Barossa Destination Action Plan - South Australian Tourism ...

The Barossa
Destination Action Plan
Updated July 2013
Destination Action Plan 2012-2014
Drafted by: SATC and Tourism Barossa with the involvement
of Barossa and Light Councils and RDA Barossa
Agreed and Minuted by the parties on 2 May 2012

Destination Action Plan – The Barossa
The DAP Process
Background
The SATC is focused on delivering long-term growth for South Australia’s tourism industry. While
state and regional strategies exist, the SATC has developed Destination Action Plans (DAPs) to
focus and prioritise the projects to achieve the goals set out in these strategies. DAPs are simple,
focused, consumer-led action plans for each region that prioritise resources from SATC units and
those of regional stakeholders.
Whilst linked to the South Australian Strategic Plan 2020 $8 billion tourism potential target, DAPs are
focused primarily on projects that can be delivered in the next 3 years.
Destination Action Plans are driven by the SATC, and developed in consultation with regional
stakeholders who have direct financial and/or regulatory influence over whether the projects in the
plan can be completed: Regional Tourism Organisations (representing the tourism industry), local
government and Regional Development Australia.
By agreeing to the DAP, each stakeholder agrees to prioritise its resources and activities to support
the completion of the projects contained in it. The stakeholder group will meet every six months to
track progress on the action list. The DAP is a living document - as actions are achieved, new
actions that focus on the next step of growth will be added.
Documents Referenced:
• Barossa Product Gap Audit, 2011
• Clare Valley and Barossa Tourism Regions Integrated Strategic Tourism Plan, 2005
• Brand Barossa
Regional Summary
Situational Analysis Overview
Over the last 10 years, tourism to the Barossa has declined, with total visitation down 28%. However
over that period, Barossa has grown its interstate visitation by 55%, driving its total tourism
expenditure up 25% (Source: Tourism Research Australia, 2011). The Barossa is the most wellknown
region of South Australia. However demand has fallen over the last 10 years, with competitive
regions replacing the Barossa tourism offering in the eyes of the consumer.
Future Growth – tourism expenditure in the Barossa is projected to grow by 47% by December 2020.
By focusing on key strategic areas, the Barossa has the potential to contribute to the 2020 SA
Strategic Plan goal by potentially growing 77% over that period, into an industry worth $267 million to
the region (Source: BDA Marketing Planning from TRA/NVS/IVS/Access Economics, 2011))
Key Insights
Barossa is the #2 wine region in interstate consideration to visit (#1 is Margaret River), for
domestic wine regions, and #5 in actual visitor numbers. (Source: Roy Morgan Single Source,
2010)
Recent marketing campaigns have lifted short-term travel, but not consideration to travel in
the long term, indicating an underlying shortfall in the region’s tourism experience.
Food & Wine is a widely appealing category, but the challenge is to differentiate the Barossa
from other food & wine regions around the country.
Winners in the Food & Wine category are offering more than just cellar door experiences.
Primary targets are interstate and international high-yield visitors. These seek immersive
experiences and high-quality accommodation. The Barossa is best-positioned as a focus for
the State’s drive to attract burgeoning Chinese markets.
The region hosts some premier events and has the opportunity to develop a more
coordinated and professional approach to them which at the same time takes account of
The Barossa’s room mix and occupancy rates are similar to those of comparable near-
2 May 2012 reviewed 12 February 2013

metropolitan Australian tourism regions.
Strategic Focus
The Barossa has the opportunity to be one of the best placed regions to attract out-of-state visitors,
but to do so it must refresh its tourism offering to increase competitive appeal to visit and enhance
the ways visitors can experience what the Barossa is. In doing this, the Barossa can overtake the
Margaret River as the most desired wine region to visit in Australia.
2 May 2012 reviewed 12 February 2013

