Last week, I found myself perched at McCracken Estate in Victor Harbor, notepad in hand, surrounded by passionate tourism professionals at the SA Visitor Information Services Network state conference. What unfolded over those two days wasn’t just another industry gabfest, but rather a masterclass in rethinking how we connect with audiences in any business context.
The Existential Question That Started It All
Chris Ball opened proceedings with a question that hung in the air like a challenging thought bubble: Would you start a visitor information centre today if you didn’t have one already? Or would you think of a different way of helping visitors?
Let’s unpack this for a moment. It’s not just visitor centres facing this existential quandary, it’s every business wondering if their established methods of connecting with customers still make sense in a world where information flows through phones rather than pamphlets, and where experiences trump transactions.
The question forces us to consider what travellers (read: customers) actually need from us. Is it information? Guidance? Something else entirely?
Finding Your ‘Why’ When Your ‘What’ Is Outdated
As if answering Chris’s opening challenge, David Mayne from the McLaren Vale and Fleurieu Coast Visitor Centre offered a pathway that made my marketing heart sing. Their transformation boiled down to this beautifully simple principle: create a valid reason for visitors and locals to use your space and you will have a sustainable operation.
What unfolded was the story of a council-run visitor centre that evolved from a brochure repository with a seasonal café into a community hub that hosts weddings, offers locally-produced gin, and anchors itself with a playground that draws families like magnets.
Here’s the truly clever bit, David didn’t just guess what might work. His team deployed a three-layered approach to research:
- They surveyed tourism operators in the region
- They consulted local businesses
- They sought out residents to understand what might be useful to them
This wasn’t just research for research’s sake. He argues this extra effort was important because the centre is owned and run by the City of Onkaparinga so it must support its local businesses and complement their offerings, not compete against them.
The result? A visitor centre that actually has visitors. A public space with a genuine pulse.
And one particular insight was David’s commitment to only using ingredients from local businesses so whenever any sale happens at the centre, it’s a win, win, win!
The Generic Jargon Trap We All Fall Into
Miranda Lang, Louise Magor, and Aubrey Guevara from the South Australian Tourism Commission shared insights on the state’s new “Simple Pleasures” campaign direction (more on this in future articles). One refreshing aspect was their decision to move away from tourism industry jargon that our sector drowns in.
This got me thinking about how effortlessly we all slip into our industry dialects, forgetting that our customers rarely speak the same language.
To illustrate this point, I randomly selected one conference participant, Katrina Webber from the Waikerie Library and Visitor Centre, and analysed how their service is described online.
Trigger warning – generic tourism jargon ahead.
On southaustralia.com it says:
Located in the Waikerie Civic Centre the Waikerie Library and Visitor Centre has plenty of maps, guides and brochures to help you to discover all there is to see and do in the Waikerie district and Riverland region. Call in and speak with their friendly, helpful staff – open seven days.
On visit riverland it says:
Waikerie is the ultimate destination for travellers looking for a unique river escape just two hours from Adelaide. Known for its iconic citrus industry, magnificent artscapes, birdwatching, golfing, and of course a beautiful stretch of the Murray River – it makes a perfect base for your Riverland adventure.
I pointed out that we could just as easily write:
Berri is the ultimate destination for travellers looking for a unique river escape just three hours from Adelaide. Known for its iconic citrus industry, magnificent artscapes, birdwatching, golfing, and of course a beautiful stretch of the Murray River – it makes a perfect base for your Riverland adventure.
None of this truly helps or engages potential visitors. It’s the marketing equivalent of white noise—present but not registered.
Putting StoryBrand to Work (Even With Short Notice)
Having ambushed poor Katrina with this critique (she was wonderfully good-natured about it), I felt obliged to offer something constructive. So I ran everything I could find about Waikerie and its visitor centre through my StoryBrand Framework process, something I do for clients and mentees through the TiCSA Coaching Program and Adelaide Business Hub mentoring processes.
The StoryBrand Framework, based on Donald Miller’s work, borrows from classic storytelling. It positions the visitor as the hero and the information centre as the guide. It’s about understanding what’s at stake for your audience, not just what you want to tell them.
Through research about Waikerie, its clifftop position, the moths and birds that gave the town its name, and visitor comments about the centre, I developed this alternative tagline:
From our clifftop hub, discover the Riverland your way, guided by locals who know every bend in the river.
I also crafted this perspective-shifting statement to help staff rethink the internal worlds of their visitors:
Visitors to Waikerie and the Riverland want to experience this remarkable region in ways that reflect their personal interests and travel style. They’re seeking meaningful connections with our landscape, culture, and community that go beyond standard tourist trails. Each visitor brings unique passions, whether for nature, food and wine, heritage, family adventures, or artistic experiences, and wants to feel confident they’re discovering the aspects of our region that will resonate most deeply with them.
This led to identifying three layers of problems their visitors might be facing:
External Problem: Visitors struggle to filter through generic tourism information to find experiences tailored to their specific interests, often missing hidden gems that would make their journey truly memorable.
Internal Problem: They feel uncertain about where to begin exploring an unfamiliar region and worry they’ll waste precious holiday time on disappointing experiences rather than discovering the aspects of the Riverland that would speak to them personally.
