Amelia Lorentson, Noosa councillor
Noosa is world famous for its surfing destination, and it is one of Australia’s leading holiday destinations.
So then, why do we need to continue destination marketing of Noosa? Do we need more tourists?
And what happens if we decide to stop marketing Noosa?
I have sat on the Tourism Noosa (TN) Board for the last 3 years as the elected Council Observer looking for the answers to these questions.
These are my observations:
1. We live in the best place on Earth, and with that, comes so many different and high expectations, challenges and opportunities.
2. In Noosa, Tourism is everyone’s business.
Tourism is the number one economic driver for the region injecting $1.6 billion into the Noosa economy and the flow on effect of tourism affects almost every business in our region.
It also affects the health and wellbeing of our residents and our lifestyle. Positives include living in a vibrant community, having access to a beautiful natural environment and world class dining experiences, and the opportunity to be involved in a range of sports, arts and foodie events as participants and volunteers. Like anywhere there are negatives and they include congestion of traffic, and the impact on the quality of our trails, the surfing experience, our National Parks and the vibrancy of our local art and culture.
During my time as an Observer on the Tourism Noosa Board I have learnt several things from Directors who are passionate about Noosa, our environment and our economy. Two things that have stuck with me over the years:
1. The importance of data. That it is important for TN to keep investing in, applying and learning from real data- who are our best markets, what influences the propensity to spend, and how do we as a ratepayer, get the biggest bang for our ratepayer dollar? and
2. The importance of ‘experience’ protection. Protection of our environment, our beaches, our ocean, National parks, our trails, our river and our creeks. And that if we lose that ‘experience’, then we lose our edge and what makes Noosa such an amazing place to live.
I think the challenge for us is that our experience and environment is under threat, and once that is gone, then it is gone. Or our reputation is gone, and that is expensive to get back.
Another thing I have learnt is the importance of ‘looking back to look forward’.
The high spend small footprint, is the right direction for Tourism Noosa but we need to present it in a way that looks inclusive not exclusive, “a broad church, we need a heartbeat and a sense of one community”.
Marketing should be channelled towards certain demographics that benefit us. Not just rich people in Melbourne, but what the tourism industry refer to as the High Value Traveller – those that spend more in region, stay longer and disperse regionally. They enjoy, cultural events, food and wine, music, theatre, art, film festivals, surf festivals, sporting events – many of the things that Noosa is known for.
What I have learnt by sitting at the table is that as an industry and community we need to speak with one voice.
And that without this one voice, the destination loses its brand.
We need to deliver a co- ordinated and clear message to visitors about who we are and what we value. To enjoy and respect Noosa – our environment and the people who live here.
And that’s where Tourism Noosa fits in. It’s our one voice.
The Bill Siegel 2006 report, The Rise and Fall of Colorado, shows what can happen if we stop marketing a region with one voice.
If we market Noosa with many voices, then it becomes – ‘what’s in it for me’, rather than ‘what is the greater good for the destination’.
The success of Colorado’s tourism communities, like Noosa, was built over decades of promotional work.
Tourism Noosa have built an amazing brand, and now is not the time to ‘kill the golden goose’.
Since COVID Noosa has enjoyed good visitation but 2023 is already showing signs of slowing down and will be challenging for not just the tourism industry but all businesses as the flow on continues into our economy and we cannot just assume visitors will continue to come to Noosa.
Three thousand, two hundred and forty jobs depend directly on our visitor economy.
In 2020/21 3240 people were employed in accommodation and food services in Noosa in 2020/21 (13.8% of Noosa’s total jobs), making it Noosa’s second biggest single jobs sector, just behind health care and social assistance.
That number does not include, the many jobs indirectly related to tourism- retail, health and wellness, arts, weddings and events, hire and rental, and real estate which also rely on visitor patronage.
Tourism Noosa Funding Agreement- what’s new?
The new Tourism Noosa agreement provides enhanced governance and reporting in relation to expenditure of Council funding, whilst respecting that Tourism Noosa is an entity in its own right.
Tourism Noosa receives $2.52 million dollars from Noosa Shire Council and it is therefore critical that they demonstrate that they can administer it with probity. That is, accountability, transparency, and effectiveness.
Tourism Noosa are obligated to justify and account for their programs and activities to earn trust and prove reliability with the community by providing insight into their decision-making process.
The community expect it and so does Council. That is why our new agreement with Tourism Noosa has increased governance and reporting.
Another significant change to the Tourism Noosa agreement is the Destination Management Plan (DMP) provision.
The DMP (when completed) will inform Tourism Noosa’s future position in relation to the management of the visitor economy and tourism within the Noosa region.
TN might also be expected to implement aspects of the DMP which fall within its ambit as agreed between TN and Council.
Conclusion
Tourism Noosa exists for three reasons:
• To protect and develop the Noosa Brand;
• To deliver evidence-based marketing strategies and promotion that attract high-value visitors and achieve increased regional dispersal; and
• To provide their 600 plus members with value-added services.
Tourism Noosa does not exist to bring increased visitor numbers to the region at all costs.
Tourism Noosa do not target day-trippers in their marketing who drive to the region, cause traffic and car parking congestion and who spend less in our region.
If Tourism Noosa stops marketing, the one million plus day trippers who come here, will continue to come.
However, the higher -spending overnight visitors, particularly from interstate- many whom do not drive here, will go elsewhere and Noosa will then need to rely solely on second owners and wealthy residents.
To compare, the average spend per person of a day-tripper ($105) is less than 6 per cent of an interstate visitor ($1965).
We need a tourism industry that works with our community to manage and protect our destination.
And we need to deliver with one voice, a clear and co-ordinated message to our visitors.
The best managed destinations are good for the community.
And the best managed destinations are good for business.
And there is no team better qualified and able to manage and protect our brand and destination, than the team at Tourism Noosa and their 65 volunteers.
(Please note this is my personal opinion and does not represent the position of Council.)
