I was lucky to spend years marketing Broome as a destination. There is so much to see and do in Broome; much of it unique to the Kimberley. As the marketing manager of Visit Broome I did not have the large budget of the regional tourism body Australia’s Northwest Tourism. It is ANW’s task to promote Broome as a destination and it is well funded by Tourism WA and the Shire of Broome to do this job. So to make the Visit Broome budget stretch, I had to work with tourism operators. Marketing to tourism operators in Broome means many different things…

Marketing Broome as a tourism destination is a marketing manager’s dream job

Some of the Kimberley’s largest tourism operators are based in Broome. There are very sophisticated tourism businesses such as Willie Creek Pearl Farm. Willie Creek operates a number of tourism businesses in Broome under The Broome Experience brand. There are other medium sized tour operators that have grown in a difficult market. The last few years have been hard for tourism in Broome. The strong dollar has made oversea’s holidays more appealing than domestic travel. At the same time, this has seen international tourist visitors decline. Through targeted marketing some tourism operators in the NW have boomed while others struggle.

A great example of this is Kimberley Aviation. It saw the benefit to working closely with Visit Broome and invested in the joint marketing opportunities. It also invested in a mobile optimised website and good social media marketing. Finally, Kimberley Aviation put the customer first in everything. The result? The business has seen huge growth other the last three years.

Then, there are the small operators. Working with small businesses in Broome probably gives me the most satisfaction. Helping small tour operators in the Kimberley grow their business is rewarding. Particularly as there are so many small local operators that offer great tourism product. The likes of Astro Tours are unique experiences you can only find in Broome. These family businesses make a holiday in Broome unique.

Marketing Broome with these businesses was succesful. The more businesses in Broome work together to promote Brooms as a destination the better. I look forward to seeing more joint marketing of Broome in the near future.

As Mangoes Marketing I look to work with tourism businesses in Broome and to help market Broome as a destination.

Mangoes Marketing, tourism marketing in Broome. Marketing Broome together.