Pandemic pivot pays off

•   Blue Derby Pods Ride operators Steve and Tara Howell. Photo by Chris Crerar.

By Daisy Baker,
March 30, 2022

The owners of Blue Derby Pods Ride have been recognised for their resilience and innovation throughout the pandemic, taking out the Judge’s Choice Award at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards.

Operators Tara and Steve Howell attended the Awards ceremony on the Sunshine Coast on March 18, along with around 750 people from all corners of the country. 

In order for businesses to be eligible for the national tourism awards, they had to win their state spot first.

Blue Derby Pods Ride took out the Tasmanian Adventure Tourism gold award in 2021.

The luxury adventure mountain biking experience is well-known for its three and four day itineraries, paired with unique accommodation pods in the heart of Derby’s mountain bike network.

On the back of what’s been a tough couple of years for tourism operators, Tara said winning a gold national tourism award was a nice surprise.

“We were just so shocked, we didn’t expect it at all. It was an award that was against every other national player so we didn’t expect it all,” she said.

“We were looking at each other thinking ‘what did we do that was so special?’ but then when we looked back, we have continued to innovate the whole time.

“It did make us feel that all that hard work, changing, innovating, marketing was worth it.”

With 95 per cent of their clientele coming from interstate or overseas, when borders shut they had to get creative, pivoting slightly to keep things going.

They opened the pods up for an accommodation-only offering for Tasmanian guests during their low-season, with optional add-ons.

Tara said they were well supported by Tasmanians taking up the opportunity to come and check out the pods.

“Rather than stopping our marketing to our regular customers, we ramped it up so we had leads for when things opened back up again,” she said.

“There still are a lot of reschedules happening. But when that started happening, we were sending letters and merchandise, putting our sock in their shoes, and instead of saying ‘too bad’ saying ‘you will get back eventually’. 

“It was a genuine approach but it also helped build really good relationships.” 

Tara said they are grateful to have been recognised alongside some of the country’s leading operators.

“Up at the awards there were some incredible stories of innovation. We were very lucky to be recipients,” she said.

“There were so many incredible people up there that we still feel shocked that we received the award.”

Out of 25 categories at the Australian Tourism Awards, Tasmanian tourism operators won eight golds, along with a further four silver and three bronze awards.