Action Plan

Now Closed

This online engagement was hosted on YourSAy from 21 October to 17 November 2020. Below is a record of the engagement.

The strategy and its accompanying action plan were developed in collaboration with the Heritage Tourism Alliance, and through consultation with tourism industry and heritage sector stakeholders from across South Australia.

It aims to:

inform state and local government about heritage tourism objectives in South Australia, and
guide stakeholders – including tourism operators, regional tourism organisations, communities, Aboriginal heritage, heritage owners, custodians and managers who wish to capitalise on the potential of heritage – to deliver outstanding visitor experiences.

The action plan guides the first two years of Heritage Tourism Strategy implementation. Many stakeholders have an interest and role to play in growing heritage tourism in South Australia and the action plan reflects that shared responsibility.

As the strategy seeks to make a genuine contribution to growing South Australia’s visitor economy, actions are aligned to the strategic priorities of the South Australian Visitor Economy Sector Plan 2030.

Download and read the full Heritage Tourism Strategy 2020-2030 & Action Plan 2020-2022 in a PDF version.

Action Plan 2020 – 2022

Action		Anticipated outcomes
Marketing
1	Develop marketing materials that enable visitors to connect and engage with heritage.	• Tourism operators and heritage managers/custodians actively communicate heritage stories and experiences. • Suggested ‘hub and spoke’ itineraries/stories connect experiences, precincts and destinations and create journeys. • Heritage experiences are reflected in marketing plans and cooperative marketing programs.
2	Continue to progress World Heritage listing for globally significant locations with a focus on northern Flinders Ranges nomination.	• South Australia’s unique natural heritage receives prominence as a result of listing. • Visitor experiences leverage from and reinforce World Heritage values and recognition. • Flinders Ranges nomination process informs World Heritage listing aspirations for other appropriate sites including Cornish Mining serial listing (Burra and Moonta) and Adelaide Plan and Settlement Landscapes.
Experience and supply development
3	Collaborate with Aboriginal heritage representatives and stakeholders to identify what needs to be done to advance Aboriginal heritage tourism.	• Workshop with key stakeholders, co- led by DEW, AAR/SAHC, SATC. • Understanding of issues and a stepped set of actions to progress opportunities.
4	Create tourism specific, best-practice interpretation plans and approaches for key heritage sites and assets (both physical and intangible).	• Interpretation plans support contemporary, creative interpretation of heritage sites and assets, with a focus on provision of an experience. • Quality interpretation techniques and tools reshape experiences, including digital and performance-based methods. • Up-to-date interpretation plans are in place at for prominent heritage visitor sites/attractions, including natural heritage. • Interpretation plans provide guidance to support appropriate sharing of Aboriginal heritage.
5	Explore ways underutilised government owned heritage sites and properties could be enhanced through tourism activation, especially in regional areas.	• Audit of government owned buildings and sites to determine opportunities, including assessment of feasibility and viability. • Government owned heritage assets are utilised, conserved and accessible to people. • Government owned buildings make a positive contribution to local economies, destinations, parks and streetscapes.
6	Expand heritage grant programs to fund works that specifically deliver visitor experiences/ services in heritage places.	• Heritage grant programs fund works that aren’t explicit conservation activities (ie fit- out, upgrade, interpretation plans). • Building Upgrade Finance and other investment opportunities maximised for tourism activation of state and locally listed non-residential heritage buildings.
7	Promote precinct thinking to maintain and enhance built (cultural) and natural settings, including main streets and gardens.	• Heritage tourism outcomes are recognised in local economic development initiatives. • Experiences within precincts are connected through marketing and collaboration. • Investigate a pilot model similar to Mainstreet USA or Heritage Action Zones (UK) to support precinct revitalisation through public-private-community partnerships. • Infrastructure renewal/upgrade works are coordinated in high-profile heritage precincts (ie Victor Harbor/ Granite Island/Causeway) to maximise outcomes and attract additional private investment.
Collaboration
8	Continue Heritage Tourism Alliance to advocate for heritage tourism and lead collaborative implementation of the Heritage Tourism Strategy.	• Continued monitoring and implementation of heritage tourism action plan. • Action plan 2022-24 developed. • Heritage tourism leaders identified.
9	Ensure partnerships support an integrated approach to the implementation of heritage tourism actions.	• Heritage tourism action plan implementation contributes to achieving other tourism plans and strategies (ie Regional Visitor Strategy, ‘Nature Like Nowhere Else’ Nature-based tourism strategy).
Industry Capability
10	Establish a training program to develop a professional tour guiding/story telling sector in South Australia, including a development component for Aboriginal tour guides, especially at key sites and landscapes. Build heritage tourism knowledge and capabilities with a targeted heritage tourism development program.	• Specific heritage tourism training/knowledge needs and appropriate training responses identified, including those that support Aboriginal heritage tourism. • Pilot tour guiding/storytelling training model implemented. • Resources that build understanding about how to incorporate local heritage and develop quality heritage experiences are available.
11	Establish quality standard program for heritage tourism experiences and incentivise operators who participate.	• Standards program developed and provider engaged. • Minimum standards and training (including for volunteers) support heritage managers and operators to deliver quality experiences. • Benefits of standards are promoted and accepted as an indicator of quality heritage experiences.
12	Encourage heritage tourism businesses to register with Australian Tourism Data Warehouse.	• Increase of heritage experiences registered. • Greater visitor economy awareness and savviness within heritage sector.
Promote the value of tourism
13	Undertake an economic analysis of the value of heritage tourism, and regularly collect and report data on heritage tourism activity in South Australia.	• Value of heritage within the visitor economy understood. • Impact of heritage tourism strategy measured.
14	Integrate heritage into other tourism strategies/ sector plans (both state and local government/region level).	• Region/destinations have an understanding of their heritage assets and appeal, including how heritage leverage to enhance visitor experiences.
15	Identify leaders/mentors/ champions to advocate for heritage tourism savviness, understanding and capabilities.	• Heritage Tourism Alliance continued. • Launch of heritage tourism strategy celebrates the role of heritage (built, cultural, natural and Aboriginal) within the South Australian experience and visitor economy. • Establishes what professional and quality heritage tourism looks like. • South Australia’s best storyteller competition.
Enablers of the Visitor Economy: streamlining regulation
16	Investigate how barriers can be reduced, processes streamlined and incentives developed to improve the ability of heritage operations, access to heritage sites/locations and adaptive reuse of heritage buildings.	• Requirements, such as certification and insurances that complicate operations of unique heritage experiences (ie steam, trail rides) are understood and appropriate responses developed. • ‘Best-practice’ information guidelines developed to demystify and enable economically sustainable adaptive reuse of heritage for commercial activity. • Ongoing advocacy by Heritage Tourism Alliance.

Consultation has concluded