Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness

Business profile

Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness (NNCA) began in 2011 and is an Aboriginal-owned and -operated business running tourism experiences in Narooma on the NSW South Coast on Yuin country. The lead guide is Dwayne ‘Naja’ Bannon-Harrison who has over 17 years of experience along with nine generations of cultural teachings passed down. Dwayne and the family team at NNCA invite visitors onto Yuin country to learn and immerse themselves in the world’s oldest living culture.

Gulaga Mountain and Djirringanj Country are the heartbeat of the Yuin people and as traditional knowledge holders and teachers, NNCA guides the visitor on these two-night Indigenous experiences to connect people to the creation stories and to take away a memory of the sacred dreaming of the Yuin.

ngaranaboriginalculture.com

Quick Facts

Product Type: Multi-day tour

Focus: Aboriginal Culture, Health & Wellness

Location: Narooma, South Coast

Destination Network: Destination Southern NSW

NSW First spoke to Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness Owner & Director Dwayne Bannon-Harrison about why the business is involved with the program.

How did the Destination NSW New Product Workshop help your business?

The New Product Workshop helped shape the products we offer by looking at our business approach purely from a tourism industry perspective. This is still a work in progress however without this program we would not be where we are — an export-ready tourism business.

Which international markets do you target?

We have our stronghold in the Western Markets — USA, Canada, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy and Scandinavia.

What types of trade partners are you working with?

We mainly work with a few key wholesalers and inbound tour operators.

Which trade events have you attended?

We have attended the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) in the last few years.

Why did you make the decision to attend these events?

We attend trade events to enhance our understanding of the travel trade and to assist other Aboriginal businesses to grow in the tourism sector.

How did the Destination NSW Seller Training help you prepare for the New Product Workshop and/or ATE?

Everything from your elevator pitch to developing your trade fact sheet helps you evolve and simplify your product offering. The Seller Training also helps you understand the trade expectations that domestic tourism does not really equip you with. We prepared by connecting and sound boarding ideas with the Destination NSW Industry Development team and Aboriginal Sector Specialist. We also did key comparisons to mainstream product similar to us e.g. spiritual retreats, yoga and mindfulness offerings. The most important aspect was to put an industry focus on our product, so less is more.

What do you find most valuable about attending trade events?

Attending trade events allows you to meet key buyers and establish direct partnerships with buyers from around the world. After listening to their feedback and requests, we then do our best to try and incorporate that into our products.

We understand we are not a high volume experience so being flexible and robust helps us mold our product to suit the demands of the inbound market and gain forward bookings.

What are your top tips for a business attending their first trade event?

• Be open to change and be prepared to tweak your product.
• Be clear on your intent and why you are in tourism and stay true to that.
• Lastly be prepared to say no, respectfully.

How does attending trade events fit into your inbound strategy?

Attending trade events fits well with our inbound strategy as our tours are seasonal, niche and extended. We understand we are not a high volume experience so being flexible and robust helps us mold our product to suit the demands of the inbound market and gain forward bookings.

How do you keep the travel trade up to date with your product range?

We send emails directly to our inbound partners along with those buyers we have met at trade events to discuss developments and updates. We are also very responsive in between trade events to buyers that are touching base.