Best of Queensland Experiences!
Posted on August 21st, 2018
I am thrilled to report that the Capricorn Region has retained the second highest average ReviewPro score out of thirteen (13) regional tourism boundaries in Queensland, with a score of just over 90! The highest scoring region was Southern Queensland Country with 91 and the Queensland average is 89.
This is thanks to our amazing 40 operators (from the Keppel Islands to the Central Highlands) who have achieved the Best of Queensland status, which is 6 more in our region than a few months ago!
Capricorn Enterprise has been working hard with our operators to assist them in not only retaining their inclusion in the Best of Queensland program by achieving a minimum score of 80 out of 100, but by achieving higher scores than the state average.
So, what is the Best of Queensland Program and how do operators achieve inclusion?
A World First and developed by Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ), this is an incredible opportunity for our operators in smaller regions to feature alongside operators in more established tourism destinations around the state!
This is a critical program for our tourism industry – so how do you achieve inclusion?
Step One: A tourism product must have a live listing on the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) to be assessed. If you are an accommodation, attraction, tour product or café/restaurant and you are not on ATDW, please contact our team on 49272055 or email admin@capricornenterprise.com.au – we’ll send you information on how to sign up!
Step Two: If you are a Member of Capricorn Enterprise, you not only receive a discount on your annual ATDW listing ($150 pa versus $200pa), but your RTO Membership also gives you points when assessed against the Best of Queensland criteria. These points can be the difference between reaching the entry score to the program or not. Plus, we assist our Members every step of the way in achieving Best of Queensland!
Step Three: You must have active and engaging social media presence – as a Member of Capricorn Enterprise, we can also assist you in ensuring you know where to find the tools, tips, training and knowledge to improve your digital capability.
Your product is assessed against robust criteria and receives a total score out of 100.
- 60 points is allocated to consistent delivery of an exceptional experience, based on positive customer reviews. You must receive 25 minimum customer reviews over 12 months. ReviewPro is a company that aggregates information on businesses from over 175 worldwide review platforms. The information collated provides a Global Review Index and a score of minimum 80 or more out of 100 had to be achieved in this interim assessment to meet this criteria. However, the current average Queensland ReviewPro score is 88.72 out of 100 so we have a high benchmark to aim for against future average Queensland scores. In other words, the current minimum of 80 will increase!
- 15 points is allocated to your website and online booking capability (i.e. a booking button)
- 15 points is allocated to your active and engaging social media presence (i.e. 4 plus posts per week, consistent engagement)
- 5 points is allocated if you are a financial Member of your Regional Tourism Organisation (i.e. Capricorn Enterprise).
- 5 points is allocated if your product has official Accreditation of some kind.
All of our Capricorn regional tourism products which have live listings on ATDW have received their results this week from Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) for the Best of Queensland Experiences program.
However, we must continue to work hard over the next few months to not just ensure these interim results turn into final results which will be announced in January, but to achieve a higher number of operators into the program. Capricorn Enterprise is absolutely focused on assisting our operators achieve Best of Queensland Experience status, so that the next interim assessment in November this year is a success for our destination!
The Best of Queensland Experiences final list will be announced in January 2019, so if you want to be involved in some great marketing opportunities please contact us on 49272055 or admin@capricornenterprise.com.au. This is just too important to ignore!
Until next time
Mary Carroll, CEO Capricorn Enterprise
