Press Release: Perth, Monday 14 December 2015
Major Tourism Innovation Launch:
One-stop shop for tours, experiences and attractions: Sightseeing Pass
The game changer for finding and booking things to do in Western Australia
For visitors to Western Australia (WA), it has never been easier to find, plan and book tours, attractions and experiences thanks to new online platform Sightseeing Pass (sightseeingpassaustralia.com).
Western Australian couple Lisa and Chad D’Souza, who have 40 years combined tourism industry experience, are the brains behind the innovative mobile responsive website.
Sightseeing Pass Director Lisa D’Souza said that there are one-stop websites to book flights and accommodation, and now there’s one for sightseeing and touring.
“Sightseeing Pass has partnered with WA’s leading tour operators to provide hassle free booking, along with inspiration and advice on what to do in Perth, Broome and Margaret River,” Mrs D’Souza said.
“Our mission with Sightseeing Pass is to make it easy for visitors to book tours and attractions in WA, inspire them to book some of the incredible experiences we have here, as well as support local tourism operators and the WA tourism industry.”
Sightseeing Pass is an online e-commerce platform that is specifically designed for, and focussed on bundled travel
experiences in WA. It is not just another online travel agency.
“There have been ‘physical’ passes tried in the past, bundled experiences so to speak, but what often happened is that they didn’t last because no one had ownership of them, and it was expensive to advertise them to ensure success.”
Mrs D’Souza said that Sightseeing Pass would be promoted to key WA tourism markets interstate and overseas via strategic partnerships, digital marketing campaigns and traditional advertising.
“We know, nothing has been done like this before – Sightseeing Pass is based on a business to consumer model that is built upon a robust digital marketing strategy and sales funnel. We saw a gap in the market – once visitors have booked their trip to WA, there was no central place for them to book winery tours, sunset camel rides, whale watching tours and the like,” she said.
“Before Sightseeing Pass, visitors had to read guidebooks, gather information from review websites and industry-run websites then search for individual tour operators to book tours – or book once they arrived here, which would mean missing out if the tour was booked out or dates weren’t aligned. While Government and industry backed campaigns do a fantastic job promoting the State, what they aren’t able to do is provide a direct online booking platform.
“Sightseeing Pass has changed that – visitors can book tours, passes, or a bundle such as a Margaret River Adventure Pass, Best of Broome Pass or Urban Culture Perth Pass before they arrive with just a couple of clicks. It will also raise the awareness of the portfolio of tourism experiences on offer. “We’ve had fantastic support from tour operators and we’re really excited about it,” Mrs D’Souza said.
Winner of the 2015 Best Tour Operator in Australia at the national tourism awards in April, Top Drop Tours owner Chris O’Hare said that it was great to see a high quality one-stop-shop that would reach new customers.
“It’s so positive to see private investment in promoting the region and the State that is able to partner with quality tourism products in the market for a commercial return, rather than promoting just an image. I think Sightseeing Pass is great for consumers, and will be great for tourism businesses like ours,” Mr O’Hare said.
Margaret River Tours owner Coralie McLeod said that Sightseeing Pass is set to be a game changer.
“For a small business like ours, we don’t have the budget to market our tours to international visitors. Sightseeing Pass will enable us to reach potential customers that we never could afford to reach on our own. Lisa and Chad are very experienced tourism professionals and passionate about Sightseeing Pass. It’s such a fantastic initiative, I can’t wait to see where it goes next,” Mrs McLeod said.
Mrs D’Souza said that the response from the tourism industry, travel agents, airlines and major hotel chains has been phenomenal.
“The feedback we’ve received is that finally they have somewhere to refer their customers, and importantly somewhere they trust.”
Launching in WA, Sightseeing Pass features popular tourist destinations Perth, Broome and Margaret River and has committed plans to expand across Australia and beyond.
“We’re passionate about tourism and about WA. We’re really proud to have developed Sightseeing Pass with a team of local experts and excited to launch it here first,” Mrs D’Souza said.
For more information, visit www.sightseeingpassaustralia.com
END
Media contact:
Dianne Bortoletto, Pronto PR, [email protected], 0439 997 075
Notes to Editors
High Res images available
Lisa D’Souza is available for interview
