly changing and a greater emphasis needed to be placed on understanding the changing market, their motivations and implications from both a marketing and servicing perspective.

There is a need to consider basic marketing plan to determine – who is coming (domestic/international) and why, and how can we reach these markets, and how can we encourage them to stay longer? Develop Brand positioning for Port Campbell and surrounds.

The region suffers by way of limited opportunities for encouraging visitor expenditure.

PRIORITY 2

Develop a research/evidence based foundation to decision making.

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Actions Responsibilities Priorities

Short term (some early wins – those things you can readily influence). Product development priorities:

1. Implement a visitor service excellence program for business – capacity building, training, mentoring, including opportunity to undertake familiarisations to showcase good businesses/ good customer service examples. Program to include:

§ Start of season familiarisations for new staff

§ Timboon Agricultural Project P–12 built on partnerships and mentoring – a new approach

§ New opportunity – businesses mentoring businesses

Plan to also consider:

§ Awards /Speakers /Timboon Agricultural Project/Targets/ Partnerships/Events.

Consider harnessing the power of potential through a program like the Great South Coast leadership program – for youth – i.e. City kids – country experiences program?

Develop a committee led by 12 Apostles Business & Tourism Association,

South West Tafe Businesses

Medium

‘PRIORITY 3

Develop a seamless visitor service excellence culture, capacity and capability.

It was identified that the Visitor

Information Centre provides

excellence in visitor servicing but

the service offering across the

region was at best inconsistent

but on the whole a poor

experience. To increase both

length of stay and expenditure

this needed to be prioritised.

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Actions Responsibilities Priorities

1. Develop a Plan that will promote the value of the visitor economy. Plan to consider:

§ Encourage opportunities to facilitate positive tourism messages

§ Media training for key staff – writing media releases, managing controversy, and identify spokespersons

§ Conduct local tourism forums

§ Open day – ‘Visit your own backyard’ concept

§ Investigate ‘Local’ strategy – Great Ocean Road card – free or discounted entry to key attractions.

Local Tourism Associations, Visitor Information Centre, Corangamite Shire

Council

Medium

‘PRIORITY 4

Promote the value of the visitor economy to the community.

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Actions Responsibilities Priorities

1. Consider § Events/familiarisations

§ Advocate for transport options – connectivity i.e. rail, Warrnambool airport, Avalon airport.

All Ongoing

‘PRIORITY 5

Establish partnerships with other destinations within the Great Ocean Road region for mutual cooperation and to encourage visitor dispersal.

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Actions Responsibilities Priorities

1. Explore the Opportunity to increase support for the local associations and increase participation by developing Twelve Apostles Tourism and Business Association – encourage operators from across the region to actively participate. (Consider long term sustainability incorporating a representative from the other organisations within the region).

Local Tourism Associations

Medium

2. Ensure sustainability of the organisation to reduce burn out and maximise opportunities. Local Tourism Associations

Medium

‘PRIORITY 6

Strengthen the role and performance of local tourism organisations.

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Actions Responsibilities Priorities

1. Review the existence and completeness of risk management plans to include the visitor economy. Corangamite Shire Council

Medium

2. Prepare a specific visitor industry risk management plan including risk identification, mitigation, impact minimisation and recovery.

Corangamite Shire Council, Local Tourism

Associations

Medium

3. Communicate and regularly review the plan. Corangamite Shire Council, Local Tourism

Associations

Medium

‘PRIORITY 7

Develop and implement a risk management plan.