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Strategic destination
plans & frameworks

We work in partnership with States and Territories, Regional Tourism Organisations and Local Governments to co-create strategic tourism plans that support sustainable visitor economies.

We are a strategic partner for destination teams across Australia, working cohesively with clients to develop evidenced-based Tourism Plans, Destination Management Plans, niche sector and interest plans and destination brand and marketing strategies.

Our work is underpinned by a process of deep engagement with community and industry to ensure all strategic outcomes are co-created and are in the best interests of the local environment, people, and the economy.

The Tourism Collective are the ultimate professionals, they produce work to an incredibly high standard. I can’t recommend them highly enough!

Eyre Peninsula engaged The Tourism Collective in 2022 to develop a Destination Marketing Plan, what they produced far-surpassed expectations! The plan was extensively researched, and importantly; captured the voices of our community and stakeholders. The resulting plan provides a strategic vision that aligns with the wants and needs of the community, allows us to attract our best visitors, and outlines specific activity required to achieve our tourism objectives. As a destination, it was vital for us to work with an agency whose values around sustainability aligned with ours. The team are passionate advocates of sustainable tourism, demonstrating not only incredible depth of knowledge on the topic, but an ability to apply the principles of sustainability in practical terms.
Annabelle Hender, Regional Tourism Manager, Eyre Peninsula

our approach to
destination planning

Below is our set of values and guiding principles for the outcomes we deliver for our clients.

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CONSIDERED ENGAGEMENT & Deep Listening

There are many stakeholders within a destination, as such, we activate wide and deep engagement with all stakeholders to ensure the Plan speaks truthfully to the needs of the destination.

This consultation is not limited to traditional visitor economy stakeholders, but extended to perhaps the most important stakeholders of them all, local residents - who can legitamately speak to their personal livability and represent their natural environment.

Our extensive engagement methodology ensures our plans represent the aspirations of the community, which enables the social license to implement the plan.

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Evidence Based Planning

Without evidence, planning outcomes will always be questioned.

This is why it's essential that reliable evidence is collected - from crafting the right questions to explore with stakeholders, to interrogating ideas and opinions through valid means to provide clear direction for the development of any strategic plans.

This practice is reflected in our consultation methodology to ensure the validity of a benchmark to work from.

Where evidence doesn't exist, we encourage our clients to consider actions to accumulate the evidence to make decisions on future investments.

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Realising the Full Value of Tourism

We understand tourism is a living network of interconnected intelligence, priorities and aspirations from all custodians of place. To survive, the network is continually listening, sharing, responding, dying and regrowing, with the challenge of maintaining a balance of strength and fragility.

The global pandemic demonstrated the fragility of the network, with long-term issues still challenging the pursuit of equilibrium for destinations.

In all of our Plans, we seek to understand the aspirations of communities first, then look to connect the dots through strategic collaborations and activations, so that communities can realise the full value of tourism for the environment, community, industry, economy and the visitor.

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Stewardship & Agile Governance Model

It's our priority to develop plans and frameworks that can withstand and proactively respond to the ever-changing ladscape.

Adopting a stewarship approach to plan governance ensures stakehodlers are accountable for the vision and outcomes outlined, not just responsible for individual tasks.

Activating an Accountability Framework for action and a stakeholder communications plan enables tourism success measures to be reviewed and shared consistently and widely, and provides an ongoing touchpoint with the community for ongoing engagement and consultation.

It’s a rare and wonderful thing when the opportunity arises to work with a strategic partner who so emphatically embodies their stated values. Tourism eSchool’s approach to destination planning is premised on three pillars of Deep Listening, Evidence Based Planning and a Regenerative Mindset and the high quality of the work they produce is testament to the success of this approach.

Yorke Peninsula Tourism engaged Tourism eSchool to research and deliver a Strategic Tourism Action Plan in 2022 and a substantial aspect of this work was the research and development of a region-wide Situational Analysis. The thought, care and comprehensiveness of this analysis underpins the value of the whole Plan and sets our region up for long term success. By taking the time to genuinely listen and engage with a very broad range of stakeholders, Tourism eSchool were able to distil complex issues into clear, outcome-oriented action points. Further, their commitment to helping destinations evolve from a mindset of Destination Management to one of destination custodianship and stewardship is both strategically astute and environmentally and economically essential.
Jess Greatwich, Regional Tourism Manager, Yorke Peninsula Tourism

why work
with us on your next Plan

The Tourism Collective is a safe pair of hands, because of their professionalism and experience across a range of visitor destinations.

Paige, Rebecca and Jaclyn were integral to the development of T2030, the ACT Tourism Strategy, entrusted with managing consultations with the tourism industry and critical stakeholders, including Ministers. They also facilitated a successful visioning workshop with 60+ industry representatives. Aside from the consultations and workshop, we engaged in very productive and thought-provoking discussions with the team, which helped clarify our thinking and shaped the direction of our strategy.
Teresa Commachio, Senior Director, VisitCanberra

current & completed projects &
case studies

  • Destination Phillip Island

    Phillip Island and San Remo
    Destination Management Plan
    In Progress (June 2023 - December 2023)

  • Bendigo Region

    Bendigo Region
    Destination Management Plan & Local Area Action Plans
    In Progress (October 2023 - March 2024)

  • CLARE VALLEY TOURISM REGION

    Destination Management and Marketing Plan 2024
    Review & Update 
    June 2023

  • Yorke Peninsula Tourism

    5 Year Strategic Action Plan
    February 2023

  • Eyre Peninsula

    3 year Marketing Strategy
    December 2022

  • VisitCanberra 2030 Tourism Strategy

    Industry Listening Report + Co-Design Industry Planning Workshop
    Competed October 2022

  • Developing East Arnhem Limited

    3 Year Marketing Strategy
    Completed August 2022

  • Limestone Coast Local Government Association

    5 Year Tourism + Marketing Plan
    Completed November 2020

  • Destination Riverland

    10 Year Tourism Plan
    Completed November 2020

  • Town of Gawler

    5 Year Tourism Plan
    Complete August 2019

  • Adelaide Hills Tourism

    Website Marketing Strategy
    Completed June 2019

  • Cocos Keeling Island

    5 Year Marketing Strategy
    Completed April 2019

  • Light Regional Council

    4 Year Tourism Plan
    Completed September 2018

  • Cradle Coast Authority

    3 Year Marketing Strategy
    Completed September 2017

  • City of Port Adelaide Enfield

    2020 Tourism Plan
    Completed September 2016

  • Fleurieu Peninsula Tourism

    2020 Tourism Plan
    Completed May 2016

  • Western Adelaide Councils

    3 Year Destination Action Plan
    Completed September 2016

  • Clare Valley Tourism Region

    5 Year Destination Management & Marketing Plan
    September 2019

  • Destination Southern Tasmania

    5 Year Destination Marketing Plan
    November 2019

I cannot recommend Tourism E-School highly enough! I am proud of the work that we have done together and confident in it’s application to grow Riverland Tourism over the next decade.

Destination Riverland commissioned Tourism eSchool (now TTC) in 2019 following an exhaustive tender process to develop the Riverland Tourism Plan 2030 (RTP2030). In early 2020, Tourism eSchool started an extensive program of consultation in community and on line began in earnest only to be disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the whole process Rebecca and Paige were wonderfully adaptive, clear and timely in their communication and the final plan produced, despite the interruption of COVID, was outstanding.
Ben Patten, General Manager, Destination Riverland