2017-12-12 S&O Agenda - Attachment 1 to Item 9 - Tourism Noosa Annual Report 2016-17

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND THE CEO
Tourism Noosa’s achievements in 2016-17 were             Tourism Noosa continued to focus on building our
defined by innovation and the strengthening              strategic partnerships in 2016-17. First and foremost,
of partnerships, and were underpinned by two             our strong working relationship with Noosa Council
significant initiatives – the inaugural Tourism          was further enhanced with the finalisation of a
Summit and the launch of the Tourism Strategy            multiple-year agreement. This has provided Tourism
Noosa 2017-2022.                                         Noosa with tenure and assurance that we are on the
The Strategy followed on from the Noosa                  right track with our strategy and vision, enabling
Sustainable Destination Action Plan (SDAP) 2013-         us to continue our good work. We would like to
2016. We are proud to say the vision set out in          acknowledge the commitment of Noosa Council to
the SDAP steered the Board and management                Noosa’s tourism industry and thank them for their
in a direction that has strengthened our industry        cooperative approach in developing this agreement.
in terms of economic value, partnerships with            Tourism Noosa also had the opportunity to
stakeholders throughout the region and beyond,           engage with Noosa Council on significant planning
and environmental sustainability.                        initiatives including the Draft Transport Strategy,
We achieved success in priority projects outlined in     Noosaville Foreshore Master Plan and Noosa Plan
the SDAP including:                                      Discussion Paper which will have significant and
• The new ‘Noosa, Relaxation Capital of Australia’       long-term benefits for many of us as residents,
  campaign which is already achieving significant        business operators, employees and providers of
  positive impact;                                       visitor services.
• Targeting niche segments such as weddings and          We opened up further opportunities in working
  business events;                                       with Visit Sunshine Coast that will maintain the
• Leveraging events with the commencement of             integrity of the Noosa brand and recognise the
  event ambassador partnerships;                         significant contribution of this area to the region.
• Building social media audiences and engagement;        We also forged more comprehensive partnerships
• Collaborating with community and conservation          with Destination Gympie Region, Tourism & Events
  groups;                                                Queensland and Tourism Australia across media and
• Continuing the evolution of our quality service        trade familiarisations and events, joint marketing
  program, Welcome to Noosa.                             activity, social media platforms, research and more.
In the year to June 2017, the Noosa region               As our member numbers grow from strength to
welcomed more than 2 million visitors who spent          strength, hitting another record of 617 businesses
more than $900 million. Our strategic decision           this year, we were excited to see ever-increasing
to grow the high-yielding international and              numbers engaging through our networking nights
interstate visitor markets through targeted trade        and industry programs including training workshops.
and consumer activity, including the eye-catching
                                                         We were also excited to announce that Tourism
Melbourne tram, paid off with record interstate and
                                                         Noosa will again run the Noosa Food & Wine
international visitor spend, numbers and nights for
                                                         Festival in 2018, after running the event in 2016 and
a June quarter.
                                                         licensing it to an event manager in 2017. Apart from
We were proud to bring the Tourism Summit Noosa          our beach, “food & wine” are among the two most
2017 to our industry, providing unprecedented            desired qualities about the Noosa experience and
access to some of Australia’s leading tourism and        we believe it is in the best interests of the event, our
marketing innovators and achievers. The summit           restaurant industry and patrons of this festival that
attracted national attention, emphasising Tourism        we control this important event.
Noosa’s role as a leading voice for the industry.
                                                         The Tourism Noosa Board and team have been
Our new Tourism Strategy which sets a strategic          proud to deliver innovative and successful
vision for the future of tourism in the region, will     strategies that we believe have laid the framework
guide our actions for the benefit of Noosa’s visitors,   for an even stronger and more vibrant industry that
tourism operators and stakeholders. The Strategy         is so important to this region.
drills down further into the key pillars of:
                                                         Thank you to all Board Directors for your passion
• Engaging marketing
                                                         and commitment throughout the year, to all the
• Outstanding events
                                                         Tourism Noosa team for tirelessly and professionally
• Empower industry and product development
                                                         delivering on our priorities, to our wonderful
• Elevate sustainability
                                                         volunteers at the Visitor Information Centres, and
We are committed to achieving key goals outlined         to all our members for your commitment to our
in areas including stronger focus on attracting high-    activities and to this great industry.
yielding visitors; nurturing new world-class visitor
experiences, events and accommodation; dispersing
visitor expenditure across the destination; and          Steve McPharlin              Damien Massingham
helping our operators deliver exceptional customer       Chair                        CEO
service to lift visitor satisfaction.                    Tourism Noosa                Tourism Noosa




visitnoosa.com.au                                                                                              3