PUTTING the Margaret River region in the public eye is all in a day’s work for Victoria Johnson.
Her commitment to the local tourism industry has been given a head nod through her selection as this year’s Western Australian finalist for the 2015 Australian Regional Tourism Network MyTravelResearch Young Tourism Professional Award.
This is the second year in a row Ms Johnson has been the state’s and region’s representative in the annual tourism convention.
Ms Johnson, who is the Public Relations Officer for the Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association, was selected based on a 1000 word written submission where she explored the need for content marketing for businesses that could be deemed ‘non-experiential’, such as some accommodation and services.
She believes the way forward in the regional tourism industry is to leverage the appeal of the destination in which a business operates to attract and build trust with consumers, and to use marketing channels such as social media to not just sell themselves, but also to sell the region they represent.
She said the current #RichardtotheRegion campaign was an excellent example of this, with businesses combining together to create an invitation to SirRichard Branson which if successful, would benefit the region’s tourism opportunities as a whole.
Ms Johnson will attend the four day conference held in Victor Harbor in South Australia at the end of October where she will be judged by secret panellists for her delivery of this concept to the 100 delegates present, as well as on the way she conducts herself over the event.
“I’m looking forward to sharing my ideas about how individual tourism businesses can harness great destination related content to increase affinity and awareness their own brands,” she said.
“It’s also important to tackle what’s on trend at the moment, ie. social media and content marketing, in order for my presentation to be engaging and to stand out from the crowd.”
Ms Johnson said the other four candidates all brought something different to the table in the way they represent their regions, with their differing experiences and knowledge providing a fantastic learning outlet to further her own skills to apply to the future of the region.
“The future of tourism in Australia rests firmly in the hands of the young professionals who are currently learning, training and developing their skills to lead the industry forward in the decades ahead,” ARTN chairperson David Sheldon said.
