Manager Tourism and Events, Karen Ronning (right rear) with website team members Sally Bursell and Stacey Jones

Kiama is presenting a new face to the world with the launch of the new Destination Kiama website.

“It has many more features and much more information,” says Karen Ronning, Council’s Manager Tourism and Events.

“We’ve worked with leading destination website designers and a local copy writer to focus on our key attributes.”

With an average of 17,000 visitors a month to the site, Ms Ronning is keen for it to be as engaging as possible, while being easy to navigate.

“The new site fits in with the brand positioning work we have done, which enables our overall strategy,” she says.

Some of the new features are interactive maps, a stronger emphasis on the attractions of the villages and other precincts, and user generated photo feeds drawn from social media posts.

“When people tag their instagram account we can pull the image through to show their experience,” says Stacey Jones, a member of the website team.

Local tourism operators are now in control of their own listings, through the use of the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse platform.

“They can update and refresh their pages at any time, and they will get featured not only here but on up to 200 other sites,” says Ms Ronning.

The Bookeasy online accommodation booking service has also been refreshed, to give it a more modern feel.

Ms Ronning says the site isn’t just for visitors, but is a valuable resource for locals.

“It is the first place to go to find out what is happening in our area, and make use of the great businesses operating here.

“If you are trying to organise a meeting, wedding or other event, this is the best place to start.”

The history pages are fed to the site from the Library, and offer links to their virtual tours and other resources.

You might just see someone you know while you are checking out the site, as it features a growing number of Meet the Locals clips highlighting various aspects of our region.

In other tourism news, Ms Ronning says the Kangaroos are booked in for a training camp later in the year, and the potential of the Tour event (see right) is huge.

Details: Visit the website at www.kiama.com.au