ATDW checklist

An excellent ATDW listing is a must for every tourism operator as its content will be used across hundreds of sites around the world. However, not all tourism operators are confident they have made the most of this opportunity and this is why we have developed the ATDW Health Check.

Developed by our tourism industry experts with over 60 years of combined experience AND in consultation with ATDW itself, our ATDW Health Check will give you the confidence to know that your listing is working for you. We will comb through your ATDW listing and help you maximise its potential to create more views and bookings for your business.

If you haven’t had an assessment of your ATDW listing we highly recommend you check out our ATDW Health Check. Our experts will thoroughly check your listing against key criteria and provide you with a written report of straight forward and practical recommendations that explain, for each point you failed in the check, why it needs to be fixed and how to do it.

Primary phone & email are present

In optimising your ATDW listing it is important that you include core information that includes primary phone and email. By having primary information listed this allows prospective customers to reach out to you directly and embark on their booking journey with you.

Our assessment revealed that either your email and/or primary phone number were missing. Please log into your ATDW listing to rectify.

Website and social media URLs

If you have answered ‘no’ to this question, we advise that you log in to your ATDW listing and ensure you have the correct URLs listed and the links are working. By having your URLs working, ensures that visitors are able to follow you on their preferred channel and can easily search and navigate to the business’ page.

It is important to have your website and all of your social media accounts listed in your ATDW listing so that customers can follow your business on their preferred channels. We have found that some or all of the links were missing or returned errors. Please check your listing thoroughly.

Online booking system

The purpose of an online booking system and functionality is to allow potential visitors to self-book and pay through your website, making it simple for visitors/guests to book and pay for tours, accommodation and activities online.

We recommend you add a book/buy now button to your listing. Research shows that consumers expect to be able to view their options, check availability and purchase/book immediately online rather than calling or emailing. If you don’t have a book now button that links to a bookable product, potential customers will go to your competitors who do.

Map & Location

If you have answered ‘no’ in this area, we advise that you log into your ATDW listing, navigate to the location tab and follow the instructions to ensure your address is correct and the map displays under the pin. The address must be complete, including area and region, so that your business will be listed correctly when a filter is used in the search.

We’ve noticed a problem with your listing mapping. Log into your ATDW listing, navigate to the location tab and follow the instructions to ensure your address is correct and the map displays with the pin. The address must be complete, including area and region, so that your business will be listed correctly when a filter is used in the search. Ensure it is the same address as the one you have on your Google Business Profile.

Business listing description

Your business description is your first opportunity to tell your potential visitors about your product/services. When you write it, make sure you put yourself in the shoes of someone who has never heard about your business, services or location. It should explain the visitor experience in enough detail to set your customer expectations and excite them, including details such as target maket that would enjoy your experience. Refer to the previous topic Editing your ATDW listing for tips on how to write an effective description.

We have found that your business description could be improved. We recommend you update it by following the tips in your ATDW account. Your business description is your first opportunity to tell your potential visitors about your product/services. When you write it, make sure you put yourself in the shoes of someone who has never heard about your business, services or location. It should explain the visitor experience in enough detail to set customer expectations and excite them, including details such as the target market that would enjoy your experience (e.g. We are a family-friendly motel.).

Depictive business images

A picture says a thousand words. Images are an effective way to add more detail to your ATDW listing.

Living in the 21st century has allowed humans to become visual creators and enable us to envision going to a destination. Your photos enable potential visitors to imagine themselves enjoying your product/services.

Quality images tell the story of your product/services and help to create trust between your business and your client. The better the image, the more likely customers are to rate your product/services highly, which will influence their purchase decision. Your images should be (semi) professional so that you paint a professional picture of your business.

By having at least 5 suitable images that show your location and the type of experience invites your customer to continue their consumer journey and book an experience/stay with you. Visit our ‘Improving your Tourism buisness’imagery’ course for tips on how to take a great photo.

Your ATDW images are used by marketing organisations to promote your business. We have found that you could add more images or that they are too different from the ones on your website or that they simply aren’t as enticing as they could be. We, therefore, recommend you review them. Your photos enable potential visitors to imagine themselves enjoying your products/services. Quality images tell the story of your product/services and help to create trust between your business and your client. The better the image, the more likely customers are to rate your products/services highly, which will influence their decision to buy. Your images should be (semi) professional so that you paint a professional picture of your business (tip: an image of a guest enjoying your product is more powerful than a product shot). They should also include your target market whenever possible. We recommend a minimum of 5 good quality images that show your location and the type of experience that your visitor would have.

Quality videos

Alongside suitable images, should include at least 2 quality videos. Videos can be a triple treat to allow customers to hear the sounds of those waves hitting the shore, to seeing smiles on tourists faces and visualising each aspect of the experience all at the same time.

As seen on social media platforms, video content is one of the most popular drives to maintaining views and engaging interest. You don’t need lots of resources to create an authentic video, it can be as simple as filming on your smart phone and uploading it to your Youtube or Vimeo channels.

We have found that you should add (more) videos to your listing or that they were lacking in quality. Your videos should showcase your target market experiencing your product/service and are used by marketing organisations in their campaigns. We recommend a minimum of 2 great videos.

COVID-19 safe accreditations

Due to the unprecedented times of the global pandemic, ATDW introduced new accreditation programs available for distributors to showcase operators who are open post COVID-19.

These accreditations include:

COVID Clean Practicing Business operated by Australian Tourism Industry Council (ATIC)
COVID Ready operated by Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC)
COVID Safe operated by State and Territory Government

By obtaining one of these accreditations it verifies your business accreditation status in line with Australian policies and procedures to ensure that you are complying with COVID regulations in order to keep visitors safe. You can find out more about these safe accreditations here.

You have the ability to show your COVID-19 safe accreditation: the COVID Clean Practicing Business program (Australian Tourism Industry Council), the ATEC COVID Ready program, or use the COVID Safe option which implies the business has met the requirements of their State Government department in terms of having COVID Safe Plans in place enabling them to reopen safely.

Industry membership/organisations

Under the ‘Membership’ section is where you should list membership organisation and/or industry organisations you belong to.

Being part of a tourism organisation or community will help you and your tourism business become more empowered, connected and informed our industry. Hence, being displaying your membership organisation allows a space for members to collaborate, learn and grow – as you are doing now.

These could include:

VTIC, QTIC, WATIC, TTIC, membership
TEQ Membership
Caravan Industry Association of Australia National Accreditation Program.
EarthCheck
Ecotourism
Gold Anchor Global Marina Accreditation.
And many more.

We didn’t find any listing under the Membership section. We recommend you log into your account and add any relevant memberships.

Business accrediations

We recommend that you utilise this section to list any present accreditations you obtain aside from your COVID accreditations.

Accreditations are a great way to display and assist your business to meet and exceed customers’ expectations through:

Adherence to industry standards and codes of practice
Compliance with business and industry regulations/standards
Development and implementation of business and marketing plans

We didn’t find any link under the accreditation section of your ATDW listing (apart from your COVID accreditation if you have one). We recommend you make use of this section.

Media Story

We recommend you create a media-ready story using Tourism Tribe’s free Story Building Tool. A media story allows you to capture the essence behind your tourism business and shine the spotlight on your business.

In a few easy steps, Matt from Sydney Guided Tours was able to capture his and the business’ story and express his passion for being an operator. You can create your media release using the Magic Story Builder resource.

We didn’t find any media link in your ATDW listing and/or the link(s) provided didn’t work. We recommend you create a media-ready story using Tourism Tribe’s free Story Building Tool. See the link and example below.