As a part of the National Long-Term Tourism Strategy and following on from the work of the Destination Management Planning Working Group, the Australian Regional Tourism Network has been contracted by Department Resource, Energy and Tourism to develop a practitioners guide that will ensure that tourism destination leaders and all levels of government as well as the consulting industry and academia have access to the knowledge and tools they need to improve tourism competitiveness through effective Destination Management Planning.
The first component of this project was a facilitated workshop in Canberra on 12 October 2011, which firstly presented the findings and conclusions of the two Experience Development Strategy (EDS) projects and the findings and conclusions of two product gap audits and then asked you to provide your input into how we improve our approach to DMP in the future. A summary report from the October workshop has been developed and is attached for your information.
The next step in progressing the DMP project is the establishment of a Focus Group, which is to include representatives from a broad cross section of DMP practitioner specialisations and representing a diverse range of tourism destinations and contexts (e.g. mature, emerging, coastal, hinterland, outback, urban).
The Focus Group has two aims – the first is to 'test' the draft DMP practitioners guide and the various components. The second is to explore with the group what are the training or capacity building needs of practitioners in order to ensure effective use of the guide and implementation of DMP processes and practice. The information gathered in this focus group will be used to ensure the draft Knowledge Transfer Plan reflects the needs of practitioners and informs how the DMP Guide and relevant knowledge is shared into the future.
The Focus Group is scheduled for 28 Feb 2012 on the Gold Coast.
The final list of attendees will reflect different destinations and practitioner groups. To assist in the process we are calling for expressions of interest from industry and government practitioners across a range of disciplines and relevance to DMP.
To express an interest in being involved in the Focus Group, please provide the following to manager@artn.com.au by 25 January 2012
Name:
Contact details (including telephone, mobile and email)
Organisation:
Your role within the Organisation:
Your experience with DMP (no more than half a page please)