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Note Timeframes: Immediate (Under 2 years) Medium term (2-5 years) Long term (5+ years)
Actions
DAP
Rank
Experiences 1
1 Develop 1 experience
per year for the next 2
years, either new or
refreshed, with the
proviso that they must
be commissionable
product. Immediate
priorities include:
Timeframe Responsible organisation Status Comment
1 Immediate Butcher Baker Winemaker Trail
development: Tourism Barossa to drive
project; SATC support through
consumer testing and support from
Experience Development team.
Barossa & Light Councils: general
policy support, per below.
SATC and TB will liaise and consumer testing of
BBWT will go ahead
Product testing: Jacobs Creek visitor experience
complete.
Current projects 2013 (New Product Support
Projects) include;
• Jacobs Creek Chinese Vineyard and
Naturalness Tours
• Family Friendly experiences at Whistler
Wines Experience development at
Kingsford Homestead over 3 years
A ‘Best of Breed’ investor famil was conducted for
Prancing Horse (Ferrari Tours)
Focus on
developments in
culinary tourism,
starting with the
Butcher Baker
Winemaker Trail,
with subsequent
developments in
following years.
Cycle Tourism: RDA to drive project
Culinary Tourism development is ongoing with
interest in multiple sites
Casa Carboni have commenced new food classes
Cycle tourism - Ongoing – June 30 completion
Cycle Tourism Trail Mapping (GIS) is underway
(RDAB) which will provide a preferred cycle route
connecting food and wine product in Barossa
Draft Strategy is almost complete but need
updating and awaiting GIS mapping project to
define cycle routes
.
RDAB will be involved as
part of PIRSA agreement
to focus on Food and
Wine in a clean
environment.
Focus on Cycle
tourism

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Actions
DAP
Rank
Timeframe Responsible organisation Status Comment
2 Medium term
experience
development priorities
include potential other
development
opportunities in the
following themes:
family friendly
experiences, and
natural environment
experience (food,
wine, culture, arts,
wildlife & wildlife exp)
3 Innovate and begin
testing and developing
viability cases for
developments in
Barossa as part of the
SA's Wine touring
route.
4 Develop a retail &
recreation strategy
Events 1
5 Develop an overall
Barossa events
strategy, including a
streamlined calendar
of professionallymanaged
events.
1 Medium SATC Experience
Development/Strategy team: Test
concepts and case manage priority
projects that deliver in this area.
Barossa & Light Councils
Ensure there are no impediments to
gaining approval (positive policy
environment).
Barossa & Light Councils
Develop Application & Licensing guide
that clarifies how developments
negotiate through red tape (Gap Audit
recommendation).
1 Immediate SATC Experience Development team:
Develop as part of Drive Strategy, due
June 2012.
Ongoing.
1 st Stage (Research component) complete.
Strategic approach in planning stages.
1 Medium RDA and Tourism Barossa to lead TBI membership committee to look at Barossa
retail Passport & Coffee Club in partnership with
RDA
1 Immediate
for strategy.
Long term
for delivery
Tourism Barossa to coordinate the
process.
RDA, Events Managers, and ESA to be
involved.
In Progress. ESA contributing $11,000 towards
Events Strategy. ESA staff member part of
Strategy committee/team.
SATC to continue to
update Tourism Barossa
as progress unfolds.
2 May 2012 reviewed 12 February 2013

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Actions
6 Target an additional 30
Barossa tourism
events to be included
on ATDW by June
2015.
DAP
Rank
Marketing 3
7 Incorporate Barossa
experiences into famils
and social media
Timeframe Responsible organisation Status Comment
1 Medium Tourism Barossa: develop target list for
integration into ATDW; SATC to provide
regional operator information on using
MyATDW and monitor.
SATC, Barossa VICs and Tourism
Barossa to encourage local industry to
sign up.
3 Immediate SATC Regional Marketing Manager and
Tourism Barossa to regularly discuss
new and relevant experiences for
incorporation in SATC PR, famils and
social media.
Tourism Barossa to provide more
targeted feedback.
Ongoing.
SATC Industry Development to provide copy for
TBI and VICs to use
Ongoing. Barossa represented on most media
and trade famils (estimated around 40% of all
participants come to the Barossa). Kingsford
have featured in 29 famils to date. Casa Carboni
is starting to feature on famils as well.
ATDW
operator
information available via
MyATDW website.
SATC appreciates any
updates regarding
restaurants/cafes as this
information is the hardest
to extract from
8 Incorporate Barossa
experiences into the
"Best Backyard"
intrastate campaign
Tourism Barossa to encourage new
operators to register on ATDW.
3 Immediate Tourism Barossa to encourage local
industry to subscribe to Shorts.
SATC Regional Marketing Manager
lead: SATC and regional partners to
identify how to link Barossa food and
wine events with marketing campaigns
Intrastate activity on hold for bigger campaign for
both Intra and Domestic markets. Some activity
has still been undertaken 2012/13 including: 2 x In
Daily videos, 5 x Advertiser DPS articles, South
Aussie with Cosi and SA Snapshots (5AA radio).
Major domestic and intrastate campaign launched
9 Refresh Barossa.com 3 Immediate Tourism Barossa Joint website with BGWA, Tourism Barossa &
Food Barossa completed and being refined
10 SATC will promote the
Barossa as part of
South Australia’s Food
& Wine offering in
Interstate activity.
3 Immediate
to Long
SATC to drive 2020 Brand SA focus
areas, and commit to promoting SA’s
Food & Wine regions interstate over the
long term.
Ongoing. Positioning the state as a leading
culinary tourism destination is a key priority for
SATC, and this will be demonstrated through the
launch of the domestic campaign before end
FY12/13.
The SATC’s Shorts
program will be revised,
with details TBC.
.
2 May 2012 reviewed 12 February 2013

