TTNQ Annual Report 2013 / 2014 Corporate Sponsors 2013/14 Platinum Members 2013/14 GOLD Members 2013/14 Airline Partners 2013/14 CONTENTS Chairman’s Report 1 Chief Executive Officer’s Report 5 2013/2014 Achievements and Events 10 ACTIVITY REPORTS Brand 11 Digital 13 Domestic 18 Media & Consumer Marketing 21 Japan 23 UK/Europe 25 China and Hong Kong 29 New Zealand 32 North America 34 Business Events 36 Sport Events 40 Aviation 42 Membership 47 Visitor Information Centre 49 Research & Insights 53 Destination Management 55 Appendices TTNQ Annual Financial Report June 2014 60 TTNQ Members 2013/2014 95 Chairman’s Report 2013 - 2014 Tourism Tropical North Queensland kicked some major goals in the 2013-14 financial year with the much celebrated success of being the first regional destination to host the Australian Tourism Exchange a highlight. The good news continued with the announcements the destination would host the G20 meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors as well as three UCI-sanctioned international mountain biking events. These events firmly signal Tropical North Queensland as a global destination for business and leisure. Our credentials are further enhanced by two major proposals, the $8.15 billion Aquis development at Yorkeys Knob and Singapore’s Aspial Corporation plans for a $200 million, seven-tower project on a 24,000 square metre site in Spence Street. Halfway through the financial year we farewelled our Chief Executive Officer of more than eight years, Rob Giason, who was responsible for steering the organisation through some of its hardest times. We acknowledge his hard work implementing TTNQ’s strategic plan to grow tourism in the region. After playing a role in the turnaround of our industry, Rob chose to pass the baton on. Alex de Waal ably stepped into the role and listened to industry before initiating the next steps to take TTNQ and the tourism industry forward. This includes the Destination Positioning Review, a destination experience and product gap analysis of each of the region’s markets, initiating a digital customer service training program and adjusting TTNQ’s internal structure to better reflect our changing industry. On behalf of TTNQ I would like to thank James Dixon who is stepping down from the Board after 10 years of loyal service. James has been deputy chairman, sat on or chaired strategic panels for the western markets, membership, sports and digital/website. In addition, he assisted with the recruitment of a CEO and has been the TTNQ representative on the Advance Cairns board. James has been an invaluable Board member and an enthusiastic supporter of the region’s tourism industry and I wish him well. Our four strategic objectives for 2013-14 were to: Grow market share and increase visitor expenditure Domestic growth continues on the back of two years of sustained marketing in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne with the 2013 ‘One day in paradise’ campaign and the 2014 ‘This is my paradise’ campaign. YE June 2014 total domestic visitors 1,626m. The destination experience and product gap analysis underway for each market will create opportunities for increased visitation in our international markets where figures have softened. Our recent and upcoming portfolio of international events including DerTour Reiser Academy will help with exposure, but the key to addressing this issue will be direct flights to Cairns. China continues to forge ahead and our challenge will be to increase length of stay. There is optimism that our traditional western markets with longer-stay visitors are returning with YE June 2014 total international visitors 689,059. 1/101 Domestic expenditure continues upward while international remains static as a result of reduced visitor nights. YE June 2014 total nights: • Domestic 8,739,000 up 9% • International 6,174,762 down 5% Strategic aviation growth With almost half of domestic visitors and the majority of international visitors accessing Tropical North Queensland by air, the continued development of our tourism industry is reliant on the success of Cairns Airport operations. Conversely the Airports’ significant investment in aviation services infrastructure is equally reliant on the success of the destination’s ability to compete for domestic and global travel incidence via TTNQ. This inter-reliance is understood by both parties and TTNQ is delighted to report that it continues to enjoy a highly productive partnership with Cairns Airport Pty Ltd. Cairns Airport invested in excess of $1 million into collaborative destination marketing with TTNQ. This partnership yielded a leverage ratio of airport investment of $3:1 through industry, Tourism and Events Queensland, Tourism Australia and various airline partners. The TTNQ Board also benefits greatly from the positive and sage engagement of the airport’s Board representative, its CEO Kevin Brown. TTNQ will continue to work shoulder to shoulder with Cairns Airport to drive robust sustainable aviation access to the region. Sustainable funding Sustainable funding has continued to be an issue for TTNQ where we punch well above our weight with 4.3 visitors per capita which is 16.5 times the national Australian average. Our $7 million a day industry employs 20% of the resident population. 