Before visitors arrive in our region to snorkel alongside giant marine life, witness a miracle on our shores as turtles’ nest and their babies hatch, taste farm-fresh produce and sip award-winning drinks, they start dreaming and planning… and that is where we come in.
Our ‘Always On’ digital and social strategy means that our team at Bundaberg Tourism are continually engaging both digitally savvy travellers and those exploring online, to influence their decision-making and encourage potential visitors to make our region their next holiday destination.
As Australians are currently unable to travel internationally, this has created even more opportunity to drive visitors to our beautiful region and support the local economy by spending their dollars at local businesses.
Our destination website www.bundabergregion.org continues to significantly expand our digital footprint and enhance our ability to share the incredible experiences visitors can have while in region.
During December 2020, in comparison to the same time in 2019, the number of people who visited our website increased by over 20 percent and the number of pages viewed increased by 30 percent, and the number of leads direct to businesses doubled. This means that we had more potential visitors dreaming of a holiday in region, more people exploring our tours, attractions, and accommodation options, and sent more people to operators' websites in December than the same time a year before.
With holiday guides becoming more popular, during December we saw over 16,500 visitors (from outside of region) to our blog page looking for getaway inspiration. Thanks to our clear skies and warm waters, visitors were looking to explore our islands, get up-close with marine life and relax on our beaches, with searches from Woodgate to Moore Park. With these blog pages so popular, what locals’ tips and insights could you share to help someone choose to experience our backyard? Let us know your ideas!
Leveraging the content shared by locals and visitors, our social media channels are a key touchpoint for potential visitors to discover all the things they can do and all the places they can go while in region. By continually promoting our memorable experiences, we are enticing consumers to book their Bundaberg region getaway.
In the last month alone, we reached over 500,000 people on our consumer social media channels @visitbundaberg with 90.5 percent of traffic from outside our region. This reflects the number of people who were exposed to content about the region’s local operators and experiences.
As we enter the new year and Australians are dreaming and planning their 2021 holidays, we will continue to promote our piece of paradise through our successful digital and social strategy, helping to attract more people to enjoy our region, and spend new money in the local economy.
Yours in tourism,
Katherine Reid, CEO
PS: If there are other things you would like to see in this column about tourism – let us know on our corporate Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bundabergtourism
