Tourism Australia’s Signature Experiences of Australia – a programme which supports industry collaboration across a variety of special interest sectors – made its debut in South-east Asia at a media showcase in Singapore on March 21.
Currently, the eight special interest sectors are golf holidays, guided walks, premium wineries, luxury lodges, fishing adventures, wildlife journeys, cultural attractions, and Aboriginal-guided experiences.
Ann Lim, country manager Singapore, Tourism Australia, details the Signature Experiences of Australia programme (Photo: Rachel AJ Lee)
Karen Fitzgerald, general manager experiences, Tourism Australia, explained: “Each of these collectives represent a number of operators that specialise in their particular sector. What we have through (Signature Experiences of Australia) is access to over 190 businesses that altogether offer 750 experiences.
“The powerful thing about this programme is it is not just these businesses in the programme that benefit, but these (operators) collaborate and partner with another 8,000 businesses across Australia (especially in the regional areas), so the halo effect of this is really broad.”
There are plans to launch a new agri-tourism collective, focused on farmers and producers, in about a year’s time.
Fitzgerald elaborated: “One of the things that came out of our post-lockdown research was the desire for wellness and well-being, and understanding the provenance of our food. (We found that) travellers wanted to know what they were putting into their bodies, where was it from, and the food miles (it travels), as sustainability is important to all the collectives.”
Luxury travellers these days, Fitzgerald added, are not just looking to align their passion points, but also have transformational experiences. “I think it will be enticing for travellers to Australia to meet with the producers and farmers, and learn more about the broad range of local products available,” she opined.
When asked how could businesses apply to be part of their respective collectives, Tori Somerville, general manager of Luxury Lodges of Australia, said access was by invitation only.
In the case of the luxury lodges collective, a set of criteria must be met.
“For example, they need to have guided experiences, a restaurant onsite, and be trade-ready. We’re not about quantity. In fact, we only recently added the Odalisque III (an expedition-style cruise based in Tasmania), our newest member in nine years,” said Somerville.
Tourism Australia’s Signature Experiences of Australia – a programme which supports industry collaboration across a variety of special interest sectors – made its debut in South-east Asia at a media showcase in Singapore on March 21.
Currently, the eight special interest sectors are golf holidays, guided walks, premium wineries, luxury lodges, fishing adventures, wildlife journeys, cultural attractions, and Aboriginal-guided experiences.
Karen Fitzgerald, general manager experiences, Tourism Australia, explained: “Each of these collectives represent a number of operators that specialise in their particular sector. What we have through (Signature Experiences of Australia) is access to over 190 businesses that altogether offer 750 experiences.
“The powerful thing about this programme is it is not just these businesses in the programme that benefit, but these (operators) collaborate and partner with another 8,000 businesses across Australia (especially in the regional areas), so the halo effect of this is really broad.”
There are plans to launch a new agri-tourism collective, focused on farmers and producers, in about a year’s time.
Fitzgerald elaborated: “One of the things that came out of our post-lockdown research was the desire for wellness and well-being, and understanding the provenance of our food. (We found that) travellers wanted to know what they were putting into their bodies, where was it from, and the food miles (it travels), as sustainability is important to all the collectives.”
Luxury travellers these days, Fitzgerald added, are not just looking to align their passion points, but also have transformational experiences. “I think it will be enticing for travellers to Australia to meet with the producers and farmers, and learn more about the broad range of local products available,” she opined.
When asked how could businesses apply to be part of their respective collectives, Tori Somerville, general manager of Luxury Lodges of Australia, said access was by invitation only.
In the case of the luxury lodges collective, a set of criteria must be met.
“For example, they need to have guided experiences, a restaurant onsite, and be trade-ready. We’re not about quantity. In fact, we only recently added the Odalisque III (an expedition-style cruise based in Tasmania), our newest member in nine years,” said Somerville.