A BALRANALD tourism business that runs geotourism tours to Mungo and Yango National Parks is one of 18 tourism businesses to be included in a mentoring program to help improve their digital marketing and online presence.
Outback Geo Adventures, run by German Ugarte and his wife, Paulina, currently have six different tours available to tourists which include day, sunset and full moon experiences.
Geotourism is tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place, which includes its environment, culture and heritage whilst respecting the well-being of local residents.
The program, which is set to begin in February, is one that excited Mr Ugarte, as he celebrates 10 years in business next September with him keen to learn some new skills in marketing.
“It is going to be good to get some new ideas about how to effectively market, I’ve pretty much been a one-man band and am not really up to the trends of today,” he said.
Massive changes have occurred in the past few years in terms of digital marketing, with having a presence on social media now being a absolute must for any company or business with Instagram, Facebook and TikTok all being major tools businesses use to market their business.
Mr Ugarte pointed out that his success could also allow for other Balranald businesses to benefit, as more tourists to the area would boost other local tourist operators, so will establish a flow-on effect.
“It is really good that they are offering this free course to help us out, it’ll give us the opportunity to reach a lot more people and allow us to attract new markets and benefit everyone,” he said.
Part of the program will focus on updating website content and design, and making sure that you include all important information to try and attract possible customers, something which can be difficult to understand.
Despite having his main clientele base consisting of nomads, Mr Ugarte was keen to try and tap into new demographics and try and get some more people out to Balranald to explore the National Parks.
“Its going to be great to have a fresh set of eyes with some creative ideas that I can use to help me strengthen our marketing program and get more people visiting our national parks,” he said.
The program, which is delivered by Destination Riverina Murray and supported by Destination NSW, is a massive boost for tourism businesses who have been massively impacted over the past two years due to travelling restrictions impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
