What We Do

TNE is charged with developing the long-term and overarching strategic vision and direction for the High Country region, ensuring a platform for future tourism growth. Its efforts are guided by the following vision and supporting mission statement:

Vision:
To establish the High Country as the leading regional tourism destination in Victoria, with a thriving visitor economy based on a diverse range of engaging tourism experiences.

Mission Statement:
Tourism North East will work collaboratively with government and industry partners to strategically grow, enhance and promote the High Country tourism offering to deliver positive tourism outcomes for the region. It will drive strategic tourism efforts across the areas of planning, marketing, product development, industry development, infrastructure and advocacy, to ensure that the region offers memorable tourism experiences for visitors and strong tourism-related yield opportunities for the destination.

In realising this vision, TNE has several key responsibilities:

Regional marketing – developing regional campaigns that look to drive awareness, dispersal and yield opportunities for the region.
Product development – identifying gaps in the regional tourism offering and working with local government and industry partners to fill them, particularly in areas where the High Country can achieve differentiated product strengths.
Industry development – working with tourism operators to enhance their offering and ensure long term sustainability, delivering a high-quality and consistent regional tourism product.
Facilitating tourism investment – identifying infrastructure and investment opportunities and/or partnerships among private and public entities.
Research – collaborating with local government and industry partners to determine common research requirements that can generate insights used for strategic planning for the region.
Advocacy – uniting advocacy efforts across a variety of areas including funding support and legislative and policy issues.
Strategic planning - leading strategic planning for the region as well as providing consultation for State and Federal tourism plans and programs.

Industry/Product Development

Industry and product development is a key focus of TNE. This work entails working with businesses within the region to enhance their current tourism experience, and also diversify their offering to meet current and emerging product demand. It also involves developing new products, either through new partnerships or attracting new business to the High Country capable of meeting current product gaps.

Within this scope, TNE is able to work with tourism businesses to keep them abreast of current market trends, to assist them with evolving their operation to better meet customer demand, to review their business plans to identify efficiencies and optimise their strategic direction, and provide any other general guidance they may need to drive long terms sustainingly and success.

If you would like to arrange a one-on-one business development session, or join a group briefing session about a specific topic, please contact TNE to get an overview of its current program schedule.

Regional Marketing

TNE has developed and delivered a range of marketing campaigns which look to drive destination awareness, tourism visitation and economic yield for the entire High Country region. These campaigns are activity pillar based and include:

Ride High Country - cycling tourism
Feast High County - food, wine and craft beer tourism
Walk High Country - walking and nature based tourism
Your Mid Week Lift - snow and alpine resorts
Arts and Cultural Heritage (in development)

Infrastructure Development

Ongoing investment in tourism infrastructure is central to ensuring that the High Country product offering remains engaging and relevant amongst target market. This includes the development of new tourism infrastructure, as well as the enhancement of existing assets to maximise visitation and yield opportunities.

As such, TNE works with a range of private and public entities to explore a range of partnership options relevant to tourism infrastructure investment, and also work with businesses to assist with scoping and planning for potential tourism investments.

If you have a project that may complement the strategic direction of the region, please contact TNE to ascertain how we can provide advice, support and advocacy to assist with bringing your project to fruition.

Partnerships

VTIC

Victorian Tourism Industry Council is the peak advocacy body for the tourism industry in Victoria. Tourism North East maintains membership and attends their quarterly policy and advocacy setting discussions. This allows TNE to table issues that might have state-wide implications that have been highlighted within our region. Industry operators are able to sign up for VTIC membership also if they feel it is appropriate.

VTIC's website contains information on their activities and policy priorities.

Outdoors Victoria
Outdoors Victoria (OV) is the peak body for all Outdoor activities in Victoria. It exists to support the Outdoors Community, to advocate the benefits of outdoor activity to the broader community. Tourism North East maintains membership to OV and engages with them regularly as it recognises the strong connection between nature based tourism in our region and the outdoors community. OV's website outlines more of their policy positions. Industry operators are able to sign up for OV's newsletter and can take membership also if felt appropriate.

PR

TNE will drive significant publicity coverage of tourism driving events, activities and businesses in the High Country. The focus for the coming year's PR effort is metro inter and intrastate, regional Victorian media, ACT media and southern NSW regional media.
If you would like to be involved in the region’s media famil program, you must have a listing on your local destination website.

Advocacy

TNE is an independent non-profit organisation set up to work in partnership with the tourism industry, local and state government and other stakeholders to drive positive tourism outcomes. TNE advocates for key tourism priorities in the High Country across many different spheres. Briefings with local government, state government, elected officials, advocacy groups and other important partners in tourism take place on a regular basis.

If as a tourism business or cluster of businesses you have an advocacy priority let us know. This could include advocacy relevant to funding priorities or requirements, or in relation to address a common tourism problem or legislative or advocacy issue.

If you have an issue that you feel requires advocacy advice or support from TNE, please feel free to contact either the CEO or relevant Industry & Product Development Manager.