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Actions
11 Promote the Barossa
mobile app
12 Refresh the Barossa
Brand
13 Coordinate consumer
collateral to ensure
brand alignment and
consistency.
Distribution &
Industry Capability
14 Additional 20
operators TXAconnected
by end
December 2012. With
a particular focus on
tours & attractions.
15 Target minimum of 2
Barossa operators
(can be different
operators) to attend
ATE.
DAP
Rank
Timeframe Responsible organisation Status Comment
3 Immediate Tourism Barossa to drive over 3 years
Tourism Barossa to file app as an
ATDW tour, to feed into SATC
promotions
3 Medium Tourism Barossa to drive the process
and outputs
SATC contributes, and will be a key
channel of Brand Barossa
communications.
3 Immediate SATC commits to work with and
incorporate feedback from Tourism
Barossa on SA.com, the Regional
visitor Guide in quarterly meetings.
4
Tourism Barossa commits to work with
and incorporate feedback from SATC
Marketing on the Touring Map
4 Medium SATC Industry Development Executive;
RDA, SATIC and SATC to liaise on
industry training.
Immediate SATIC to run eTourism website training
in regions in Mar-Jul 2012
Immediate SATIC/SATC/Tourism Barossa to
encourage industry to attend SATIC’s
eTourism Convention on 30 May 2012.
4 Medium Tourism Barossa and SATC discuss
target list of operators and a plan to
achieve.
A revised Barossa App was launched in February
The new Brand Barossa was released in
September 2012 with each association – BGWA,
TBI & FB -having their own version of the logo
SATC has incorporated the Barossa brand work
into the domestic campaign brief. Outputs will be
consistent with the work done in the region on the
Brand.
SATC and TB have liaised on the VG. SATC
digital team incorporate sa.com advice from
RTMs.
Ongoing.
16 operators connected by end 2012
Major online development push including VIC and
operator sessions proposed for mid-2013. Will
partner up with MYATDW push.
Done
- ATE 13 – 3 operators attended) New
Zealand Roadshow – no Barossa
attendees for past 2 years
- US Roadshow 12, Life is a Cabernet and
Kingsford attended
Suggestions for Barossarelated
pages on
southaustralia.com are
welcome, and should be
sent to SATC Regional
Marketing Manager via
the Barossa’s regional
tourism representative.
Barossa operators
including Tourism
Barossa have been
invited to all of the events
and despite follow up with
personal phone calls in
2 May 2012 reviewed 12 February 2013

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Actions
Discuss further
opportunities to attend
any of the following
key trade events:
- SATC's New Zealand
consumer roadshow
- SATC's USA
consumer and trade
roadshow
- SATC’s SE Asia
consumer and trade
roadshow
- SATC's China
Roadshow
- Corroboree Europe
- Australian Tourism
Exchange
16 Tourism Barossa to
leverage SATC’s
China Strategy
DAP
Rank
Timeframe Responsible organisation Status Comment
Tourism Barossa to purchase stand at
ATE (both Eastern and Western
Hemispheres).
4 Immediate SATC: Deliver strategy action by June
2012
- NPW US 12 - Kingsford
- NPW UK 13 – none
- South East Asia Roadshow, no Barossa
attendee
- China Roadshow, 1 operator for past
three years
- Corroboree- no attendee
- UK/Europe Roadshows – no attendees
- Five Barossa tourism operators
participated in one on one sessions with a
China specialist in December `12 as an
adjunct to the China Fitness Program
- Activating China strategy launched in
early February
many instances SATC
was unsuccessful in
getting more Barossa
operators engaged in
SATC’s international
marketing opportunities.
Barossa gets exposure in
all of our international
markets so SATC is keen
to get greater
engagement on the trade
side.
RDA: explore grant opportunities to
support industry skills for China market
Tourism Barossa: work on Barossaspecific
strategy in collaboration with
SATC international marketing team
Ongoing
2 May 2012 reviewed 12 February 2013
- require a meeting to discuss how Barossa
can leverage
- Great Wine Estates project (Tourism
Australia)
Skills for All funding but
requires a body to deliver.
Industry forums led by
someone with expertise
are needed. Programs
such as PIRSA ‘Fujian’
export initiative a focus for
business to promote
Brand Barossa. Customer
service and cultural
awareness are important
skills sets needed by
tourism businesses.
Barossa primarily a day
trip destination for
Chinese consumers, but
opportunities for product
bundling

