By Mikayla van Loon
Tourism businesses have come together for the first Yarra Ranges Tourism industry summit since 2019 this week, bringing together some of the key tourism bodies in the Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley.
The event held on Tuesday 7 June marked Yarra Ranges Tourism’s seventh annual summit and saw the attendance of over 130 delegates from within the region and outside of it.
Yarra Ranges Tourism CEO Simon O’Callaghan said the forum was a great way to present the latest trends, strategies and outcomes for local tourism providers, while also connecting with the industry again after two years of division and shutdown.
“There’s an appetite from people to continue to evolve their business so they can remain relevant as we come into a post-pandemic customer and change in people’s expectations,” he said.
“That’s what most people say to me. They’re interested in changing and just staying relevant and keeping contemporary.”
One of the main takeaways from the day, Mr O’Callaghan said, was the ability to learn from each other, share ideas and inspire new ways of thinking by working together for the region.
A trend that has had a negative impact on the entire industry, however, is the lack of employable staff and a reduced workforce.
Guest speakers Georgina Banks and Sam Crock, directors of Changeable Management, said while a change in immigration has impacted the number of skilled workers coming into the country, a global trend called the great resignation has had overwhelming effects on various industries.
“It was actually happening before the pandemic and the pandemic has sped it up, but essentially those who have privilege and have a choice in asking themselves, not just about how they want to work but asking why they want to work,” Ms Banks said.
“There’s this movement towards wanting more purpose and fulfillment in careers.”
Ms Banks said a recent survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that “meaning is now as important as money,” something especially important to young people.
With a workforce shortage, employers at the summit were interested in understanding what options are available to young people and how to engage them in the industry.
Warburton Valley CEDA president Cleo Silva said finding out about the employment opportunities and training courses that are helping businesses get and retain staff was so valuable.
One of those opportunities was the State government supported Tourism Enterprise Scholarship Program set up by Yarra Ranges Tourism and how that has given high school leavers an overview of the industry while getting hands-on experience, as well as a qualification.
“Hearing about the scholarship was really interesting and how successful that’s been and as that younger demographic, hearing what they need and how they’re engaged in work,” Ms Silva said.
The program places young mentees in a tourism environment for them to learn all elements of that business, while giving them a mentor to help them become the best they can be.
“I’ve just learned a whole new range of skills that I wouldn’t have learned had I not gone into the program,” mentee Taylor Johnson said.
“I’ve learned how to distinguish myself…and the professionalism in a working environment, especially at such a fine establishment like Coombe Yarra Valley and working with people from a huge, different demographic that I wouldn’t have normally had been exposed to hadn’t I had this amazing opportunity.”
Mr O’Callaghan said there has been a real stigma around the word ‘hospitality’ and that attracting young people requires a new vocabulary starting with using ‘tourism’ and ‘travel’ as the drawcard.
“Most parents don’t want their kids to go into [hospitality as a] career because they think you’ll be sitting in the one job setting tables for the next decade,” he said.
“We wanted to demonstrate you’ll be actually getting a taste of career options and we actually never used the word hospitality once.”
Seeing the positive interaction from business owners in the scholarship program and hearing the need to keep things fresh and evolving for young people, Mr O’Callaghan said it was a sign that the pilot program could create a legacy and be highly valuable in the future.
“There’s no reason why we couldn’t find a way to deliver that ourselves with the appetite of people wanting to find skilled workers and if breeding up tomorrow’s workforce is priority for everyone, as they say it is, then we should be able to find a way.”