Philosophical Problem: People shouldn’t have to settle for one-size-fits-all tourism. Every traveller deserves guidance that respects their individual interests and helps them form authentic connections with the places they visit.
The Stakes Are Higher Than We Think
The final part of any good StoryBrand framework is to clarify what’s at stake. For visitor centres, and indeed for any business trying to connect with an audience, the consequences of not getting this right extend far beyond lost sales:
Without personalised local insights, many visitors miss the aspects of the Riverland that would resonate most with them—driving past unmarked trails that lead to spectacular views, visiting attractions at the wrong time of day, or never hearing the fascinating stories that bring our landscape to life. They settle for a generic experience rather than discovering their own unique connection to our region.
I even capped this off with a song.
Informed by the research and the StoryBrand Framework, I suggested the listings for the centre on southaustralia.com and visitriverland.com.au, could easily be updated as follows, until we finesse this further:
The Waikerie Library & Visitor Centre isn’t just another information stop, it’s a community space where visitors become friends and every interaction is tailored to your interests. Our unique clifftop perspective gives us both a literal and metaphorical vantage point to help you see beyond the obvious tourist trail.
Our staff don’t just hand out maps, they take time to understand what excites you, whether that’s spotting rare birds at Gluepot Reserve, finding the best local produce, discovering perfect photography spots along the river cliffs, or creating memorable family adventures. They’re passionate locals who see the Riverland through different lenses and can help you find the version that speaks to you.
Of course, we’d only use that if it were true. If we’re not quite there yet, it could work as an important aspirational piece to strive towards strategically.
Oh, and because I subjected my daughters to sea shanties sung at full voice on a Riverland holiday, I thought it only fair to create a sea shanty version.
Horses, Humans, and the Heart of Connection
One of the most moving moments of the conference came during our visit to the Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tramway. While the tram ride itself was enjoyable, meeting the Clydesdale horses and their handlers at the stables afterwards was unexpectedly profound.
The bond between the horses and humans was palpable, a relationship built on trust, care, and mutual respect. It struck me when the handlers shared that some people still complain that horses shouldn’t be used this way, despite the physics revealing that metal wheels on tracks reduce the effort to something equivalent to pulling a 20kg weight – well within range for a Clydesdale.
The horses were clearly well-treated, with personalities as distinct as any conference delegate. This connection between species mirrored what the best visitor experiences should accomplish: genuine relationships built on understanding, not exploitation.
Lena from the City of Victor Harbor jokingly challenged to capture our visit to the tramway in song. I did. It’s here because it is an example of how songs can tease out an emotional component in any story or marketing challenge.
The Bigger Picture: Three Themes That Emerged
Throughout the conference, three powerful themes emerged that apply far beyond tourism:
1. Reimagining Tourism Through Purpose and Regeneration
There’s a strong call to shift from transactional tourism to tourism as a force for good, where we don’t just attract visitors, but invite them into stories of place, healing, and deeper connection. From McLaren Vale creating complementary reasons to visit, to ideas of “burnt out meeting the burnt out” and promoting festivals as celebration rather than distraction, the focus is on regeneration, for both people and places.
2. Showcasing Authentic Voices and Stories
The importance of listening deeply, to visitors, to communities, to culture, echoed throughout. Whether it’s Aboriginal tourism needing to be done authentic or not at all, or the emphasis on storytelling via reels, or the reminder that longer stays come from meaningful narratives, the message is clear: powerful, simple stories build trust and lead to transformation.
3. Designing With Inclusion and Future-Readiness in Mind
Accessibility, hidden disabilities, AI, and digital storytelling all point toward a future where inclusion and innovation are non-negotiable. From Nicole’s emphasis on dignity (at Kimbolton Wines) to a reminder when using AI to teach the machine how to care, the call is to thoughtfully design systems, content, and spaces that welcome everyone, and learn from the past while building for tomorrow.
Beyond Brochures: The Real Lesson for Every Business
What struck me most about this conference wasn’t specific to tourism at all. It was the recognition that in every business sector, we’re all grappling with the same fundamental challenge: how to move beyond transactional relationships toward meaningful connections.
Whether you’re running a visitor centre, a retail shop, or a professional service firm, the businesses that thrive will be those that find their complementary “why”; a reason for people to engage that goes beyond the obvious functional purpose.
The McLaren Vale Visitor Centre didn’t just hand out better maps, they created a community space that had inherent value. The StoryBrand framework doesn’t just rewrite copy, it reorients an entire organisation around the inner world of their customers.
Perhaps the most valuable takeaway is this: the path to becoming worth talking about rarely runs through conventional industry wisdom. It emerges from the courage to ask fundamental questions, the humility to truly listen to your community, and the creativity to find your unique place within it.
And sometimes, it involves singing sea shanties at a tourism conference. But that’s another story entirely.
In closing, our exuberant visit to The Cube with Chester Osborn as our host had wheedled through my subconcious and prompted me to start the conference with a short, operatic piece that plotted every item on the agenda for three days. I leave it here for you but do note, unlike many operas, the week did not finished with a stage full of tragic heroes stabbed to death. Quite the opposite. Most left, singing to the heavens about renewing their efforts to shine light on their regions.
Pictured, above, from left, Natalie Waite, Port Pirie, Penny Carter, Port Lincoln, and Sally Haynes, Clare, with David Mayne on the right.