Building a Visitor Participation Economy

Executive summary

The Yarra Valley Pass is a regional participation initiative developed in partnership with Tourism East and local tourism operators to create an ongoing relationship between people and the Yarra Valley. The initiative introduces a new operating model that rewards participation rather than transactions — creating measurable value for visitors, local businesses and the region simultaneously.

Through authentic, rights-approved content, reviews, referrals, competitions and community activities, participants help showcase the region while earning Yarra Credits that unlock rewards from businesses across the Yarra Valley. Rather than promoting individual businesses in isolation, participating operators collectively benefit as people move between venues, share experiences, refer others and engage with the region as a whole — generating valuable first-party visitor insights along the way.

The most valuable visitors aren't just the ones who arrive. They're the ones who participate.

Key takeaway — The Yarra Valley Pass demonstrates how destinations can build a Visitor Participation Economy: creating measurable value for tourism organisations, local businesses and regional communities throughout the year.

What we set out to validate

The pilot was designed to explore whether participation could become a new driver of regional tourism — measuring success not solely through visitation or transactions, but by whether rewarding meaningful participation could create lasting value. Specifically, we set out to validate whether a regional participation model could:

• Encourage meaningful engagement before, during and after a visit.
• Maintain visitor and community engagement during quieter, off-peak seasons.
• Generate authentic, rights-approved visitor content at scale.
• Increase reviews, referrals and recommendations for local businesses.
• Connect multiple tourism operators through a shared regional rewards ecosystem.
• Encourage visitors to engage with more businesses and experiences across the destination.
• Strengthen relationships with local residents, returning visitors and future travellers.
• Generate valuable first-party visitor insights for tourism organisations and participating businesses.

Early validation

The pilot is already validating that a regional participation model can successfully encourage meaningful engagement beyond registration. Participants are actively contributing through user-generated content, referrals, reviews, competitions and interactions across multiple local businesses. These early results indicate that when participation is recognised and rewarded, people don't simply visit a destination — they become active participants in it.

Pilot highlights

The Yarra Valley Pass pilot is an ongoing initiative. These early indicators demonstrate that participation is already creating meaningful engagement and value across the region.

Additional early indicators include strong cross-business engagement — participants engaging with a wide mix of wineries, food, accommodation and experiences — and community-led growth, with new participants joining through trusted referrals and word-of-mouth, the strongest source of growth.

Participation creates the journey

One of the most important insights is that participation begins well before a reward is redeemed. Rather than waiting until someone visits a business, the platform encourages people to start engaging with the region immediately — creating content, entering competitions, referring friends, sharing recommendations and completing community activities from the moment they join. Instead of rewarding only the final transaction, the Yarra Valley Pass rewards the journey leading up to it.

1. 1Join. Become part of the Yarra Valley Pass community.
2. 2Participate. Complete meaningful activities that support the region — create content, enter competitions, refer friends, leave reviews, share recommendations and join community activities.
3. 3Earn. Collect Yarra Credits through your contributions and engagement.
4. 4Redeem. Unlock rewards and experiences from participating businesses across the Yarra Valley.
5. 5Continue. Discover more, stay connected and keep earning — explore new businesses, take on new challenges and inspire others to join.

From destination marketing to destination participation

The pilot is validating a new regional participation model — one where visitors, local businesses and tourism organisations all create and receive value through a shared ecosystem. Instead of every business trying to market itself independently, the Yarra Valley Pass creates a shared participation ecosystem where every interaction benefits the wider region. Participants naturally move between businesses, discover new experiences, create content, refer others and unlock rewards across multiple operators.

• For participants — more ways to engage, earn and enjoy the Yarra Valley.
• For businesses — more visibility, authentic advocacy and new customers.
• For the region — stronger connections, sustainable growth and a thriving local economy.

The future of regional tourism isn't just about attracting more visitors. It's about turning them into advocates.