Meet our friendly Verification Officers
ATAP enlists the help of two experienced professionals to undertake verification visits for many of our accredited businesses. Mary Walsh and Garry Robilliard have both contracted their services to ATAP on and off for the past four years – and we are delighted that they continue to work with us.
A verification visit is undertaken every 3 years to accredited businesses. It is a way for us to verify the information in your accreditation application, as well as a way for the business to receive some external feedback. It is an important part of your accreditation process.
Both Mary and Garry work hard to fit in with operators schedules when trying to organise site visits around various regions in Victoria, and we appreciate the effort accredited businesses make to work with them both when they are trying to coordinate these.
Mary Walsh…..
I love Victoria, there’s such an abundance of great tourism experiences to be had. I’m particularly fond of our horse-racing, bush-walking and general outdoors opportunities.
I’m passionate about the tourism experience and supporting operators in making the tourism product the best it can be for both the business and the consumer. Accreditation is a valuable tool in making this happen. My experience in accreditation and business management systems in particular, has been applied across tourism attractions, events, arts, education and project management fields. During my four years as a verification officer with ATAP I’ve met with operators from a broad range of tourism businesses. I enjoy gaining a better understanding of your business through these visits, how the business is tracking and your plans for its future. Continuous improvement is an important focus as we review the business together. I look forward to meeting more operators and continuing to support the great tourism industry here in Victoria. .
Garry Robilliard….
I specialise in providing working capital financing solutions to businesses requiring more positive cash flow and have an interest in sales of some outstanding pleasure boats.
I have owned and operated Motels/Caravan Parks, both in Mandurah WA and Ballarat Vic and I have also been fortunate to have been on Tourism boards, Tourism Associations and have presented at seminars on the industry.
After walking the Kokoda track with my daughter Emma, I have developed an interest in helping people who live in Kokoda and other nearby villages. This has lead me to an initiative which was set up by the local village people to develop a Kokoda homestay business. Whilst this initiative will involve a lot of work –specifically to raise funds – and there are many obstacles to overcome, I believe that it will bring money straight to the villages as well as other benefits.
I enjoy undertaking the Verifications for ATAP as I believe in the benefits for a business, and I much enjoy the interaction I have with all whom I visit. I share their passion for tourism and have enjoyed the relationships I have developed as a result.
June 22, 2011 at 2:25 pm | General | No comment
2011 Victoria Tourism Week – 5-10 September!
The Victorian Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) has announced that the second Victoria Tourism Week is scheduled to be held from Monday 5 to Saturday 10 September 2011.
The inaugural Victoria Tourism Week was a roaring success, seeing thousands participating in events all over Victoria.
This year, Victoria Tourism Week is back in September and the aim is to make it bigger and better.
Tourism Week will be launched at the inaugural national Tourism & Events (TEE) Excellence Conference, focusing on defining excellence in our industry.
VTIC’s partners Destination Melbourne will be hosting a series of functions with further information coming soon.
Also, back by popular demand is the Tourism Amazing Race. Grab a bunch of your colleagues to make a team, pick a great costume, some sensible shoes and race through the streets of Melbourne to try and reign supreme.
VTIC are inviting the tourism industry, both in Melbourne and regional Victoria, to become involved in Victorian Tourism Week.
Tourism industry leaders interested in building events that will support Victoria Tourism Week, or participating in planned events, are encouraged to contact Mariella Mejia at mmejia@vecci.org.au or call (03) 8662 5217.
June 16, 2011 at 2:06 pm | General | No comment
TQUAL Reminder
We wanted to remind accredited businesses that they can now get access to the TQUAL Mark which is currently being promoted by Tourism Australia. You should have received an email from ATAP with instructions on how to get access to the TQUAL mark.
To recap, the Federal Government has recently launched a National Tourism Accreditation Framework (NTAF). NTAF endeavours to set national standards for accreditation programs operating in Australia by providing an umbrella framework. They have introduced a symbol of quality known as the TQUAL mark that can be used by operators that have been awarded accreditation by a NTAF approved program.
ATAP is the first accreditation program to be approved under the new framework. As we already met the high standards set in this framework there is no additional requirements for our businesses but by maintaining your ATAP status you become a NTAF approved operator and will get access to co-brand the TQUAL mark with the already well established ATAP brand.
As a NTAF approved operator, you will benefit from:
- The Australian Government’s investment $5.5 million in the NTAF, with a large proportion of this going into national and global marketing by Tourism Australia;
- Co-branding with the NTAF’s national symbol of quality, the TQUAL mark;
- Promotion of the TQUAL mark to consumers that will increase the visibility of your business and highlight your commitment to quality; and
- Preferential listing on Australia.com and on your State or Territory Tourism Organisation’s website
To get access to the TQUAL mark you will need to agree to the sub-licence. If you have not received the sub-licence or would like further information, please do not hesitate to contact ATAP on (03) 9620 4199 or info@atapvic.net.au.
June 16, 2011 at 2:05 pm | General | 2 comments
Tourism and Events Excellence Conference 2011
It is an exciting period for the Australian tourism and events industry, with the inaugural Tourism & Events Excellence (TEE) Conference being held from 5 to 7 September 2011 in Melbourne.
A primary objective of the TEE Conference is to help ensure that tourism and events become a central focus of the Australian economy over the next decade, with every aspect of these sectors operating in harmony at a level that is acknowledged for its excellence by the world.
The Conference will inspire delegates to achieve excellence in their organisations by addressing the following key topics:
- Tourism and Events Partnerships
- Marketing Strategies
- Aviation and Transport
- Sustainability and Growth
- Risk Management and Investment
If you would like to have your say in the conference or attend this national event head to www.teeconference.com.
June 16, 2011 at 1:53 pm | General | No comment
The new my.visitvictoria.com
Do you have your business listed on visitvictoria.com? There are some changes you’ll need to make to your listing before the launch of the new site in July. Simply login at my.visitvictoria.com and update three parts of your listing:
- Images. The new website design features much larger images. Existing images can appear on the new site, however they won’t be the correct size and will not look very good. With a new image uploader tool that does all the work for you, just select an image and upload the original straight from your computer. Up to 9 images can be uploaded.
- Service level – e.g. rooms, tours, hire services, and transport services. Service level only applies to accommodation, hire, tour and transport products. If you are one of these categories, please upload information about the various services your business provides. For example, accommodation listings can describe room types and tour listings can load information about individual tours.
- Tariffs. Please upload your latest rates and tariffs. Accommodation products now set tariffs to individual rooms. Room rates are loaded in the ‘Indicative Rates Per Room’ section within each room type. Hire, Tours and Transport products now set tariffs to the individual services they offer. Tariffs are loaded in the ‘Indicative Rates Per Service’ section within each service type. Events and attractions products load ticket or admission prices in the ‘Entry Cost’ section. No service level is required for events or attractions.
Changes made to listings will be saved and will not be published until the new visitvictoria.com is launched in mid July.
Need a bit more help to make these changes? No worries. Watch the video tutorial to learn how to use the new system.
For any help you can phone the visitvictoria.com Support Desk on 1300 306 366 or email onlinecomments@tourism.vic.gov.au.
Dont forget that as an accredited business you only pay $100 for your listing on www.visitvictoria.com.
June 16, 2011 at 1:47 pm | General | No comment
Upcoming Industry Event
Gippsland Tourism Conference
- When: Mon-Tues, 18-19th July 2011
- Where: Traralgon
- For more information: esorahan@destinationgippsland.com.au
