OUR WORK
FAMILY HISTORY HOLIDAYS
Family History Holidays is a travel company whose mission is to get people going, actively researching and recording their family story. On a Family History Holiday customers meet local experts, discover old documents, and record the real stories about where they’re from and who they really are.
As we swing into 2026, the brief is all about product development. So we're working with regional heritage groups in the Riverina developing a series of hands-on-history experiences, curated for visitors who are interested in exploring country communities - particularly those people inspired to connect directly with local places that relate to their family history.
NAROOMA OYSTER FESTIVAL
This started as a really interesting project reviewing best practice for visitor experience centres. We cast a global net, looked into other categories, and found inspiring examples showing excellent use of space, effective strategic planning, creative and easily connected experiences, and modern impactful marketing, before making recommendations on the best way forward.
As a follow up in late 2025, we facilitated a strategic planning day for the Board, creating a clear, actionable, sustainability strategy for Narooma Rocks and the Narooma Oyster Festival. Says CEO Renee Pearce: "the Board truly enjoyed the session, and are really pleased with where you got us. Thanks for one of the most enjoyable planning days I've had"..
FOOD, FARMS, AND ALL THINGS AGRITOURISM
Managing Director, Kate Shilling has been contracted part-time with Tourism Australia since late 2023, as Project Manager, Agritourism. This role is multi-faceted, working with government stakeholders at all levels across the country to align the 5000+ operators who offer on-farm and off-farm experiences in regions across the country.
Kate is also a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Australian Regional Tourism, where she heads up the Agritourism Committee. She has played a major role driving program development at the annual National Agritourism Forum. In this field, Kate has been invited to speak at Local Government Conferences, Agricultural Shows Conventions, Regional Tourism Forums and to a range of agricultural industry organisations.
COLLECTIVE MARKETING, THE MIGHTY MURRAY AND MORE
Our experience in export markets and overseas travel trade distribution has been called on many times. Murray Regional Tourism engaged us to prepare product for the Australian Tourism Exchange. To put this region on the radar, we created operator partnerships and packages that unlocked the different elements along the river designed to appeal to the international market.
Other clients have leveraged our expertise in collective marketing. Recognising past experience leading Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia and Territory Discoveries, Tourism and Events Queensland engaged us to open up communication between dinosaur tourism operators, then establish an Advisory Panel, that drove the development of the Dinosaur Experiences Australia collective. In early 2025, a further project explored the appetite to open the collective up to a wider group of natural history organisations from across the country.
Resources are one thing - resourcefulness is another.
We’ve seen many twists and turns in travel and tourism of late and we know what it’s like to stand at the cross roads and wonder which direction to take. With solid experience in tourism development and travel distribution , your project is in safe hands with Straightforward Tourism Solutions.