Lord Howe Island New Visitor Journey Program

May – June 2026

Building AI digital marketing capability and data readiness for Lord Howe Island tourism operators through live online workshops.

Program Overview

Tourism Tribe has partnered with the Lord Howe Island Tourism Association (LHITA) to deliver the Lord Howe Island New Visitor Journey Program, a practical, staged tourism capability program designed specifically for Lord Howe Island tourism operators.

Lord Howe Island delivers a globally rare visitor experience: pristine, tightly managed, and positioned at the premium end of the market. Yet many operators continue to rely on manual booking and inventory processes. This program addresses that gap in a way that is practical, respectful of how operators actually work, and aligned to the rhythm of island life.

The program was tailored to specifically meet the needs of the island’s tourism ecosystem and operators’ challenges and opportunities. A qualitative industry survey informed the design and ensured the workshops were designed to develop understanding of the new AI visitory purchase journey, and build baseline digital confidence across the industry, improve operational efficiency for time-poor operators, and help businesses remain visible as travel planning shifts toward AI-powered discovery tools.

The Program

Webinar 1: Getting discovered in the new visitor journey

A live online session covering how travellers now research, plan and shortlist destinations and what this means for Lord Howe Island operators. Topics include the AI-driven visitor journey, what makes a business easy to find and recommend, a balanced approach to distribution channels, and how to use your website as a discovery and conversion hub. Open to all LHITA members.

Webinar 2: Turning interest into bookings: validation, trust and conversion

The second session moves from discovery to conversion. Covers how to use social media as a trust signal, how to communicate effectively with potential guests on common concerns (cost, access, weather and logistics), and how to reduce friction in the booking process. Practical and grounded in the insights from the LHITA member survey.

“Lord Howe Island Tourism has partnered with Liz at Tourism Tribe to help us deliver practical and engaging digital training that can meet our operators where they currently are, build confidence and strengthen our members online presence.

Liz’s understanding of not just the digital landscape but also regional tourism challenges and her willingness to adapt training to meet our members where their skills currently are at has made the program especially valuable for Lord Howe Island, and will be a continuing part of the membership benefits to continue to develop the industry.

The insights around the rapidly changing AI landscape is especially valuable when delivered in the forum where operators can easily understand how this affects their business and how they can ensure they are taking the right steps to represent their business online.” Alanna Green, LHITA Board.

Privacy notice
Any information collected by Tourism Tribe on behalf of Lord Howe Island Tourism Association about you and your business will be used solely for this program.

Program Dates

26 May: Webinar 1 10:30am-12:00pm LHST
2 June: Webinar 2 10:30am-12:00pm LHST

What's included

2 workshops

Liz Ward

Liz is the co-founder of Tourism Tribe and a recognised expert in business strategy and digital transformation, with over 25 years' experience across large and small businesses. Today, she is focused on helping tourism operators understand how AI is reshaping marketing, from automating repetitive tasks to using AI-driven insights to find the right customers at the right time.

As a coach, Liz brings big-picture thinking to every conversation. She helps operators map their objectives, identify their ideal customers, and spot opportunities where AI and smart digital strategy can give them an edge. She is highly sought after as a presenter, mentor and workshop trainer.

Tourism Tribe launched in 2015 and now supports over 1,600 tourism operators across Australia and the world. It was recognised in the Queensland Tourism Industry Innovation Awards (2016) and the UNWTO Innovation Awards (2015).

Liz is also Managing Director of Digital Coaching International, a network of specialists who guide businesses through digital and AI transformation of their marketing and operations.

Liz is a Fellow of both the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Australian Institute of Management. She has served on several boards, including Tourism and Events Queensland and Women Chiefs of Enterprise, Australia.