Kangaroo Island Tourism Alliance Membership

Why get involved?

KITA empowers its members with high-impact marketing, advocacy, industry development, and events support. Find out more below.

MARKETING

A highly visited website

KITA’s website, tourkangarooisland.com.au attracts a large number of prospective visitors to the island with 1.1m views over the last 12 months, and 330,000 users. The website functions as an important planning tool for visitors considering or booking their Kangaroo Island holiday and activities with accommodation, attractions, experiences and places to eat and drink.

Having your business listed on this high traffic environment provides not only a significant digital footprint and visibility to visitors, but also provides direct conversion opportunities with direct links back to your own website. The most recent update also introduces an interactive map - a functional, informative planning tool for visitors to the island, and has attracted an additional 35,000 users.

An engaged social media environment

In addition to the website, KITA’s social media channels have a combined 150,000 followers (55.5k on Instagram and 94.4k on Facebook), with a combined reach of over 6 million per year. Members have the opportunity to supply high-quality imagery and reel content (videos) to be considered for organic posts. Our online and social media channels have become pivotal to our destination marketing activities and are a strong platform from which to drive value for our members.

Cooperative opportunities

KITA offers various Cooperative Marketing activities involving tourism, food and beverages. This also includes assistance to leverage state and federal strategic marketing plans, and opportunities to be involved in media and trade famils.

A large email database

We produce a quarterly eDM (electronic direct mail marketing) to consumers who have subscribed to KITA, with a database of just over 5,500 subscribers, with a 37% growth year on year of subscribers. We theme these to align with the seasons, showcasing that the island is a brilliant destination to visit all year round. Members (dependant on membership level) can provide content for these eDMs, subject to approval. Average opens are 38.7% with a click through rate of 3.0%.

Photography and Videography

KITA have invested in a large database of Kangaroo Island imagery and video. This is made available to members, subject to membership level, to use for any marketing purposes that the business may have, for example websites, social media, brochures, signage, or banners.

Media

KITA works closely with Tourism Australia and the South Australian Tourism Commission on media opportunities for Kangaroo Island. Accolades that the Island receives come as no coincidence and require focused effort and influence. Our work with these agencies has assisted to gain accolades such as Lonely Planets #2 destination to travel, Australia’s Best Beach, and New York Times Top Travel destinations in 2023.

The KI Visitor Guide

KITA manages the production of the annual KI Visitor Guide in collaboration with HWR Media. Members are offered up to 15% off applicable advertising. Over 85,000 copies are printed and distributed across the country.  Members who are also advertisers in the visitor guide are also eligible to receive 1 story through our social media channels per year.

ADVOCACY

KITA plays a key role in advocacy for the island. KITA represents, supports and advocates on behalf of our association members, presenting a strong collective voice to key stakeholders, government departments, influencers, trade and media. The KITA board are focused on driving positive change for our island community, through collaboration and sharing in success. Most recently this has included:

Increased tourism through:

• Lobbying state government for increased Qantas flights and scheduling, leading to easier access and growing the number of visitors to the island.
• Working with Regional Tourism Managers group and Chairs group to raise state based issues and provide opportunities which we can benefit from
• Working with KI Council on Cruise Ship infrastructure improvements, such as designated tour parking and traffic management and creating a smoother visitor experience.

Improved infrastructure and access:

• Collaborated with Department of Infrastructure and Transport and Council to address sea access issues and road infrastructure, making business operations more efficient.

Developing Industry tools and resilience:

• Partnered with Austrade and EarthCheck to develop a Sustainable Tourism toolkit, increasing business eco-sustainable credentials.

Strategic planning:

• KITA is partnering with SATC, Council and other key stakeholders to progress new destination planning for the Island

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

KITA provide frequent opportunities for industry development through:

• engaging in mentoring programs,
• invitations to events, training, workshops, networking
• monthly industry updates through the WIP (work in progress) newsletters, including grants
• access to a member’s portal. The Members Portal contains a significant number of resources for members, all which can be accessed via secure login via our TidyHQ membership signup process:

• A media library with imagery and video (subject to membership level)
• The online Kangaroo Island Ambassador Training program,
• Access to toolkits, fact sheets, research, and other relevant industry market intelligence and more

EVENTS

KITA supports the annual Gutsy Kangaroo Island event. KITA produces a range of marketing collateral to support the event, including programs, posters, signage, a dedicated webpage, and paid social advertising. Members are eligible for their event to be listed in the program and receive significant digital support across our channels, including website and social media, including the Gutsy Kangaroo Island Facebook page.

GOVERNANCE AND FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

Over the last few years, the industry associations have gone through some major change. Solidifying KITA’s work and building the team is of continuing importance to KITA, so that we can better deliver outcomes to all members. A continued focus will be to strengthen KITA’s relationship with its members as well as with the diverse range of stakeholders. Strong fiscal performance, systems and board governance will enable effective management and drive improvements.