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Actions
17 Barossa VIC as part of
the SellSA VIC pilot
program.
DAP
Rank
Infrastructure 5
18 Upgrade 30 rooms
from 3 star to 4 star
19 200 new rooms by
2020 (4-5 star). May
be some projects of
scale, with some
boutique and
experiential
accommodation.
Access 6
20 Maximise the cruise
ship visit opportunity
Timeframe Responsible organisation Status Comment
4 Immediate SATC: Deliver on Pilot program
commitments
5 Immediate Barossa & Light Councils: work towards
Development Plans to ensure that there
is clarity on where accommodation will
be supported (positive policy
environment).
SATC Destination Development team:
to pursue projects that deliver on this
target
5 Long Barossa & Light Councils: work towards
Development Plans to ensure that there
is clarity on where accommodation will
be supported (positive policy
environment);
SATC Destination Development team:
to pursue projects that deliver on this
target;
RDA: support projects that deliver on
this target by including in future RDA
Road Map.
6 Immediate SATC and Tourism Barossa work
together on ways to maximise visitation
ROI to the Barossa
2 May 2012 reviewed 12 February 2013
. The Barossa VIC was in the 2012/13 Sell SA
program
Underway and ongoing over next 12 months
Active delivery – ongoing:
SATC is working with various operators that have
potential to upgrade rooms. One project is already
completed, delivering 18 room upgrades that are
quality 4 star product. This represents 60% of the
DAP target for room upgrades.
There are currently 5 active ‘new room’ projects
being pursued by SATC. These are at various
stages of development and will eligible to apply for
the SATC’s Tourism Development Support
Program (TDSP). If all projects transpire as
planned, there will be 60+ new rooms in Barossa
by 2014/2015. This represents 30% of the ‘new
room’ target of 200.
N.B. The Kingsford Homestead project has
already delivered 8 new rooms.
SATC has worked with ITOs and cruise lines to
highlight the Barossa Valley and products on
offer. We have seen an increase in visitation to
Majority of activities have
been completed including
famils to neighbouring
regions, visual
merchandise training.
DPA Review to reflect
character preservation
legislation.
Further room upgrade
projects will be pursued
over the next 12 months
to work towards more,
quality 4 star
accommodation product
in the Barossa.
Interestingly there has
been an increase in
Independent travel to the
Barossa, meaning

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Actions
DAP
Rank
Timeframe Responsible organisation Status Comment
the Barossa, with the introduction of a half day
tour as well as the full day tour. The SATC is proactively
selling the Barossa as a pre / post or
overland stay, meaning pax can tour the region
prior to after or during their cruise. Thus a cruise
ship does even need to be coming to Adelaide to
offer this experience.
passengers are arranging
a private car and visiting
specific locations. Also
the ITOs have started to
be more creative and look
for truly unique
experiences. The SATC is
helping to identify some
current unique offerings
that are being offered on
intimate tours. A key
opportunity for the
Barossa.
21 Signage & entry
statements
22 Explore options for
increased Transport
services
6 Medium Barossa and Light Councils , RDA,
SATC and TB: work towards securing
appropriate signage
6 Medium Tourism Barossa, Barossa Council, and
RDA to determine specific next action
Funding application to be submitted to PIRSA
(RPF Stream 2)May 2013with funding available
from Barossa Council, BGWA RDA & TBI
Ongoing
Tanunda Urban Design Framework looking at
cycling and pedestrian linkages within and
connecting the town to improve access options for
residents and tourism. This includes bus parking
and spaces for trailered vehicles and a cycling
hub
- .
- .
2 May 2012 reviewed 12 February 2013