The client: Shire of Murray
Tourism is a significant and growing industry sector for the Shire of Murray, with its two main visitor destinations, Pinjarra and Dwellingup, focused around nature based tourism, and culture and heritage experiences.
The Shire has invested significantly in developing tourist attractions and amenities in both towns, with Dwellingup becoming known as a hub for mountain bike and hiking trails, and Pinjarra offering water-based activities on the river and a host of heritage venues and dining experiences.
The project: Website development ‘Destination Murray’
The Shire recognised the need to match its investment in tourism infrastructure with a website that showcased both destinations, promoting their individual characters and attractions whilst clearly being part of the overall ‘Destination Murray’ brand.
The Process
The ‘getting to know you’ phase
A ‘discovery workshop’ was held with DTM’s Bernard Whewell, an expert consultant in Tourism and the board of the Shire of Murray with the aim of achieving a shared understanding of the purpose of the website, the different audiences it needed to reach, and the functionality that was essential to converting browsers into visitors.
The design phase
All good websites need to balance form and function, and this was particularly true for Destination Murray. The user experience had to be seamless and equally as effective for visitors who knew nothing about the area and its attractions as it was for repeat visitors looking for their next adventure.
Effectively the site needed to become your own personal tour guide, a one stop shop for everything you need to plan your visit. Considering a road trip? Let us help you plan an itinerary with our interactive map. Looking for an adrenalin fuelled adventure? Book here. Just want to enjoy some good food and wine in a beautiful location? Check out these great venues.
One of the key technical challenges with the site was the need to integrate it with a third party engine that most tourism operators use to manage their bookings, This involved working closely with the developers of the third party software, and an upgrade to their product to achieve the functionality that the Destination Murray site required.
Bringing it all together was a look and feel that celebrates the best of regional WA and the stunning location of these two towns.
The outcome
Destination Murray is your own personal visitor centre and tour guide, all combined in one location on your mobile/laptop. We dare you to visit destinationmurray.com.au and not instantly want to book your trip to this stunning region of WA.