Tourism / Top marks for our destination in global strategic marketing report

JAYNE MILLER

Great news for our unique natural destination and for Tourism Port Douglas Daintree, receiving a welcome report card from strategic consultants Destination ThinkTank. Our local region has topped its audit of tourism destinations globally for the second consecutive year.

Tara Bennett, Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Port Douglas Daintree, validated the efforts of the industry to continue to innovate, expand and meet growing consumer demand for nature-based eco-tourism experiences.

“This is great news for our operators who, this research tells us, deliver inspiring travel experiences and sustainable practices, and should give us confidence about life after Covid-19.”

Tara Bennett

“Insights from this data help guide our strategic planning, marketing and destination development to enable us to identify opportunities and gaps in destination delivery to shape the way people talk about Port Douglas Daintree in the future.”

Tara Bennett

Ms Bennett said the results of the report were based on millions of online chats from more than 500,000 sources, including media sites, forums, reviews and social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube and TripAdvisor.

In addition to the text and image-based algorithm focused on conversations about the Port Douglas Daintree tourism region, five comparative destinations were included in the analysis. These were the Whitsundays, Queenstown, Byron Bay, Noosa and Tasmania.

The top drivers of conversation for Port Douglas Daintree were nature photography, and beaches and shoreline, with the standout activity being snorkelling and diving, receiving a consumer sentiment score of 86, increasing 26 points from the previous year’s index report.

“This is the highest asset score recorded to date, and reflects the calibre of operators in the Port Douglas Daintree region and the experience they are offering for visitors through the master reef guide program, advanced eco-tourism certification and leading research and sustainability practices.”

Tara Bennett