2/101 Cairns Regional Council’s announcement of a significant increase of $1.1 million in funding for tourism marketing was warmly welcomed and I congratulate Mayor Bob Manning on his vision to use the Council’s surplus to invest in an industry that will continue to create jobs for the region. The Council’s support of our marketing enabled TTNQ to secure $623,500 under the Regional Tourism Organisation Contestable Grants Funding Scheme, the highest amount of funding for an RTO from the State Government. This will enable a total of $1.3 million investment in three initiatives: 1. This is my Paradise – domestic visitor advocacy campaign. 2. Drive North Queensland national campaign. 3. Race the World Championships - positioning of the region as Australia’s mountain bike capital. 3/101 Destination management partnerships Our destination management partnerships have grown yet again as we gather community and industry support to grow tourism in Tropical North Queensland. The valuable role our partners Cairns Regional Council and Ports North play in the tourism was emphasised when they joined us for Destination Q. Industry training is about to be taken to the grassroots level with a customer service training program to be rolled out not just for our industry, but for all businesses so their staff can add to the enjoyable experience visitors to our region have. We are working with TAFE to develop this program which will be available later in 2014.This program aims to build on the incredible community support we discovered for ATE. ATE presented an opportunity to continue our strong partnerships with Tourism and Events Queensland, Tourism Australia and Cairns Regional Council. Many new partnerships were created through a Local Advisory Group for this event which was formed to create a sense of community ownership of ATE as well as ensuring our delegates received the best possible welcome. The result was outstanding and hailed by many as the reason for ATE14 being labelled the best ever. Our team drew in a cross-section of the community including media, Cairns Regional Council, business organisations and industry to reach out to various sectors such as taxis, police and schools. It is a formula many are keen to try and one we will certainly repeat. TTNQ worked with Tourism and Events Queensland and Tourism Australia to host the first International Media Marketplace at Palm Cove prior to ATE14. This event gave the tourism industry the opportunity to meet with trade and travel media from around the world. Securing the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Cairns in April 2014, and again in 2016, as well as the World Championships in 2017 was a direct result of our continued partnerships with local councils, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and James Cook University. Our region’s mountain biking clubs also were critical in securing this event and we have been able to progress our relationship further with them by introducing the Ride Cairns brand to bring all marketing of the sport under the one umbrella. 4/101 Chief Executive Officer’s report Optimism returns The 2013/14 financial year has been one of consolidation for the Tropical North Queensland (TNQ) tourism industry with preparation for growth in the future. Despite several challenging years for tourism, which saw traditional markets soften due to the global financial crisis, reduced air access to the region and natural disasters, a groundswell of industry confidence is building. A sense of optimism is returning as global economies improve and China’s emerging markets begin to establish. Investor interest in the region was stimulated by the proposed multi-billion dollar Aquis Resort, while successfully hosting the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) and 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup buoyed industry confidence. Increased Cairns Regional Council investment is helping to build on this momentum. Our tourism future in the Tropical North is underpinned by some very significant positive global trends which Cairns and the destination of Tropical North Queensland are well equipped to capitalise on. The world has seen, and continues to experience, an erosion of the planet’s ecological habitats. The quality and biodiversity of TNQ’s natural assets represent our core destination value proposition and their value is destined to escalate exponentially. Our tourism management practices lead the world in terms of sustainability and while we face challenges with the health of some parts of the Great Barrier Reef due to industrial, agricultural and urban influences, Australia is in the best position - of all nations - to deal with these challenges. Global tourism trends indicate that tourists worldwide are developing increasing expectations for authentic and personalised experiences, often involving social interaction.