Port Arthur CEO Will Flamsteed says India could be next big market for historic site
It was hit by dwindling visitor numbers during Covid, then a drop in Chinese tourism. Now there’s a new plan to draw visitors to Port Arthur. Why India could become the next big market.
Tasmania
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As it recovers from Covid and a downturn in Chinese visitors, the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (PAHSMA) is trying to lure more overseas tourists to its three sites including those from India and New Zealand.
Will Flamsteed, who took over as CEO in January, said there had been “generational change” at PAHSMA, which recently released its five-year strategic plan.
He said while the business environment had changed, visitor numbers were returning to pre-Covid levels.
“For us, it was quite an elemental change when we lost our markets and then upon reopening we no longer had this wonderful thing called China,” Mr Flamsteed said.
“We’re getting there, we’re pretty close but not quite at those 2019 levels.”
Mr Flamsteed said with talk of a recession in China it was vital to develop more overseas markets.
“Everyone’s saying, China is just about to go into a recession, so, it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.
“India is a really huge market and we’ll start to see them explore further into Australia and that’s when Tasmania becomes a really good opportunity.
“It’s one of those markets that is driven by (people) visiting friends and relatives, and by student travel.”
Direct flights to New Zealand, he said, also were reaping rewards.
Mr Flamsteed said PAHSMA’s strategic plan would tackle climate change and ways to maintain the “culturally important” sites at Port Arthur, the Female Factory at South Hobart and the Coal Mines at Saltwater River.
The business employs 160 staff.
“I’m not sure whether many people know this, but, but PAHSMA generates 81 per cent of its own revenue,” he said.
“We have three amazing sites, a fantastic, committed and passionate workforce.
“We’re here to conserve our history, and interpret that history.
“A great example of that is the Female Factory, where we’ve developed new tours, like the Notorious Strumpets and Dangerous Girls, which follows the journey of four women from their transport out to Australia to their time, in the Cascades female factory, and then what they did post the female factory.
“They are really amazing stories about amazing woman - stories that have a real heart.”
A group of delegates to the recent International Convention of Monuments and Sites held in Sydney visited Tasmania and were impressed with what they saw.
“The sort of feedback we got was really fantastic
“The level of interpretation that we can do is really different to a normal attraction.
“I call it intimate tourism, and it’s about creating that emotion and feeling within the visitor that makes them remember, as compared to just, you know, showing them something.
“We’re actually giving them the story and giving them something that they can take away with them.
“We are at the top of our game worldwide. We are key contributors to the conservation of World Heritage sites worldwide.
The strategic plan says that for the three historic sites to continue to be among the best in the world “we need to evolve and thrive”.
“Post-Covid, economic growth has slowed and there have been many changes and challenges to how we do business,” the plan said.
“Our visitors have changed and their needs are now different. Global supply chain issues mean it is more costly to operate our sites.
“Technological advancements have created new ways to manage and interpret our sites and experiences. We also now fully recognise the very real impact of climate change and the work to be done. It is therefore vital that we are ready to meet and adapt to local and global changes.”
Mr Flamsteed said climate change and the tidal impact would impact the Coal Mines and Port Arthur.
“The other day with the king tide, we had to really consider how that was managed.
“On site, we put our best storm surge barriers in place.
“We always need to consider how we will evolve with within the environment that we are in, in the next five, 10, 20 or 30 years.
“In order to prioritise our projects, we use a number of lenses or filters, and one of those filters is sustainability.”
Heritage Minister Madeleine Ogilvie said the strategic plan was “a substantive body of work that will further elevate our iconic heritage experience”.
“Port Arthur leads the nation in cultural heritage preservation and is fast becoming the leading voice of the convict story,” she said.
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Originally published as Port Arthur CEO Will Flamsteed says India could be next big market for historic site
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