The Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) Board has signed off on key initiatives to target recovery in the domestic market.
TTNQ Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said the Board agreed to waive membership fees for the remainder of 2020 to help members participate in domestic campaigns.
“We want every operator to have money back in their hand to spend on domestic marketing,” he said.
“We know for some of our smaller businesses their membership fees are not a significant amount of money but it is about having every operator involved in promoting the destination when they are trading again.
“Domestic growth has to be TTNQ’s primary goal as Australia appears to be flattening the curve. However, international growth will be determined by how the rest of the world manages COVID-19.
“We will be using our $2.4 million funding from the Queensland Government and additional Cairns Airport funding as a starting point to increase our share of voice in the domestic travel market starting with drive.
“TTNQ’s Leave Greater brand strategy has been universally endorsed by the industry and will be the key to bringing the industry forward from the COVID-19 crisis.
“Another initiative is to roll out webinars from next week to ensure the industry has as many strong businesses as we can coming out the other side of their closures.
“Topics will include human resources, financial advice, business continuity planning and marketing in the wake of COVID-19.
“Phoebe Kitto from HR Dymanics will deliver the first webinar on Wednesday April 8 on Fair Work obligations, Job Keeper vs Job Seeker, redundancies, coping strategies and productivity while working from home.
“TTNQ is also reviewing its structure and role to make sure the organisation is perfectly positioned to support a domestic recovery.
“We recognise the enormous pain the industry is currently experiencing and are doing our utmost to help operators reopen their doors and welcome guests back to our destination as soon as restrictions are lifted.”