ATAP Launch at the Eureka Sky Deck
1 December 2008
The long-awaited national tourism accreditation program was launched on 31st October at a celebration at the Eureka Sky Deck, attended by Helen Thompson and Andrew MacLeod of CeCC.
The Australian Tourism Accreditation Program (www.atap.net.au) has been based on services which were successfully piloted through a University of Ballarat, AusIndustry funded, pilot.
The Building Better Business Online program (www.bbbonline.com.au) was a business skills pilot program based on tourism industry accreditation for micro tourism operators which was conducted in the Goldfields (Central Highlands and Central Victoria) region of Victoria during 2004 and 2005.
This pilot provided significant insight into tourism industry capacity building via flexibly delivered online skilling and knowledge sharing. Participants across the pilot region identified the time saving aspects demonstrated through the customised web-based learning, accreditation and assessment system. Tourism operators also confirmed they were drawn in by best practise examples and direct links to the online resources which assisted in bringing and keeping them up-to-date with industry information and developments.
At the end of the pilot the developed model and services were adopted by the Tourism Accreditation Board of Victoria. A national working group was subsequently formed with member organisations including:
- Better Business Accreditation Program Victoria
- National Tourism Accreditation Program Western Australia
- National Tourism Accreditation Program Tasmania
- National Tourism Accreditation Program South Australia
- National Tourism Accreditation Program ACT
- Northern Territory Tourism Accreditation Program
After the two year pilot a decision was made to create a national online program, designed to ease the process of a tourism business becoming accredited. CeCC has been fundamental in developing the underlying technical platforms for the new program. The Australian Tourism Accreditation Program has since evolved as a national business development program that is based on quality assurance principles. It addresses many of the issues that are covered in the development of a business plan with a focus on those elements which are key to the day to day function of any tourism operation.
The accreditation program includes business operating systems, licences and permits, insurance details, marketing plans, customer service delivery, human resource management, risk management, economic sustainability and financial systems, environmental management, social and cultural sustainability, codes of practice and codes of ethics.
The Australian Tourism Accreditation Program has been developed by aligning the six state and territory based tourism accreditation programs.
The web-based services have been developed by the University of Ballarat's Centre for eCommerce and Communications (www.cecc.com.au). CeCC operates as a business unit of the School of Business at the University of Ballarat. Through research, knowledge transfer and commercial activities CeCC promotes innovation through the application of new technologies.
From the users themsevles,
A View of Mt Marning Bed & Breakfast - Rosemary Baxter
"Situated in the Tweed Valley of far north NSW and surrounded by lush subtropical rainforest, we are a far cry from a commercial hub where IT assistance and support is readily available. It was a great relief to find such a well-designed online program, which covered all aspects of our small, but thriving Bed and Breakfast business. The program was easy to follow, with great prompts on when to save and when to proceed."
Kakadu Tours - Jo Paterson
"The online accreditation system is very simple to use. It is easy to follow and user-friendly. Having started the accreditation process manually initially, a process that seemed daunting is now as simple as logging on and following the steps. It hs cut the time taken to complete accreditation process by half."