Echelon Corporate Solutions

Our Approach
ECS Destination Development (ECSDD) is a division of Echelon Corporate Solutions. ECSDD provides high calibre consulting services specialising in strategic planning with particular expertise in the areas of tourism marketing and economic development. Our highly talented team is intimately familiar with best practice processes for stakeholder engagement and community consultation. ECSDD assists destinations and organisations realise their full potential by identifying market conditions and ensuring there is a match with products and services on offer. If there are any gaps then product development and quality assurance will become part of the plan. An initial Needs Analysis will identify client expectations and unique selling points. ECSDD firmly maintains that despite how sound a strategic plan is, a top down approach in strategy development and implementation will not realise full potential. The ultimate strategic plan is developed with a high level of stakeholder, and when appropriate community, engagement. When it comes to implementation or ‘roll out’ those responsible for implementation will adopt a greater sense of ownership and be better advocates of the plan because they participated in the process. Our team enjoys working with a broad spectrum of clients including all tiers of government, local and regional businesses, tourism organisations, community groups and formal advisory groups. Key members of our Destination Development team are profiled below.
Our People
	Randall Walker provides business consultancy services specialising in strategic planning, marketing and online solutions. He enjoys working with organisations to achieve optimal performance, and assisting clients to adopt a customer and staff training focus by facilitating workshops on planning, marketing, workplace culture and communication. Randall has a Master of Business Administration majoring in marketing and is passionate about organisations realising their full potential. He has been involved with various projects for three of the world’s largest accommodation brands, Choice Hotels, Accor and Best Western. Randall has been a guest presenter on marketing for the Choice Hotels Australasia Annual Conference and has conducted workshops with many top 200 Australian companies.
He has also managed sales and marketing for a publicly listed accommodation company with 24 properties in regional areas throughout three states. Randall currently serves as Chairman of the Forum of Regional Tourism Organisations (FORTO), Chairman of the Greater Blue Mountains Drive and National Landscapes Committee and Chairman of Blue Mountains Lithgow and Oberon Tourism.He has worked with the world class, award winning, Australian International Hotel School and Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School. The group in Australia includes the global website eHotelier and is owned by the international hospitality network Laureate. Randall developed tourism marketing courses, delivers guest lectures and conducts marketing for the company owned Hotel Kurrajong in Canberra.
	Mark Woodbridge has more than 30 years domestic and international experience in consulting to, and conducting hands on management in the hotel, resort and tourism industries. He is current heading the consulting team at the University of Western Sydney (UWS). Recently he has been responsible for a series of tourism related assignments in Australia and South America. He is also currently a key member of a major national and international consulting assignment being conducted for the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism examining current patterns and likely future trends in all forms of travel and tourism distribution. Mark co-founded Radisson Hotels Pty Limited, which was the exclusive franchisee of Radisson Hotels International in Australia, the South West Pacific, Indonesia and Malaysia.
At Radisson, he was responsible for all aspects of corporate and hotel-specific sales, marketing and distribution and the identification, acquisition and pre- opening of new hotel and resort projects. Prior to Radisson, Mark was a senior member of the consulting division of Price Waterhouse where he headed the tourism and hospitality consulting team. Mark has direct hotel management and marketing experience, including having been responsible for designing and implementing the comprehensive strategic planning methodology at Radisson Hotel Asia Pacific that was implemented in 30 hotels, resorts and business units. Mark is currently completing his PhD in the School of Tourism at the University of Queensland. His research is focusing examining key trends in the distribution of hotel, resort and tourism services. He holds a Bachelor of Business degree in marketing, with distinction, from the NSW Institute of Technology (now part of the University of Technology, Sydney) and was awarded The University Medal in Marketing. He has also completed hotel and tourism related courses at Cornell University, New York and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu.
	Michael Walls has more than 25 years experience as a journalist, media consultant, publisher and business owner. Staring his career as a cadet journalist, Michael became an award winning editor with Fairfax Community Newspapers and a senior reporter and sub-editor with The Australian and Sunday Telegraph. Michael provides advisory services specialising in media and PR and publishing solutions. He enjoys working with progressive organizations to help them achieve clarity and results with media and publishing issues. Michael has worked with several of Australia’s leading educational organisations including the University of New South Wales where as media manager he was in part responsible for it generating more media coverage than any other Australian university.
He joined the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) as PR and Communications Manager with responsibility for publications, media and communication around new programs, executive education and corporate liaison. Michael’s skills in starting new media ventures and products have been sought after leading him to successfully launch three international magazines on behalf of investors – Succeed, Think Big and Lifestyle Investor. His PR clients have included RESI Home Loans, University of Western Sydney, the Hubbard Management system, Dr John Hinwood (author and speaker) and Mal Emery (marketer and author). He is currently a director of Wallburg Developments, publishers of The Hawkesbury Way news magazine, Parramatta Business Access magazine and Experience magazine. He holds a masters degree in media education (UNSW) specializing in public education and media advocacy. He is a member of the Media Arts Alliance and Public Relations Institute of Australia.
	Wayne Cooper is actively involved in the tourism and economic development field specialising in bringing ideas to reality by encouraging and planning investment in cooperative ventures between councils, their communities and businesses and neighbouring areas. Wayne has a proven track record driving successful key projects in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and regional NSW. His unique talent is transforming ideas or opportunities into profitable reality by utilising the untapped potential of individuals and groups. He positions regional development, including tourism and business investment projects, to achieve optimum turnaround and commercial return. Wayne will create prosperity for destination clients by facilitating the striking of deals and agreements with key stakeholders; raising capital; mitigating risk; finding missing key talent and ensuring ongoing support for communities by leaving them in control.
Our Products and Services Ensure process and outcomes comply with planning and reporting requirements of the Local Government Act and the Local Government (General) Regulation Needs Analysis Undertake desktop and/or Primary Research Analyse research Review and analysis of previous plans Establish identity/essence of destination, uncover or create destination appeal Identify Structure and Operational Goals Identify Objectives, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Identify methods for Resourcing and Delivery Professional accounting assistance with Financial Plan components Analyse existing or recommend the creation of a destination website Analyse existing or recommend the creation of a destination publication Identify a compelling Tourism Strategy Identify an effective Economic Development Strategy Benchmarking and tracking and reporting through systems developed in conjunction with University of Western Sydney (UWS) Independent assessment of progress of Plan on an annual basis Attempt to streamline local needs and goals with regional and State goals No cost assistance with applications/submissions for relevant funding programs to drive destination development Design a Media and Public Relations Strategy Identify all stakeholders