Driving the Visitor Experience

The Victorian Visitor Information Services (VIS) Summit is the yearly meeting place for all VIS personnel, economic development staff and regional tourism bodies. Delving deep into the customer experience, the Summit program features professional development sessions, case study presentations, keynotes and opportunities to learn from others.

Held from Wed 22 to Fri 24 August 2018 in inimitable City of Greater Bendigo, delegates will discover how the region provides an abundance of diverse visitor experiences.

The 2018 Summit program will delve deep into what makes an accredited VIS successful by exploring what future visitor information servicing will look like, how customer connection will remain front and foremost and how you can drive economic growth to your region.

For the complete package, delegates will benefit from the multi-choice workshops along and regional study tours showcasing the host region to gain product knowledge, share ideas, experiences and best practice.

Register HERE to secure your place at this years Summit.

PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES:

Download the full Summit program here

WEDNESDAY 22 August                                                                                                                                                          

Join one of our full day Regional Study Tours showcasing the best of the Bendigo Region
9:00 am – 5:00 pm

All tours depart from the Capital Theatre,  View Street, Bendigo and will come together at the unique Bendigo Art Gallery welcome drinks before an exclusive tour of the gallery spaces. Coaches will return to the three profiled hotels (The Barclay on View, The Quest Bendigo Central and The Quest Schaller Hotel) where delegates can dine at leisure.

Tour 1 | Heritage Evolution

Experience Heritage Evolution, delve deep beneath the surface at Central Deborah Gold Mine, sit back and relax on a Bendigo Blues Tram taster, hear from local legends converting a manufacturing business into a tourism mecca at Bendigo Pottery, experience a little piece of China right here in Bendigo at the Golden Dragon Museum, enjoy a sumptuous morning tea and learn how a grocery store became a local café hotspot at Percy & Percy, be swooned at Bendigo’s award winning steak house and redgum char-grill for lunch @ The Woodhouse.

Tour 2 | Local Legends 

Meet our Local Legends, beginning with the Bendigo Art Gallery discover how they consistently punch above their weight, hear the stories of local makers at fashion, homeware and collectible stores, discover the secrets behind the success of the La Trobe Visual Art Centre, Living Arts Space and Post Office Gallery, take an Artist Walk Tour to unearth street art and eclectic shopping in the heart of the CBD, enjoy a magnificent morning tea at The Gallery Cafe and be warmly welcomed at Rocks on Rosalind to enjoy share platters featuring local produce that will rock your world.

Tour 3 | Grand Architecture Produce

If Grand Architecture and Produce, is your thing, then this is the tour for you. Behind the scenes tours of three Bendigo architectural masterpieces, the Historic Post Office, Town Hall and Ulumbarra Theatre will leave you gasping in wonder and stories to share Meet the makers behind our local food stores, taste their best creations, from fresh cheese and nuts to chocolate to coffee to sourdough and don’t forget lunch at the award winning Mason’s of Bendigo.

THURSDAY 23 August             

9:00 – 9:30 – Welcome to Bendigo

Cr Jennifer Alden – Councillor, City of Greater Bendigo

9:30 – 10:30 – Customer Focus Vs Customer Service

Rum Charles – Human Communications Specialist

10:30 – 11:00 – MORNING TEA

11:00 – 12:00 – PechaKucha Time!

A new concept for the Summit, a PechaKucha gives each region a chance to share what they have been up to – with only 2 minutes and 4 slides each!

12:00 – 12:45 – The Challenges of Volunteer Management

Panel Session featuring Puffing Billy, Volunteering Victoria and more.

12:45 – 13:15 – Visit Victoria Visitor Servicing Review

13:15 – 14:00 – LUNCH

 14:00 – 14:45 – Breakouts: Round 1

1.       Local Government Health Check (Paul Albone – DEDJTR & Kate Rickwood – VTIC)

2.       Rethinking Funding Sources – Traditional, Social, Community and Cuteness (Peter Abbott – Bendigo Heritage Attractions)

3.       Visitor Information Servicing Survey Results (Grace Maynard – Australian Tourism Accreditation Program)

14:45 – 15:15 – Parks Victoria

Industry Update

15:15 – 15:45 – AFTERNOON TEA 

15:45 – 16:15 – Transforming Visitor Services

Rob Kelly – City of Melbourne

16:15- 18:00 – Return to hotels and prepare for dinner

18:00 – 18:30 – Shuttle bus collects all from designated hotels

18:30 – 23:00 – DINNER

Venue: Villa Fortuna. Theme: Gatsby Style. What lies ahead? A night of fun, laughter and reinforcing your industry relationships.

