'It's all about the visitor experience'

Central Highlands Tourism and Events Forum27th November 2019

Matt Bron & David Morgans

Tourism and Events Queensland

Tourism and Events Queensland

“Inspiring the world to experience the best address on earth”

- Consumer Led -- Experience Focused -

- Destination Delivered -

Convert high value travellers from priority

markets

Market the best address

on earth

Maximise the value of

Queensland’s events

calendar

Grow aviation access

capacity

Optimise partnerships

Connect consumers with meaningful and

exceptional experiences

Strategic Priorities 2019-2023

Domestic High Value Travellers (HVTs)HVTs (travellers who spent >$2000 or $300 per night on their last trip) engage in domestic leisure travel, spend more than the average traveller on leisure trips, and are aligned to

our competitive offering

36

71

35

63

Interstate HVTs Intrastate HVTs

% of Visitors

% of Spend

% of Visitors

% of Spend

Source: BDA 2017

Queensland’s Experience Framework

Emotional Functional

How our guests feel What we do

Visitor Experience

The Functional Space

Observe nature

Live amongst nature

Add food to nature

Concepts not so crazy

What is tourism?

"Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes."

What is tourism?

“From the second we landed I knew that we were on to something. Time stood still, as if we had stepped into a brochure. We sailed, we snorkelled, we ate, we laughed, we stopped and took the time to truly understand how lucky we were. For the first time in so long I felt the weight of the world lift from my shoulders…..I'm on a holiday! This is how it's supposed to feel! This is what a holiday is!” Jetstar Magazine Nov 2012

What is tourism?

The power to change people’s lives!

A tourism ‘product’ is what the customer buys but the tourism ‘experience’ is what they remember and talk about………it’s the emotional feeling and connection that makes them feel like a valued GUEST.

•Emotional connection•Value•GUEST

What is tourism?

Emotional Functional

How our guests feel What we do

Visitor Experience

Value Proposition

Memorable experiences are about creating value.

Value is the defining factor.

When there is no difference in value people buy on price alone.

You can only compete on price for so long but you can compete on value forever .

Value

GUEST not customer

Service is what we do. HOSPITALITY is how we exceed guests’ expectations.

Great

Good

ONE OF A KIND

Customer Service HOSPITALITY

HOSPITALITY not service

Lower value Higher Value

Value of ‘Experiences’

What makes for a memorable experience?

1. Only in your destination

2. An inspirational story

3. The customer in the ‘lead role’

4. Multisensory – see, touch, smell, taste & hear

5. A ‘backstage pass’

6. Feel like a local

7. It’s authentic & genuine

8. Reflects your brand

9. The element of surprise!!!

10. Creates lasting memories

Memorable Experiences

Memorable Experiences = Emotional connection

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”Dr Maya Angelou

Stories and storytelling are at the heart of memorable experiences.

Emotional connection

Storytelling has the incredible ability to connect people on a deep, emotional level.

People want to hear stories that are relatable and trigger feelings within them.

We can’t create a world we can’t imagine and stories are the engines of our imagination.

= Story Telling

The Power of Stories

“Words are how we

think, stories are

how we link”

- CHRISTINA bALDWIN

“The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.” ― Brandon Sanderson

Great stories compel people to change

The way we

FEEL

The way we

THINK

The way we

ACT

The way we

BEHAVE

Stories demand an emotional investment.

Stories pique and hold interest.

Stories bring energy to the

message.

Stories cause us to take action.

How storytelling affects the brain

The power of stories & storytelling

The ROI of great storytelling

$1 shot glass purchased on ebay

Sold on ebay with a creative story for…

$76 !!!

7500% Profit

Storytelling Toolkit

teq.queensland.com/storytelling

Discover your story

GBR USPs

Size & Use Wildlife Conservation

Develop your story - TORE Principles

Create a THEME with a main point or idea.

The storyteller needs to be ORGANISED so that the story is easy to follow.

Two qualities make a story RELEVANT –that is they are meaningful and personal.

Create an ENJOYABLE experience – keep your audience engaged and entertained.

Deliver your story - Storytelling Techniques

The Monomyth The Mountain Nested Loops Sparklines

In Media Res Converging Ideas False Start Petal

Keep evolving - Customer Journey

Stories & story telling Stories & story telling

Stories & story telling

Coleman Sweeny – the power of a story

Coleman Sweeny – the power of a story

Why?

• USA 120,000 require organs

• 95% favour donation 52% sign up

• More women sign up than men

Target Audience

• Millennial (18-36) males; College

Technique

• Facts & figures not compelling, stories are!

• Disrupt their behaviour

• Direct, irreverent, humour, surprise

• YouTube only

Results

• Before: 149 registrations per day

After: 1,040 = 698% increase

• Before: 22% 20-34 year-olds

After: 52% = 236% increase

• Before: 20-34 men 26%

After: 56% = 215% increase

Benefits of Storytelling

Innovate without a

large expense

Improve the visitor

experience

Increase word of mouth

Generate

repeat

visitation

Attract

media

coverage

Promote

your

destination

“Don’t just tell a story….give a story to tell.”

The power of stories & storytelling

Thank you & Questions

Corporate: teq.queensland.com Consumer: queensland.com

blog.queensland.com

teq.queensland.com/subscribe

facebook.com/visitqueensland

@queensland #thisisqueenslandCorporate: @teqld

@Queensland #thisisqueensland

youtube.com/Queensland

Queensland to deliver a

world first

Best of Queensland Experiences Program

• Forefront of consumer expectations

• Foster trust in the brand

• Robust and transparent

• Recognise quality

• Visitor experience benchmarks

Best of Queensland Experiences Product Criteria

__

)

Best of Queensland Experience = 80+

Criteria Points

Consistent delivery of an exceptional experience (measured by ReviewPro = >80 out of 100 GRI)

60

Secure online booking platform 15

Active and engaging Social Media presence 15

RTO membership 5

Accreditation 5

Total 100