Got a wonderful note from Judith Cornish at Live History – Judith operates Louisa’s Walk, a wonderful historic tour of Hobart.

Judith said:

I am really happy to tell you that the majority of our business is coming in via the web site right now (plus most people are happy to pre-pay on the PayPal button) this is great!

This kind of message is music to my ears. Judith has a good search engine profile, and her strong reputation in Trip Advisor means she gets a steady stream of qualified visitors to her site. The addition of PayPal buttons to allow people to pay for tickets in advance was a simple but logical extension for her business.

Recently we welcomed Anja and Steve Toms onboard from Top End Explorer Tours, with their Kakadu Tours website.

I really like the way Anja has taken to blogging. One of her early posts explained all about saltwater crocodiles in the Northern Territory, and when and where it is safe (or not safe) to swim.

Two other posts talk about the Aboriginal seasons of Kakadu in a really informative way. Her most recent talks about Yegge and Aboriginal fire management.

This kind of blog post is powerfully effective for a tourism website. Anja is answering questions that are commonly raised by customers on her tours. By answering these questions using her blog, Anja is immediately tapping into topics of interest to her prospective customers. If someone is researching the Aboriginal seasons of Kakadu, there is a good chance they will find Anja’s post, and if they are doing this research because they are interested in visiting Kakadu … there you have it.

The search term ‘kakadu tours’ is a very competitive one. I think that with the approach Anja is taking her website could earn a strong ranking in this area over time. However, it is worth pointing out that you don’t have to get the #1 ranking on the key search term to have a very effective website. More and more searches involve 3, 4, 5 and more search terms. While ‘kakadu tours’ might be the single most popular term in this area, collectively there are a very large number of searches about kakadu tours that don’t use that term – instead they might use ‘kakadu tours families’ or ‘kakadu national parks tours’. Both of these are search terms that have led searchers to Anja’s site.

Time and again I’ve seen websites flourish when they use their blog to write broadly about their subject, and earn visits from an extraordinarily wide range of search terms. With focus some of those sites can go on to rank highly for the most competitive search terms in their field.

So have a look at Anja’s blog. For your own tourism blog, consider writing blog posts that answer the most common questions your visitors ask, and provide useful background information.

You’ll reap huge benefits from this simple strategy.

When Jane Morgan joined the Cosmos Centre four years ago, she had the task of reaching an international market with no budget.

Her target was self-drive tourists from the UK, Ireland and northern Europe, who often travel during the traditional low season. Now, these visitors, along with New Zealanders, make up 5% of their total visitor numbers and interest is growing. How did she do it?

With a tour ticket price at $20, she knew that wholesalers and ITOs wouldn’t look at the product, so she worked closely with Tourism Queensland (TQ), the Outback Queensland Tourism Authority (OQTA), and Britz Maui’s Make Tracks magazine.

The Cosmos Centre is part of the Queensland Heritage Trails Network, which has its own site, guide book and marketing initiatives.

These strategies, together with online search, are bringing the majority of the Centre’s visitors. Strategically placed brochures in other regional towns – produced as part of their domestic marketing – also help to attract self-drive tourists, including overseas visitors.

Jane’s next step is to get wholesalers and ITOs interested in a new package she is developing.

“Because of our ticket price we are developing a package called Stars, Spas & Station Stays, encouraging visitors to experience our unique outback experiences,” said Jane. “Once these packages are developed, they can be pre-sold and their ticket price will be attractive to international wholesalers and inbound operators.

“We still have no budget, so our main push remains the TQ and OQTA websites and their attendance at international trade shows.”

Another possible option for the Centre is to set up a blog to attract an audience interested in astronomy, both in Australia and overseas.

The third in my series of posts profiling small tourism operators looks at Bright Brewery in Victoria’s High Country.

The brewery uses fresh mountain water, local ingredients and craft brewing techniques to produce a range of beers. As well as being open every day for drinks and meals, and offering tasting tours, the iconic experience is the Brewer for a Day event.

While their key target markets are within Australia, Bright Brewery’s Fiona Reddaway believes this energetic experience is substantial enough to attract overseas visitors in its own right.

“We’re talking with Tourism Victoria about the most suitable markets, and the ways to reach these markets,” she told me.

One vital strategy has been to create packages and full experiences. For example, the Brewery has been working with other microbreweries and local tourism authorities in North East Victoria to create Victoria’s High Country Beer Trail – an initiative that packages the diverse beer experiences of this cluster of microbreweries set in stunning locations.

Bright Brewery’s local packages include accommodation and have been publicised in the print media through North East Victoria Tourism Inc. (NEVTi), which has promoted Brewer for a Day at Bright Brewery as one of the top five High Country experiences.

“We are working with organisations like NEVTi to promote the Brewery Trail as well as Brewer for a Day to international visitors, and to tap into Tourism Victoria programs currently targeting the international market,” said Fiona.

The overseas market for Bright Brewery is interesting – committed beer lovers from Europe, Japan and New Zealand who are predominantly male and in their 30s-50s.

Publicity has helped get the word out and is highly valued by the team, with a segment on Getaway that was aired around the world driving more traffic to the Bright Brewery website. The bulk of bookings for the Brewer for a Day experience have come through email marketing to the Brew Crew subscribers, with some arriving via online search.

The Bright Brewery website works well – it’s easy to see what experiences are available, how to book them, and how to subscribe to the Brew Crew newsletter.

So the core overseas marketing strategies chosen by Bright Brewery are:

• Work with regional and state tourism organisations to glean advice and tap into promotional programs.
• Work collaboratively with other operators to create full experiences and packages.
• Pursue publicity through print and broadcast media.
• Market online to an opt-in email list and funnel site visitors into bookings.