23:00 – Shuttle bus returns to hotels

FRIDAY 24 August             

9:00 – 9:45 – Onsite Visitor Information Centre Case Study

Live and interactive – Bendigo Visitor’s Centre (Award Winning)

10:00 – 10:45 – Visitor Information Servicing = the match.com of Tourism

Peter Turner – CUSTOMER FRAME

Karen Oliver – Murray Regional Tourism

10:40 – 11:00 – MORNING TEA

11:00 – 11:45 – Breakouts: Round 2

Select your second choice from the three session offering

11:45 – 12:15 – Transport for Victoria Industry Update

12:15 – 13:15 – Reference Group Workshop

Your opportunity to formally join the Reference Group-led workshop to express your ideas, concerns and areas for growth.

13:15 – 13:30 – Closing formalities

We will snap a last minute pic of the group, grab a lunchbox to take away and begin the journey back home.

REGISTRATIONS:

Registrations are now OPEN – Click HERE to register now.

ACCOMMODATION:

The Bendigo Visitor Centre team are proudly supporting the VIS Summit and have secured great rates for delegates, all within walking distance of the Summit venue. Choose from three participating hotels – The Barclay on View, The Quest Bendigo Central or The Quest Schaller Hotel. For those that require something a little different or have special needs, call the friendly team to secure something suitable.

Special ‘Summit-Only’ rates are available for 1, 2 or 3 night stays and can be processed online via the link below or call the Bendigo team if you need to process via a purchase order on 1800 813 153.

Click HERE to book.

ENQUIRIES:

Olivia Bowden
VTIC Relationship Consultant and Events Manager
E: OBowden@vtic.com.au
Ph: 8662 5343

Would you like to grow your business while having a great time?

There’s no better way to meet new leads and make new connections than taking part in our successful Fast Forward Speed Networking event.

Join us on Wednesday 22 August and meet a huge bunch of like-minded individuals over two rounds of speed networking.

You won’t be locked into a long conversation with anyone as you only get two minutes to chat before moving onto the next business contact. So all you need is a brief, punchy narrative about why you are here and what makes your business great, and remember to swap business cards, of course!

After the formal networking rounds, you still have plenty of opportunity to continue the conversation with your new contacts over canapés and drinks.

To ensure we get a great mix of companies, we limit this event to only two people from each business.

So who’s coming from your organisation? Hurry – this event always sells out!

Transformative Technology Workshop – A Visitability Forum

Finding digital solutions to engage your staff and enhance guest and visitor experiences.

Destination Melbourne and Tourism Accommodation Australia (Victoria) bring you, the Transformative Technology Workshop – finding digital solutions to engage your staff and enhance guest and visitor experiences.

Visitors are becoming more and more tech savvy, so it’s important to ensure that your approach to using new technology meets their expectations.

Facilitated by Simon Waller, you will hear from leading experts in this three-hour workshop. We’ll look at how we can approach technology in a way that proactively seeks out opportunities to improve your business processes and the whole customer journey.

What you will learn

• Discover the latest transformative technologies that are relevant to tourism and hospitality operators
• Understand ways to improve employee efficiency
• Enhance guest and visitor experiences from the first point of contact
• You’ll also receive a download copy of Simon Waller’s book, The Digital Champion: Connecting the Dots Between People, Work and Technology. This practical guide will give you a kick start to identifying and implementing valuable technology projects.

Content

1) Introduction by Simon Waller

Overview of macro trends and key transformative technologies
Introduction to ‘digital champions’ as a bottom up approach to driving technology improvements
How technology has evolved but our approach to its adoption hasn’t
How we can simultaneously meet the needs of all people involved in our organisations, both employees and customers.

2) Leveraging these trends to your advantage with Simon

Empowering people to improve internal processes
Creating a point of difference in a competitive market place
Working smarter to enhance the visitor experience.

3) Panel discussion

Experts in their fields will provide further insights into ways that technology is being used to transform our visitor industry

Lindsay Goding GAO Group International – covering WeChat and the newly designed Global Ballooning app
James Bate, Senior Associate (Hospitality) WG Architects – technology future, including energy, recycling, smart systems and the benefits to your business
Tom Amos, CEO and Co-founder Sidekicker – connecting businesses with an on demand workforce of pre-screened skilled staff, all with the click of a button.

> Register now

Enjoy a touch of luxury a literal stone’s throw from Flinders St Station.

Our friend’s at DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne are generously opening their wonderful informal bar and restaurant area for us to enjoy.

• Build your relationships
• Find opportunities for collaboration
• Share your challenges
• Learn from others …And, most importantly…
• Catch up with your peers in an informal environment

Happening the first Wednesday of every month, the VTIC Mixer Series will run February through to December in 2018. As always, no lengthy power-points, no pitches, just a chance to broaden your network – and have a great time!

Over the past 10 years the Melbourne Tourism Industry Exchange (MTIE), has been the centrepiece of Melbourne Tourism Week, and it will continue to be. Now called, The Exchange, the event has been given a new name and visual identity.

