As we look at 2010 a highlight of the year will be the staging of the “You’re the Voice’’ Tourism Council WA 2010 Conference from the 18th to 20th April. It is many years since a major tourism industry conference was held in WA and this will be an opportunity for the tourism industry as a whole to get together to be “informed and inspired” and to voice your opinions of issues affecting the tourism industry in Western Australia.

As well as the Conference we have an impressive range of events planned for 2010 which includes regional forums and networking functions.

Over the next four months TCWA will be focusing on increasing the number of accredited businesses in Western Australia. Currently there are just over 800 businesses which are accredited or registered for accreditation. Our aim is to increase this to 1000 by June 30th this year. We are working closely with Tourism WA to achieve this target as the TWA Accreditation Policy takes full affect from this date.

Tourism WA recently launched its new brand “Experience Extraordinary” and the brand’s first campaign, the Extraordinary Taxi Ride. We certainly hope that the new brand will produce “Extraordinary” results for tourism in this state and urge tourism operators to support TWA in its forthcoming marketing campaigns.

TCWA looks forward tocontinuing to work with our members in what we hope will be an exciting year for tourism in this state.

Graham Moss

Aimed at informing and inspiring this will be the first major tourism Conference to be held in Perth for many years and will bring together a wide cross section of the tourism industry from all regions of WA.

Join powerful keynote speakers including John Anderson, of Contiki fame, and Darren "The Gun" Flanagan from the Beaconsfield Mine Rescue, as well as presentations from a number of industry leaders including Michael Malone, Managing Director of iinet, Stephen Scourfield, award winning travel journalist from the West Australian newspaper, Kate Lamont, Chair of Tourism WA, Barry Felstead, CEO of Burswood Entertainment Complex and Neville Poelina, Chair of WAITOC.

In addition to the keynote speakers the Conference will include four panel sessions focusing on the Future of Tourism, Tourism Branding & Marketing, Technology in Tourism and Tourism Industry Development. 

Included in the conference will be an exhibition area featuring businesses providing goods and services to the tourism industry while an opening poolside cocktail party and Gala Dinner will be the social highlights of the conference.

Full details including the program and registration details will be available shortly from the TCWA website!

Congratulations also to the following businesses who have recently completed the Australian Tourism Accreditation Program!

Absolute Ocean Charters          Coral Bay Adventures
Dolphin Retreat YHA                Gravity Discovery Centre
Loose Goose Chalets               Manuel Towers
Margaret River Tours               McAlpine House
Outback Adventure Treks         Wander Inn

Accreditation advertising, focused on raising consumer awareness of the accreditation logo and what it represents, continues with ads placed in all five 2010 Regional Holiday Planners and the South West & Great Southern Free Map.  A full page ad also features in the Jan - June edition of Scoop Traveller WA, complementing the 3 page spread devoted to our WA Tourism Award winners!

All Awards information will be made available on the TCWA website as it is confirmed, however important dates to note are as follows:

Nominations Period:   29th March - 25th June
Site Visits:                 19th July – 16th August
Submissions Close:     17th August
WA Tourism Awards Gala Dinner:  20th November

The Qantas Australian Tourism Awards are being held in Hobart on 26th February - good luck to all WA finalists!

Now operating an improved 24-hour express route between Perth and both International and Domestic airports, Connect’s 25-seat air-conditioned buses and purpose-built luggage trailers boldly go where no public transport has gone before. And with their new services, they’ll take you and all your luggage much further on a budget than any taxi cab driver can. Based on a double occupancy return, you’ll save nearly $14 on city fares and over $30 getting to and from Freo, plus there are special family rates to take advantage of!

For more information visit the Perth Airport Connect Website  

TCWA are continuing to work with LocoTV to offer our Members and Accredited Operators exceptional rates to participate in the online shows promoting tourism in WA, as well as giving them access to television quality video footage of their own product.                                                                                              

For further information about participating please contact Anna at the Council.

If you have an enquiry, or wish to obtain a copy of the full job description, please contact Leann Cooper on 0417 954 018.

April 18 - 20th - "You're The Voice" Tourism Council WA 2010 Tourism Conference                                                                                           Inaugural WA Tourism Conference to be held at the Burswood Entertainment Complex.  A full program will be available shortly from the TCWA website! 

April 20th – Parliament House Function
This annual event, held in the courtyard of Parliament House, gives TCWA members the opportunity to meet with members of all political parties. Further information on this event will be available shortly.

June 9th - Breakfast with the Minister
An annual function with an address from the Minster for Tourism sharing her vision for the tourism industry in Western Australia.

For further information on TCWA Events please visit the event page on the website.