RESIDUALtravel voucher funds of $150,000 will be split between King island Council and King Island Tourism Inc.
The incentivised King Island travel voucher scheme was implemented by the State Government to remedy the Public Health travel advice to avoid travelling to King Island following an island Covid outbreak
There were 700 $300-vouchers redeemable for island experiences and encouraged people from Victoria and Tasmania to visit King Island between May to July 2022 and were distributed via a ballot system.
“A Grant Deed has been signed between King Island Council and Tourism Tas to allocate the rermaining funds to be divided between Council and King Island Tourism Inc,” King Island Council growth and strategy manager, Helen Thomas said.
The allocations are:
• $50,000 Development and resource contribution to King Island Tourism Strategy
• $40,000 Tourism visitor data collection 2023- 2024
• $40,000 Visitor focussed signage ($30K Roads $10 Print)
• $20,000 Development of an Aviation prospectus, with increased informed data aimed at the Charter sector.
“In 2022, 28000 passengers arrived on the island using Regular Passenger Transport flights, additionally, there were 900-plus charter flights.
“More data-driven information and resources will inform the final King Island Tourism strategy,” Ms Thomas said.“The key is bringing all the data together. We need to know why and how people are choosing King Island as a destination and to not only collect data from visitors when they have been to the island and they are leaving.”
The survey conducted after the voucher program gave pre-travel insights.
She said 53 per cent of registrants were seeking nature-based and self-guided activities.
“There are now new opportunities coming that build on non-golf visitation,” Ms Thomas said at the recent Tourism Strategy forum.
The online voucher scheme applicants contributed to building a tourism-focused database.
A survey following the voucher program was sent to 13,000 registrants in the original ballot and asked ballot entrants to provide an indication of what attracted them to King Island as a holiday destination.
The survey results indicated that nature-based and foodie experiences were five to six times more attractive than golf.
King Island’s remoteness appealed to around half of the survey respondents. The post-survey analysis showed prospective visitors were interested in:
Nature-based experiences (walks, beaches, etc.) 74%
Food / Beverage experiences 60%
Remoteness 47%
Culture 24%
Luxury accommodation 21%
Golf 12%
Other 14%
Of those who selected “Other”, over a third reported a personal connection as a reason to visit, for example, a historical family connection, a friend or family member who lives on the Island now, or their own experience on the Island. A similar number quoted curiosity about the Island as a place they hadn’t visited and knew little about, with around a quarter naming specific island events as a drawcard.
Voucher recipients were asked why they had not used their voucher and 26% indicated that the cost of flights was a factor in not redeeming, and 16% indicated the time provided to redeem the vouchers was insufficient for their circumstances.