In order to move with the changing landscape of travel and tourism, the shorter, sharper name: The Exchange embraces the inclusion of Greater Melbourne and regional destinations and products.

Along with the re-branding, you will see exciting developments designed to further grow awareness and attendance. As a result,  The Exchange a premium B2B event, exclusive to tourism industry businesses and professionals. In 2018, The Exchange will not be open to students, and will be promoted more heavily to senior staff and other professionals in sectors of the industry.

At The Exchange you’ll meet some of the city’s most innovative and exciting attractions, destinations and hidden secrets. Get an advantage on your competitors and offer your visitors the latest information on what’s happening around Victoria.

Among the exhibitors for the Exchange 2018, you will find:

• Attractions
• Art and culture venues
• Precincts, suburbs and regional destinations
• Retail and entertainment providers
• Restaurants and food experiences
• Tours and transport operators
• Tourism services and associations.

If you are looking for the latest news and information about Victoria’s world-class tourism products and experiences, there’s no better event to attend than The Exchange.

Attendance at The Exchange, for non-exhibitors, is free, however registration is required, here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-exchange-registration-46747580271

Businesses seeking to exhibit at The Exchange can find out more here: https://assets.destination.melbourne/resources/The-Exchange-2018-Exhibitor-Partnership-Proposal.pdf?mtime=20180717114826

>REGISTER NOW

Curious about growing your business by tapping into tourism? Looking for an easy and cost-effective way to promote your local business or attraction?

Tourists or visitors to your business can be local Melburnians, their visiting friends and relatives, or even regional Victorians. Along with interstate and international visitors branching out from Melbourne and wanting to explore our authentic suburban neighbourhoods, this potentially untapped target market is huge.

Join the team from Destination Melbourne for a free workshop to find out more about:

• Destination Melbourne, Melbourne’s independent not for profit tourism industry organisation and our role working closely with local government and businesses of all sizes to connect with key visitor segments
• Hear about their hyper local Discover Your Own Backyard program and how you can get involved now that their new website and brand has launched
• How you can ensure you are business ready and on the tourism radar
• The Australian Tourism Data Warehouse and how taking part can amplify your reach across Australia and provide SEO benefits

Last but not least, this workshop will be a great chance for you to meet our team and join Destination Melbourne for some great networking with other like-minded local businesses interested in tourism and growing the spend in your local area.

To meet the team and hear all of the above, come along to this FREE workshop.

When – Wednesday 12 September 1.30PM – 3.30PM

Where – Hobsons Bay Civic Centre – 115 Civic Parade, Altona

RSVP – By Monday 10 September

VTIC invites Premium members to an exclusive lunch with Helen Sawczak, National CEO of the Australia China Business Council (ACBC). Helen will discuss the kind of policy and strategy she believes will be necessary to see sustained visitor growth from this important market.

Please note this event is open to current VTIC Premium and Connect members only. If you are interested in becoming a Premium or Connect member please contact us.

>REGISTER NOW

Get smart with your emotions

In a session not to be missed, Mel Neil (our favourite positive psychology consulant) joins us for the final professional development session of the year.

Mel will help us to understand Emotional Intelligence (EI), and how we can identify and use our own emotions and how they impact on our performance, decisions and behaviour.

Tuesday, 16th October
Victoria University, Flinders St

P.S Join us for some networking after the event. The first drink is on us!

This event will be held at VU City Flinders Campus. The campus is located at 300 Flinders Street, between Elizabeth and Queen Street. Enter the elevator lobby off Flinders St or via the University Arcade. The conference room is on level 9. Click here for a map.

> Register now

VTIC invites Premium members to an exclusive lunch with Lyell Strambi, Chief Executive Officer of Melbourne Airport.

Please note this event is open to current VTIC Premium and Connect members only. If you are interested in becoming a Premium or Connect member please contact us.

Unite with your industry friends and colleagues to help celebrate Victoria’s tourism and event leaders at the 2018 RACV Victorian Tourism Awards Gala Ceremony.

Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) with RACV and the Victorian Government, are pleased to recognise our state winners across 27 business and three individual categories at this prestigious black-tie event.

The Victorian Tourism Awards is now in its 34th year, attracting over 100 entries and around 1000 industry representatives at the Gala Ceremony.

Please join us for the VTIC Annual General Meeting to be held on Wednesday 28 November, free to attend for all VTIC members.

At this meeting, we will review FY 2017/18 and announce the newly elected VTIC Board members as well as committee members and Chairs for the Attractions, Destinations and Tour and Transport policy committees.

Following the meeting, light refreshments will be served to accompany networking between members.

We look forward to welcoming you to the VTIC AGM. Please do not hesitate to contact VTIC should you require any further information. An agenda will be circulated prior to the meeting.