The Discover Tasmania app was launched by Tourism Tasmania in April 2023 and is live in May 2023. The app is being promoted as the key engagement tool for visitors on the ground in Tasmania, and is designed to showcase the diversity of Tasmanian experiences and help people curate their time in the State using the tools in the app. So what types of businesses are suitable for the app, and how do you get on there?

While the app is created by Tourism Tasmania, it is applicable to all businesses that cater to visitors and provide some kind of experiences for locals and non-locals alike. Its primary purpose is to concierge discovery, so if you are ripe to be discovered, then read on.

Some of the kinds of businesses that can benefit from the Discover Tasmania app are of course tourism businesses, but also any businesses that offers products or services that people coming to or moving around Tasmania will utilise - think food, drinks, distillers, farmstay, specialist retail, beauty, spa and medical services, transport, arts, crafts, culture, events, sporting events, music and theatre venues, markets and market vendors, hire businesses, guiding, workshops, artisan makers to name a few.

The app allows visitors complex search and save functions, that link directly to businesses' websites, with maps and instant contacts via the app, meaning all steps in the visitor journey of discovery, booking and visiting can be generated via the app.

The app is location-based so if someone is traveling and is near your offering, your business will be shown to the visitor and all the information they need is at their fingertips. This allows discovery and exposure that wouldn't come from simply Googling when you have a need to know what you are searching for or the patience to sift through a vast amount of information that may not be relevant or suitable.

The capacity for nuanced exposure in this way is a massive benefit for Tasmanian businesses. Additionally as a business owner you can curate experiences for visitors or make recommendations for the business community you are part of, which has brand value and cluster value to keep people engaged in your micro region. The search is highly targeted, up to date unlike so many listing services, and able to be personally curated.

As the app is being strongly promoted by Tourism Tasmania, much of the lifting of getting eyes on your products via the app will be done by Tourism Tasmania using the overarching Tasmanian brand messages, so the consistency of brand and extensive media spend will mean that engaged and to a degree pre-qualified customers are filtered your way.

How does your business get listed on the app? Firstly, you have to be listed on the Australia Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW), which if you aren't a tourism business, you may not be aware of. The ATDW is an essential resource for and about Australian tourism businesses. It's an online database of information to be distributed to partner sites and an online marketplace for tourism information.

The service has recently had a significant upgrade in the information it lists for businesses. If you aren't familiar with ATDW yet and don't have an active listing, it basically works as a content tool, syndicating owner-generated data about tourism businesses across tourism peak websites. Listing on the ATDW is free and has some key benefits for business: it syncs with your Google My Business listing, gives you access to detailed analytics data and translates into several languages for your international audience.

Once you've listed your business with ATDW (see below for a link to a detailed presentation to help you get there) then you will feature on the Discover Tasmania app and the Discover Tasmania website, as well as a range of affiliate tourism websites which is awesome for exposure and SEO. There are lots of online resources and digital assets available as part of a toolkit that can be used across your existing channels so you can add buttons and links to help people know you are listed on the app, and connect your existing customers to the Discover Tasmania resource.

As tourist numbers return post-COVID, and off-season promotions keep numbers strong across the year, getting your business in front of as many different eyeballs online as you can, as well as being able to pick up people on the ground that may never have stumbled across you, by being part of the Discover Tasmania app is a brilliant way to grow your business and your brand. The time is now as the Discover Tasmania app is being rolled out and heavily promoted to be involved from the outset. For more information you can download the industry toolkit here.

If you’re ready to dive deeper into how to be featured as part of the Discover Tasmania app, the first step is getting your Australian Tourism Development Warehouse (ATDW) listing as compelling as possible. To get you app ready, watch the full presentation by Digital Coach Taihlaura from KingThing on all things ATDW, then follow along with the step-by-step video of how to set up your own listing.