Central Coast Tourism Excellence Program 2024: Real Results from a High-Impact Regional Initiative

In 2024, Central Coast Council partnered with Tourism Tribe to deliver a fully funded capability-building program for 15 local tourism businesses. The Central Coast Tourism Excellence Program aimed to build confidence, sharpen business strategies, and give operators the tools to improve performance across product, marketing, and digital engagement.

From website optimisation and partnerships to experience packaging and customer data strategies, this program delivered tangible progress across the board so and it’s no surprise that it’s back for 2025.

Why the Program Was Needed

Consumer expectations in the tourism sector are shifting rapidly, and for small and medium-sized operators, it can be hard to keep up without structured support. Central Coast Council recognised this need and invested in a program that would support local operators to assess their own business performance, set priorities, and take action.

The program was designed not as a one-size-fits-all course, but as a targeted capability-building model, helping businesses identify their greatest opportunities and giving them expert guidance to act on them.

What the Program Included

The 2024 Central Coast Tourism Excellence Program included:

Self-Assessment & Playbook

Each business began the program by completing a self-assessment and reviewing the Central Coast Tourism Fundamentals Playbook, a tailored guide developed by Council. It covered everything from product development and marketing strategy to digital distribution and branding all contextualised for the Central Coast visitor economy.

In-Person Workshop

A half-day workshop brought participants together to explore shared challenges and begin applying the playbook’s strategies. Key areas included:

• Developing customer personas
• Prioritising digital touchpoints
• Improving SEO and social presence
• Collaborative product development

One-on-One Coaching

Each business received six hours of tailored one-on-one coaching, delivered in three two-hour blocks. The first session was held in person at the operator’s location whenever possible. This allowed the coach to get a feel for the business, build rapport, and co-develop a practical action plan grounded in the operator’s real-world context.

The following sessions were held online, creating continuity of support while remaining flexible for busy business owners. This structure, beginning with on-site immersion and followed by guided implementation, ensured that operators had consistent support over time, not just at the start. Many participants made substantial progress between sessions, reporting clear gains in confidence, clarity, and capability as the program unfolded.

Who Participated

Fifteen businesses took part, spanning a range of experience types and tourism services across the Central Coast. These included:

• Accommodation
• Tours and experiences
• Food and drink
• Attractions
• Support services and the Visitor Information Centre

The diversity of participants showed that capability-building isn’t just for one part of the industry – every operator, no matter their starting point, can benefit from structured, relevant support.

What Changed for Businesses

Real Outcomes, Tangible Progress

Across the program, businesses made substantial gains in strategy, digital performance, and market readiness. Some of the key achievements included:

• Implementing website improvements that enhanced user experience, clarifing seasonal offerings, and improved messaging to better align with target markets.
• Creating or refining lead generation systems, including the use of QR codes, digital brochures, and email automation tools to capture and engage potential customers.
• Developing structured marketing campaigns, including Facebook Ads strategies, joint promotions with local partners, and school holiday activations.
• Making strong use of AI tools like ChatGPT to develop personas, improve customer communications, and refine tone of voice across website and social content.
• Establishing partnerships and distribution opportunities through tourism trade platforms, industry briefings, and collaboration with other regional businesses.
• Strengthening Google Business Profiles and SEO fundamentals to increase visibility and improve online bookings.

In every case, businesses walked away with sharper messaging, better systems, and clearer paths forward.

Feedback from Participants

The feedback speaks for itself. Here are just a few quotes from those who completed the program:

“A fantastic program that helped me grow my business. The one-on-one coaching sessions were invaluable — time well spent making real changes.”
Elise Kemp, Meliora Farm

“This is definitely one of the most helpful courses I’ve done. The coaching with Claire was incredibly valuable.”
Karl Herman, Bombora SUP

“I cannot express enough how transformative Tourism Tribe has been for my business. Practical, tailored advice — highly recommended.”
Ivan Rusev, The Bloom Barn Farm

“The program provided a real step change for my understanding of the tourism industry and quick-win improvements for my startup.”
— Matt Harrington, Bike Flow Adventures

The Board-Ready Report: A Valuable Deliverable

This program also included a Board-Ready Report, a concise executive summary provided to Central Coast Council post-program. This report summarised:

• Key outcomes for each business
• Thematic trends across participants
• High-priority development areas for the region
• Recommendations for future investment

These reports are a valuable decision-making tool for councils, helping bridge the gap between frontline support programs and strategic planning.

(Tourism Tribe offers these Board-Ready Reports as a custom add-on to programs in any region.)

A Practical Blueprint for Regional Growth

The Central Coast Tourism Excellence Program stood out because it didn’t just teach – it enabled. The positive impacts of this program further reinforce that regional capability-building works best when it is:

• Tailored to the region’s specific operators and maturity levels
• Practical – grounded in real business actions, not generic content
• Measured – with clear before/after insights and reporting
• Supported – through a mix of structured content and personalised guidance

And the proof is in the outcome: Central Coast Council has commissioned a second round of the program for 2025, building on the success of this round.

Could This Work in Your Region?

Tourism Tribe works with local councils, RTOs, and economic development teams to design and deliver programs that meet the needs of your region’s tourism operators.

We’ll help you:

• Identify development opportunities
• Create region-specific content
• Deliver coaching with measurable outcomes
• Produce professional post-program reporting

Explore our current and previous programs or visit our Industry Training page to learn more. If you’re interested in a tailored program for your region, reach out to our team by completing the enquiry form at the bottom of the Industry Training page.

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