Talking Tourism Episode 144 – Tourism strategy…without the BS with Tom Wootton & Anne Greentree. Both Tom and Anne have had (and continue to have) an incredible influence on tourism in Tasmania. Among many things, Tom was the inaugural CEO of the regional tourism organisation, West by North West. Whereas, Anne has spent the past four years as the Director Visitor Economy Strategy at Tourism Tasmania. While in this role, Anne has worked alongside the state government and industry to develop the 2030 Visitor Economy Strategy – which is now live (and can be read here).  In today’s epis ..read more

Taihlaura Denman-Francis is a Managing Marketing Consultant at Kingthing. In this role, Taihlaura enjoys the thrill of dreaming up big ideas for her clients. She has an undeniable passion for all things in the digital space, and her favourite things are strategic planning, marketing tactics, social media management and digital advertising. Taihlaura is also a Launceston Tamar Valley Tourism Association (LTVTA) committee member, where she’s been able to use her marketing prowess to provide more avenues for tourism operators in the area to discuss, share and learn. Taihlaura delivered an insigh ..read more

Nic Cooper is a Regenerative Tourism Specialist at The Tourism Collective but is also a small business owner on the Mornington Peninsula. He has extensive experience spanning destination marketing, product development, and customer engagement with a particular passion and expertise for sustainable and regenerative tourism. Visit Northern Tasmania CEO, Tracey Mallet, sits down with Nic at the 2023 Tasmanian Tourism Conference where he delivered a Day 1 workshop about regenerative tourism.  For those not aware of regenerative tourism, Nic says it can mean different things to different peo ..read more

Tim Polmear is Co-Founder of Waubs Harbour Distillery on the beautiful east coast of Tasmania. Before venturing into the world of whisky, Tim and his wife Bec founded Flat Tummy Tea Co – a herbal tea remedy to help ease indigestion. After falling into the world of influencer marketing, the brand quickly gained momentum and turned into a flourishing e-commerce business. Then, in 2016, Tim and Bec sold the business and moved back to Tassie to start a family, and in 2018, the dream location in Bicheno was purchased and the Waubs Harbour Distillery journey begun. Tim was one of the Day 2 speaker ..read more

Today’s episode is with Larni Davies – TICT’s very own Tassie Tourism Ambassador Program Coordinator. A passionate Tasmanian, Larni Davies has 31 years of experience in the tourism industry. After living interstate and even overseas for six years, Larni returned to Tasmania where she worked as a bushwalking guide with Tasmanian Expeditions; Cradle Mountain Huts; the Bay of Fires Walk and later progressed into management roles. Larni has previously coordinated the Adventure Tour Guiding program at TasTAFE Drysdale in Hobart for many years – equipping students with the knowledge and skills to b ..read more

Today’s episode is with Bart Sobies – an industry professional whose career has spanned more than two decades. He began his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 15 with the launch of his first online business evolving into a prosperous tech company.  Since then, Bart has founded and led several businesses, all centred around technology, marketing and investment specifically within the tourism industry. One of these is ibooked.online – a leading platform dedicated to helping accommodation owners increase direct bookings and generate revenue.  Tourism consultant (and overall tourism ..read more

Lauren Cameron is TICT's newly appointed Carbon Action Advisor. Lauren is a sustainability and communications specialist, whose career spans fifteen years working across sustainability, international development, tourism and media. Having started out as a journalist with The Advocate in Tasmania’s northwest, Lauren has since worked as Chief Editor of a sustainable lifestyle magazine in Hong Kong, managed international development programs in Vietnam, partnered with sustainable tourism operators across Asia, and worked in the Environment and Development Division of the United Nations Economic a ..read more

Fanus Ghebrezgabhier is a Senior Trainer at F45 Moonah. F45 has taken Australia and the world by storm to become the fastest growing gym brand on the planet. Originating in Sydney, Australia, the ‘F’ stands for functional training, a mix of circuit and high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts geared towards everyday movement, and the ‘45’ is the total amount of time each class runs for.  In today’s episode, Luke and Fanus compare the similarities between the fitness and tourism industries in terms of staffing and social media marketing.  Fanus explains the ‘community feel ..read more

Matt and Vanessa are the Owners and Managers of Bangor Vineyard Shed – a multi award-winning, 4-hectare vineyard and a beautiful 6,000-hectare farming property located at Dunalley in Tasmania’s southeast.  Recently, Bangor won Gold at the 2022 Tasmanian Tourism Awards and at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards in the Wineries, Distilleries & Breweries category – a true testament to the hard work and dedication of this small family-owned and run vineyard.  In today’s episode, Destination Southern Tasmania’s Alex Heroys chats with Matt and Vanessa about the history of their prop ..read more

Since 2011, Luke Martin has been at the helm of the TICT as its CEO. Throughout the past 12 years, he has seen tourism in Tasmania evolve into what it is today - an industry that makes a greater contribution to its state's economy than any other in Australia. Finally, the time has come for the interviewer to become the interviewee! Hosted by Tom Wootton, today's episode is longer than usual - so grab a drink and settle in, because it's a good one!  Tom and Luke travel down memory lane and reflect on what the tourism landscape was like in 2011, before something called MONA came into the ..read more