Free workshop for tourism and visitor-facing businesses
Creating a great visitor experience is about more than good service. It’s about understanding who your customers are, what they need and making it easy for more people to enjoy what your business and our region have to offer.
Welcoming All Customers is a free, interactive two-hour workshop designed specifically for businesses that are part of our visitor economy, including tourism, hospitality, accommodation, attractions, agritourism and other businesses that provide experiences or services to visitors.
The workshop will help you create experiences that are memorable, inclusive and genuinely accessible, including for people with disability.
Led by Giovanna Lever, Founder and Managing Director of Sparrowly Group, this hands-on session will help you take a fresh look at your visitor experience and identify simple improvements you can make in your business.
What we’ll cover
The workshop will explore:
- Understanding your customers including who you want to attract, what they’re looking for and how you can better meet their needs.
- Creating memorable experiences by looking at what makes your business stand out and how you can showcase what makes our region unique.
- Accessibility and inclusion including understanding different types of disability and some of the common barriers visitors may experience.
- Reviewing your visitor experience with simple communication and physical assessment tools to help identify opportunities for improvement.
- Quick wins you can put in place straight away to make your business more welcoming and accessible.
You’ll leave with a clearer picture of your customers, useful ideas you can put into action and a stronger understanding of how to create experiences that welcome and delight more visitors.
Who should attend?
This workshop is designed for businesses that service our visitor economy, including:
- Tourism and tour operators, including agribusinesses offering farm tours, farm gate experiences or roadside stalls
- Accommodation providers, including retreats and stays on farms and rural properties
- Cafes, restaurants and hospitality businesses
- Attractions and experiences
- Retailers that cater to visitors
- Events and entertainment businesses
- Other businesses providing products, services or experiences to visitors
You don’t need to think of yourself as a traditional tourism business. If visitors are part of your customer base or your business gives people a reason to visit and explore our region, this workshop is for you.
The workshop is open to businesses across the City of Coffs Harbour, Bellingen Shire and Nambucca Valley Council areas.
Meet your facilitator
Giovanna Lever is the Founder and Managing Director of Sparrowly Group and has more than 25 years of commercial experience across the public and private sectors. Giovanna has guided more than 1,000 businesses through mentoring and training and spends much of her working week in regional Australia, working directly with councils, industry and business owners to strengthen local businesses and communities.
She is an Australian Certified Economic Developer, Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and TEDx speaker. Sparrowly Group works across regional Australia in business mentoring, economic and community development, tourism, agritourism and workforce development.
This workshop forms part of Sparrowly Group’s Build Better Business Regional Training Roadshow, an initiative supporting regional communities around Australia.
Event details
Thursday 10 September, 2pm to 4pm
C.ex Coffs International Stadium
Central Events Space
Gate 1, Entry C Stairs
Stadium Drive, Coffs Harbour
Cost: Free
Free parking is available at the venue.
Places are limited, so registration is essential.