SURF COAST SHIRE SUPPORT AVAILABLE TO EVENTS

All events receive support from the Surf Coast Shire tourism & event units including:

  • The opportunity for promotion using the Event Board signs at town entrances
  • Event listing included in SCS Annual Calendar, various tourism publications (eg maps, visitor guides)
  • Listing of event included on Surf Coast Shire, official Great Ocean Road and www.visitvictoria.com websites for FREE
  • Promotional material circulated to Tourism Victoria Media team (boost your PR exposure)
  • Promote an event via all Great Ocean Road region Visitor Information Centres
  • Provision of tourism related maps and visitor guides for event competitors
  • Advice on event development and planning
  • Workshops on how to write a successful grant submission
  • The Surf Coast Shire provides several funding programs under which an event may be funded and also provides advice on other funding that may be available.

FUNDING AVAILABLE TO EVENTS

Surf Coast Tourism Event Support Program

The SCT Board provides resources and advice to assist in the facilitation and enhancement of events held in the Surf Coast. Up to $20,000 per year (over two funding rounds) is allocated to the Surf Coast Tourism Event Support Program.

The program focuses on events that are able to attract, or are likely to attract in the future, a significant number of intrastate and interstate visitors. For each single allocation, up to $10,000 (excluding GST) may be provided.

There are two rounds of funding considered per year on 1 February and 1 August. Applicants are required to submit their application at least 1 to 6 months prior to the funding rounds.

For further information on SCT Event Support Program click here to download an application

For further information, contact Simon Loone, Tourism Coordinator on 03 5261 0608 or sloone@surfcoast.vic.gov.au.

Local Tourism & Trader Associations

Have you thought about ways to engage the local businesses to get involved with your event?

Local Tourism & Trader Associations exist in Torquay, Anglesea, Aireys Inlet, Lorne and Winchelsea and may be able to provide a range of in-kind or financial support for your event provided they can see a clear benefit.

The Association would need to identify the event as a priority for the town and understand the potential for local businesses to work with and add value to the event.

For contact details of the Local Tourism & Trader Associations, go to

SURF COAST SHIRE COMMUNITY GRANTS PROGRAM

The Community Grants program provides funding to local community groups and organisations. Funding is available up to $1000 for projects that:

  • increase community involvement,
  • strengthen collaboration between groups,
  • encourage new opportunities,
  • fill gaps in current provision of services.

Go to http://www.surfcoast.vic.gov.au/grant.html to download a copy of the Surf Coast Shire community grants guidelines and application form, contact Jo Anstee 5261-0666 (please leave a message)
or e-mail community_grants@surfcoast.vic.gov.au

LIST YOUR EVENTS FREE ON VISITVICTORIA.COM & THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD WEBSITE

Victorian events can receive a free listing on the most visited State tourism websites in Australia, receiving over 5.1 million visits and over 31.1 million pages viewed by consumers a year. (Source: Nielsen/Net Ratings). List your event today and support Tourism Victoria's vision of Melbourne and Victoria being the 'Events Capital and State'.

Events can list with visitvictoria.com in 2 convenient ways. Either register with www.visitvictoria.com for a comprehensive listing, or for a summary event listing see attached Event Registration Form.

Event listings on visitvictoria.com can elect to have their information stored with the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) accessed by Tourism websites across Australia, including Tourism Australia’s international website www.australia.com and the official Great Ocean Road website www.visitsurfcoast.com delivering over 50 million page views globally.

EVENTS BOARD SIGNAGE GUILDELINES

The Surf Coast Shire Events Boards have been installed to provide focal points to promote community and commercial events in the Surf Coast Shire. The Events Boards are installed in Torquay, Jan Juc and Anglesea.

Please click here to download a copy of the Surf Coast Shire Events Board Guidelines.

EVENTS CALENDAR AND FREE LISTINGS ON SURF COAST SHIRE PUBLICATIONS

The Surf Coast Shire has an events calendar on which you can register your event for a free listing at http://www.surfcoast.vic.gov.au/calendar/calendar.php

Annually Council provides a Calendar to all Surf Coast Shire residents. Many of the events held throughout the year are included as a listing on the calendar.

EVENT PLANNING TEMPLATES

Tourism Alliance Victoria have developed a number of templates for event organisers to use in further developing their events to assist regional events to market and promote, plan and conduct visitor research for their event.

Click on one or more of the following templates to download:

TOURISM PROMOTIONAL SUPPORT

Drive your marketing & PR reach further by accessing free promotional support from the Tourism unit. The following takes little time but may provide a greater return for your event.

  • Provide at least 700 brochures and 30 posters to the Tourism unit for distribution to accredited Visitor Information Centres in Torquay, Lorne, Apollo Bay, Colac, Queenscliff, Geelong and the Geelong Gateway Centre.
  • Provide a short description of your event (100 words) and a photo or two to the tourism unit who will forward this to their list of tourism media contacts. To make it work, there needs to be a story in it. What makes your event stand out from the crowd?
  • Request tourism related maps and Official Visitor Guides to provide to your event competitors.

Contact Simon Loone, Tourism Coordinator on 03 5162 0608 or sloone@surfcoast.vic.gov.au for more information.

OTHER FUNDING PROGRAMS