For local government and destinations

Tourism & Destination Marketing Strategy

For councils and destination organisations that need a tourism or destination marketing strategy grounded in evidence, built with the local industry, and written to be adopted rather than shelved.

The problem this solves

Destination strategies fail in two predictable ways. The first is the consultant's document — sound methodology, national benchmarks, and no relationship with the operators who have to deliver it. It gets adopted and never acted on.

The second is the aspirational document — a vision statement, a list of unfunded initiatives, and no sequencing. It reads well in the council report and cannot be implemented by anyone.

A useful strategy names what the destination actually has, what it realistically competes for, and what to do first with the budget that exists.

What's included

• Situation analysis — current visitation, existing product, competitive position within WA
• Stakeholder engagement across operators, industry bodies and council officers
• Market and audience analysis, grounded in available data rather than assertion
• Positioning and priority markets, with the trade-offs stated plainly
• An action plan with sequencing, indicative resourcing and responsibilities
• Measurement framework — what to track, how often, and what success looks like
• A document written for a council report, with an executive summary that stands on its own

Typical timeline

Three to six months, depending on how much consultation the engagement carries. Stakeholder consultation is the variable, and it is not the part to compress — a plan written without the operators in it is a plan the sector will not follow.

Strategy seen from the council side of the table

Andy's contribution as a councillor was a genuine part of getting Rockingham's first Destination Marketing Strategy off the ground. He brought a practical, on-the-ground understanding of what the City's tourism sector actually needed.

Emiliano BarzottoThen-President, Tourism Rockingham

SATM wrote the Strategic Development Plan 2025–2030 for the Western Australia Agritourism Association — a fifty-two page plan covering external market analysis, vision and mission, stakeholder mapping, three delivery programs, a brand and messaging framework, and a funding and accountability model. How that engagement works, and why it is not a standard client relationship, is set out in the WA Agritourism Association case study.

As an elected councillor at the City of Rockingham, Andy championed the City of Rockingham Tourist Destination Strategy (2019–2024) and supported it through to Council adoption — experience gained from the governance side of the table where SATM’s local government clients sit. He now serves as a councillor at the Shire of Manjimup, bringing working knowledge of two councils across metropolitan and regional WA to every destination engagement.

Delivery experience on the operational side is documented in the Tourism Rockingham case study.

Common questions

Do you work to a procurement process?

Yes. A capability statement, insurance details and referees are available for tender and quotation processes.

How do you handle stakeholder consultation?

A mix of one-to-one interviews with operators and industry bodies, and facilitated workshops. Operators tell you different things in a room than they do on the phone, so both matter.

Will the strategy be implementable with our budget?

That is the test we apply. An action plan that assumes resourcing you do not have is not a strategy, it is a wish list. We ask about the budget envelope early and plan inside it.

Can you present to council?

Yes — to councillors, to an executive team, or to an industry forum.

Is there a conflict given Andy is a sitting councillor?

Andy is a councillor for the Rural Ward at the Shire of Manjimup and does not undertake commercial work for the Shire of Manjimup while serving. For every other local government there is no conflict. He left the City of Rockingham council in 2019; the Tourism Rockingham contract began in 2021.