Three guest speakers shared advice with Yarra Valley tourism operators at a recent conference.
The Tourism Network Yarra Valley (TNYV) held its annual conference in the Sandra Bardas Art Gallery at Worawa Aboriginal College on Wednesday 10 October.
Attendees included TNYV members and representatives from Yarra Ranges Council and Yarra Ranges Tourism.
Aboriginal elder Aunty Zeta Thomson performed a smoking ceremony and welcome to country.
The aim of the conference was to support TNYV members in managing and growing their businesses.
The day featured three guest speakers with respective experience in tourism, public relations and social networking.
Go Beyond Melbourne marketing manager Alva Hemming spoke about how the organisation showcased to international visitors the different experiences available in four distinct regions easily accessible from Melbourne – the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges, Phillip Island, The Mornington Peninsula, and Geelong and The Bellarine.
Ms Hemming explained how the Yarra Valley sat within the program and the benefits for tourism in the region.
Jules Brooke from Handle Your Own PR provided many tips on how small businesses could achieve exposure to potential customers using social media and print or news media.
She stressed that public relations need not be expensive, and performing a cost-benefit analysis was important before making any investment in PR.
The presentation from Lynette Coulston of iTandCoffee, Facebook for Business, provided a comprehensive set of tips and responses to common questions on using Facebook in a small business environment.
Each presentation incorporated a question and answer session, and the conference concluded with a workshop to capture learnings from the day and explore future opportunities for TNYV.
TNYV membership is open to any individual or business with an interest in the tourism industry in the Yarra Valley and surrounding regions.
Email info@tourismnetworkyarravalley.com.au or visit www.tourismnetworkyarravalley.com.au.
