Regional Television Campaign

This has now commenced throughout regional Victoria with advertisements now being aired on all commercial stations. Shows include Masterchef, Sunrise, 60 Minutes and other prime time shows.
Metro Radio Campaign
This commences the 6th of July on 3AW in Melbourne. It is a generic advertisement with the calls to action being the EMT web site and the VIC toll free telephone number.

CARnival

There has been a lot of activity with regards to this major event. please click the link below for the latest CARnival newsletter.

http://ggg.com.au/clients/camsCarnival/04062010/

The entry booking page has also just gone live on the CARnival site as well.
Shortly there is expected to be a major announcement regarding the street event so watch this space.

Official Visitors Guide

Finally off at the printers with an anticipated arrival date of two weeks. There will be a public regional launch and a major distribution of this new look publication.
The OVG will also form the primary vehicle for a Visiting Friends & Relatives program inclusive of a ratepayer mail out.

Nature Tourism

Next week will be a very busy week regarding National Park launches and nature tourism.
Environment Minister Jennings will be attending for the opening of both Barmah and Gunbower Forests as well as for several meetings with the various stakeholder groups. EMT has been working with key Parks Victoria staff to explore several opportunities to create and develop selected nature tourism infrastructure projects within the region.

Events & Conference Planning Guide

We are currently investigating the feasibility of producing an appropriate events & conference planning guide. This publication will be used along with the OVG at the various trade and consumer shows to promote conferencing and events opportunities within our region.
The publication will be A4 sized and will compliment the new OVG in terms of design and feel so as to provide a related feel and professional display.
Shortly we will be seeking expressions of interest from Members and Stakeholders.

A French Flavour

Baptiste Pagniol has started a two month placement with EMT as part of his studies in France. Baptiste is in his second year studying tourism and business. Baptiste has been working on various projects and will be helping with a number of upcoming events, including The Winter Blues Festival.

Tourism NSW - Free product development advice

A reminder to NSW tourism businesses – free advice on tourism product development, marketing and distribution is available through Tourism NSW. Accommodation providers, hire organisations, tour operators and attractions can contact the Regional Tourism and Visit Sydney teams to discuss their businesses and seek advice on developing quality visitor experiences for new and existing tourism markets. There have been some recent appointments and changes at Tourism NSW.
Here are the current contacts:
Regional NSW product development
• Jenny Mitchell, (02) 9931 1471 jenny.mitchell@tourism.nsw.gov.au
• Sandy Wilkins, (02) 9931 1478 sandy.wilkins@tourism.nsw.gov.au

How $100 of tourism money helps our community and businesses.

It's a slow day in a dusty little Australian town.
The sun is beating down and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.  
On this particular day a rich tourist from down south is driving through town. He stops at the local Motel and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night.
The motel owner gives him keys to a few rooms and as soon as the man walks upstairs, he grabs the $100 bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.
The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer.
The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.
The guy at the Farmer's Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his drinks bill at the local pub.
The publican slips the money along to the local escort drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him "services" on credit.
The escort rushes to the motel and pays off her room bill to the motel owner with the $100.
The motel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything.
At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the $100 bill, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town.
No one produced anything. No one earned anything.
However, the whole town is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the Australian Government's stimulus package works.

Thought Of The Week

‘’Obstacles are those bad things we see when we take our eyes of our goals’’