Tourism Destination Management Plan

The Australia’s Golden Outback (AGO) Tourism Destination Management Plan (TDMP) establishes a vision for the region, supported by goals and priorities designed to drive tourism at all levels. The key priorities reflect product development trends and stakeholder insights, and are supported by abridged Regional Tourism Development Strategies (RTDS) to address supply, demand and capability gaps, ensuring a holistic approach to tourism across the region for the next 10 years.

The documents have been informed by an analysis of the region’s visitor economy, attractions and experiences, brands and destination marketing. Comprehensive stakeholder engagement was conducted to understand the opportunities and priority projects for tourism expansion. The projects are assessed at a regional and subregional level to ensure initiatives will have the most impact on sustainably growing the region’s visitor economy.

The TDMP provides a high-level strategy, while the supporting Regional Tourism Destination Strategies (RTDS) identify localised goals, objectives and actions aligned with the Regional Development Commission (RDC) areas.

What is the purpose of the Tourism Destination Management Plan (TDMP)?

The purpose of the TDMP is to help guide tourism investment and increase supply, demand and capability for tourism over the next ten years. The plan identifies key strategic actions and projects that will grow the region’s visitor economy and improve the visitor experience.

The TDMP is aligned to the Regional Tourism Organisation boundary and is supported by Regional Tourism Development Strategy (RTDS) action plans which focus on the Regional Development Commission areas, as well as the Perth Metropolitan area.

Why have these documents been developed?

The TDMP provides industry and stakeholders with a reference point to support the preparation of funding applications for new tourism projects, while also providing all levels of government with a source document to help inform approvals and investment to grow the visitor economy in a planned and collaborative way.

How were these documents and the priorities and actions developed?

The TDMP and RTDS documents have been developed through an extensive stakeholder consultation process and analysis of:

• The region’s visitor economy, attractions and experiences;
• Access to and around the region;
• Regional brand/s and destination marketing;
• Current tourism industry research;
• Global and domestic tourism trends; and
• Tourism projects and investments at a regional and subregional level, to understand local drivers of consumer demand.

The TDMP prioritises initiatives that are relevant across the region and are more likely to drive inbound visitation. These priorities were tested with key stakeholders and measured alongside industry research and tourism trends, ensuring that they align with the region’s vision and objectives for the next ten years.

Underpinning the high level TDMP, are RTDS action plans which are aligned to the Development Commission regions. These documents include subregional projects and actions that are designed to guide tourism outcomes at a local level.

Who has been consulted as part of the project?

In developing the five TDMPs and 10 RTDSs, an extensive stakeholder consultation process was conducted across the public and private sectors. This comprised of 105 face-to-face engagements (including group workshops and 1:1 meetings), supported by online stakeholder surveys and virtual workshops.

Overall, 655 stakeholders were engaged throughout the project. The process engaged 152 agencies across state and local government, 44 tourism organisations, 339 tourism and hospitality enterprises, 16 Aboriginal Corporations and 105 other interested parties, such as local businesses affected by tourism and education providers.

How can the local tourism industry practically use these documents?

The TDMP and RTDS documents identify the tourism investment, development and capacity building priorities for regional areas. They can be used to:

• Support or justify funding requests from external sources that align with the priorities;
• Identify opportunities for partnerships with stakeholders, to coordinate business capacity and capability, marketing and development opportunities; and
• Help define tourism priorities at local levels to assist local governments and tourism organisations with strategic planning for tourism and economic development.

Will the documents be reviewed and updated?

The TDMP and RTDS documents reflect the region’s tourism industry at a particular point in time and provide a strategic direction for future expansion of the visitor economy. There are no plans to review and update these documents in the future.

Is there any funding available to deliver on actions identified in the TDMP and/or RTDS?

Many of the projects and priorities identified in these documents are aspirational and unfunded. Their inclusion aims to offer stakeholders a strategic vision, highlighting initiatives designed to foster the growth of the region’s tourism industry across the key pillars of supply, demand and capability.

The remit to deliver on the priorities and actions is not the sole responsibility of one organisation or agency and may be the responsibility of multiple stakeholders and partners.

Why isn’t Tourism WA releasing these plans?

While Tourism WA supported the preparation of these documents, it was considered that the final plans are best hosted by the Regional Tourism Organisations so they can be more accessible to regional stakeholders and local industry.

This is a similar model to what is used in other states with regional destination management planning, where the region’s strategic plan is collectively owned by the destination and its industry stakeholders, rather than through a sole organisation.

Tourism WA will implement the TDMP priorities and actions where they align to its funded programs and to the WA Visitor Economy Strategy 2033, the overarching tourism strategy which was informed by the TDMP stakeholder engagement outcomes.