Aussie Specialist Program
Camel tours at Pyndan, Northern Territory © Tourism NT/Maxime Coquard
The Aussie Specialist Program is an innovative online course designed to give frontline travel sellers the knowledge and skills needed to sell Australia effectively to their customers.
The Aussie Specialist Program (ASP) is Tourism Australia’s global online training program, shared by all eight state and territory tourism partners and designed to provide frontline travel sellers from around the globe with the knowledge and skills to best sell Australia.
The program is available in all key markets across 9 languages (English, German, French, Italian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, and Bahasa Indonesia) and includes a new digital platform and team of Aussie Specialist Coordinators and Trainers in-market. Since May 2020, the program is also available in Australia.
Tourism Australia maintains active relationships with qualified Aussie Specialists through the Aussie Specialist website, e-newsletters, trade events and familiarisation trips to Australia.
Marketing opportunities for Australian tourism suppliers
There are a number of marketing opportunities for Australian tourism suppliers to get involved with the Aussie Specialist Program:
Industry offers
With Aussie Specialists having access to Australia 365 On Demand, operators can submit an offer to entice Aussie Specialists to experience their product first-hand on their personal travel around Australia. You are able to self manage your offer and Aussie Specialists are able to search by both operation type and geographic location. Your offer should be valid for at least 12 months. Many operators offer FOC or discounts on their product or some sort of value add (eg. complimentary breakfast, room upgrade, drinks voucher, stay/pay deal etc). It is also worth considering the Aussie Specialist’s travelling companion in your offer. For more information visit events.tourism.australia.com/australia-365-on-demand.
Training events
Training events for Aussie Specialists are held overseas and in Australia and provide you with the opportunity to promote your product face-to-face with Aussie Specialists. These events are promoted on Tourism Australia’s website and in Tourism Australia’s weekly newsletter, Essentials.
Product update videos
Tourism Australia has seen an increase in interest from front-line travel sellers for short and sharp on-demand training videos. With ASP agents having access to the events.tourism.australia.com/australia-365-on-demand platform, be sure to upload a short training video (around 5 minutes in length) to the ‘documents and resources’ section of your listing. Think of it as the equivalent of sitting face-to-face with an agent at a trade event, or even as if an agent was on a virtual tour of your product.
Preparing your training update
- Your training video should be no longer than 5 minutes - Think short, sharp and interesting – You don’t need to use the entire time allowed.
- The delivery of information within your video can take many forms:
- 'Virtual Tours' of your product with narration or a live guide.
- A recorded webinar containing a presentation/images
- A combination of the above - The simplest to produce being a 'screen-recording' of a webinar with both yourself (don't be shy!) and presentation content visible.
- Don't assume that viewers know where you are geographically - A quick map is always useful.
- Presentations should to be engaging and make product stand out – Use visuals where possible.
- Explain the benefit your product gives to people - Why they love your experience - What makes your product unique from others?
- What are the key parts that you think are the 'musts' in terms of things to know? Remember that people can always look up specific details afterwards - Use your time to get people interested and draw them in.
- Use language that everyone understands, remembering that non-native speakers may be viewing this content.
- “Test” your video on friends and family – Does it keep them engaged? What are their key takeaways? – A fresh perspective is always useful!
- Be passionate and have fun with it! This is your business, be proud to promote it!
Examples:
Who to contact for further information
| Enquiry type | Contact |
|---|---|
| ACT, NSW, NT & QLD | Rachael Glendinning Industry Relations Manager - ACT, NSW & QLD rglendinning@tourism.australia.com |
| SA & WA | Dominic Mehling Acting General Manager, Industry Relations – SA & WA dmehling@tourism.australia.com |
| TAS, VIC & Youth | Kristy Malapa Industry Relations Manager – TAS, VIC & Youth kmalapa@tourism.australia.com |
