FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2 October 2019
LIMESTONE COAST MIXED DOZEN WINE TRAIL EMBARKS ON NEW DIGITAL PLATFORM
The unique wine experiences on offer across the Limestone Coast and South-West Victoria will soon be available at the touch of a button. Award-winning digital team, Alpaca Travel, has been appointed to build a new interactive online platform for the Limestone Coast ‘Mixed Dozen’ Wine Trails Project to connect and build on the tourism offering across eight different wine regions.
The online platform is set to target international wine visitors in addition to the domestic market in a bid to bolster the global reputation of Australia’s food and wine, with a particular focus on the wine tourist markets of UK and the USA. The new digital planning tool will not only bring together multiple wine and tourism businesses and attractions, but will encourage self-guided exploration with curated itineraries and inspiring stories that give visitors the confidence to venture further.
Mixed Dozen project manager, Toni Duka, says it will function like a digital concierge or experience curator, with the focus more on journeys rather than just giving directions.
“Visitors can find a place on a map, but where you add value is by curating a set of unique experiences that showcase the best of your area,” she says. “It’s about inviting visitors to explore somewhere new and see more along the way; we want to inspire them to take the road less travelled beyond the popular self-drive travel routes of the Great Ocean Road and Adelaide-Melbourne touring route, to go somewhere that is perhaps unfamiliar and ideally, persuade them to stay longer.”
The Alpaca team took home the gong for Technology Provider of the Year at the 2018 Australian Travel Awards, and is well known within the travel industry for its innovation when it comes to sharing and showcasing meaningful tourism experiences. The Spirit of Tasmania, Destination NSW, Visit Grampians, Visit Sunshine Coast and the City of Adelaide are among those to have already adopted the technology, and Alpaca Travel co-founder, Zoe Manderson, said the company is thrilled to be working with the Limestone Coast Grape and Wine Council.
“We know that itineraries are inherently important for getting visitors exploring beyond the gateways and uncovering the experiences that make the region so special,” she said. “In bringing these experiences to life in the digital world, we can give people the confidence to go exploring in the real world.”
The Limestone Coast Mixed Dozen Interactive Wine Trails Project has been funded through the Australian Government’s $50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package, through the International Wine Tourism Competitive Grants program, and 10 other funding partners across state and local government, industry and community. It’s anticipated that the digital platform will be ‘live’ by mid-November 2019.
Further comment:
Mixed Dozen Project Manager Toni Duka: 0417 083 626
Chairman of Limestone Coast Grape and Wine Council Peter Bissell: 0427 852 315