Dave assisted with the group’s overnight visit to Kapiti Island, now an internationally recognized conservation area. The team also visited stakeholders and projects in Taupo, Rotorua and Auckland.

The TRC Tourism team is working on a number of new projects with an emphasis on trails! We have recently been engaged to develop a strategic framework for the Royal Coast Track south of Sydney. The goal is to create a world class experience that will be attractive to the international market.

Across Bass Strait we are planning for a new series of trails starting in the Wellington Park and heading into forests to the north west of Hobart. Here we are looking at a range of opportunities for walkers, mountain bike riders, horses and trail runners.

Closer to home in the Snowy Mountains we are developing the signage plan for the Bicentennial National Trail which traverses Australia from north in Queensland to the south.

Charlotte tells us she is the maitre de (and MD) of the Destination Marketing Store.

With her big-picture thinking and no-nonsense attitude, Charlotte’s the perfect person to turn your marketing around and get the results you need.

Charlotte Prouse

TRC Tourism features on Charlotte’s website as we often work with her to identity and develop the experiences she dreams of in her branding, and she helps us with destination positioning and marketing for our work in destinations. We are one of  the services sold in the Store!

So check out www.destinationmarketingstore.com.au

Matt Stoeckel (TRC Tourism) makes some final adjustments before the start of the conference

It was a record year for attendance at the conference with over 200 representatives from local councils and associated services. Our trade exhibit gave attendees the chance to see getsmart in action and talk through its many applications at a local council level. Feedback was very positive. Conference delegates were impressed with the functionality and user-friendly interface of getsmart.  If you would like more information about get smart please contact us and/or have a look at the get smart website www.getsmartglobal.com.

Ski mountaineering in Krygyzstan

In February Dave Bamford spent two weeks ski mountaineering with friends in the remote Tien Shan mountains in Krygyzstan. The intense cold and blue sky days made it a great adventure. At the end of the trip Dave stayed on to undertake a top level review of Krygyzstan’s draft tourism strategy on behalf of UNDP. The remote former Soviet Union state has wonderful high mountains with great trekking and rural tourism opportunities including yurt stays.

With a population of 5 million and international foreign tourism arrivals of about one million, there are considerable opportunities for tourism to benefit the mainly rural communities. However, with political instability, little economic development and poor infrastructure, tourism development is not a priority at this stage – the annual national tourism budget is currently USD150 000. The country will benefit from a good website, skilled staff and some visitor centres. Dave’s review focused on establishing priority actions and key target markets (Kazakhstan, Russia, Europe and Asia).

A game of polo in Krygyzstan

Making fresh tracks in powder snow in Krygyzstan

Twenty businesses have registered for the Experience Development Program in the Flinders Ranges National Landscape. They range from mountain bike operators, pastoral stations, character hotels and pubs, to cafes, tour operators and accommodation providers. Between now and December 2013, these great people will be making all sorts of improvements to the experiences they offer visitors to the Flinders Ranges. Stimulated by motivational workshops run by Big Dave Staughton in November 2012, these tourism businesses are stepping up to the mark and receiving expert assistance with running tours, adding value, improving business performance and yield. The Flinders Ranges is a fine example of an industry that works well together. TRC Tourism is delighted to be working with them on this project.

Activities such as whitewater kayaking were prominent in specific locations like the Upper Otaki River and in the Hutt River Gorge, both are regionally significant resources. The other primary on water activity was fishing which occurred throughout the four river systems. The development of trails along the rivers has also provided an important recreational amenity for visitors and residents. The Hutt River has demonstrated the value of its river trail over the last decade and improvements to it continue to increase use (eg. recent sealing of the Hutt City sections). Restoration work on the Otaki and Waikanae Rivers by Friends groups has also created new walking and biking opportunities and better access to the rivers.

The Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP, expressed his pleasure at the new tourist attraction, acknowledging the hard work undertaken to get the project to this stage.  “This project was first identified in 2010 under the Australia’s National Landscapes program, and received $125,000 of Commonwealth funding through the Strategic Tourism Investment Grants,” Minister Ferguson said.  “An impressive amount of hard work has gone into this project, including from the Mt Buller and Mt Sterling Resort Management which matched the funding offered by the Commonwealth.”

Minister Ferguson congratulated the project team on a successful launch and wished them well in their bid to gain international ‘EPIC’ status for the trail, a distinction given to the best mountain bike trails around the world by the International Mountain Bicycling Association.

The Australia’s National Landscapes program is a partnership between Parks Australia and Tourism Australia that aims to achieve conservation, social and economic outcomes. The Australian Alps is one of 13 National Landscapes sharing in $1 million of funding through the Strategic Tourism Investment Grants.
For more information on the Australia’s National Landscapes program see: www.tourism.australia.com.

Strategic Tourism Investment Grants aim to benefit the tourism industry by providing targeted investment for nationally significant, innovative projects aimed at supporting Indigenous tourism, economic development or tourism employment.

The book, compiled by the charity’s President Caroline Richards and edited by Jules Stewart and Lisa Choegyal, goes beyond the usual focus on politics and war to examine the lives of the Afghan people and the forces which have shaped their nation. This project would not have been possible without the generosity of the contributors who in most cases wrote specifically for this ebook. Many risk their lives to research and photograph.

The foreword is written by Paddy Ashdown, who describes the book as “a true tour de force, presenting a wealth of expertise“.

TRC Tourism completed 3 projects in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2008 including the National Tourism Strategy in 2006.