One hundred and twenty years ago, two brothers, Édouard and André, came up with a clever marketing idea. They had a product that the more you used it, the more it wore out. When it wore out, you have to buy a new one. So they thought, how do we encourage people to use our product more?
Their last name was Michelin, and their products were tyres, so brothers Michelin made a little red book full of all sorts of suggestions of places to go around France, which is where they were based. And the more you travelled in this new-fangled "horseless carriage", the more you wore out your tyres.
The genius of the little book, however, arrives some 30 years after they launched it when they started to rate the destinations of restaurants on the journey: To paraphrase slightly, the first category, worth a stop, the second category, worth a detour and the third category worth a special trip. This was the birth of the Michelin Star system.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (which corresponds to my time so far on the board), we have, of course, lost all international visitors and we understand that there has been significant hardship for businesses as a result. We also are thankful that more West Australians have chosen to spend time in Peel. And while wearing out their tyres a little bit more than usual, they are discovering that Peel has so many places that are worth a stop, worth a detour and worth a visit in their own right.
All of our visitors are potential ambassadors for international tourists when international travel returns. From local experience, they can recommend where to stop, where to detour and where to make a special trip.
With the creation of more destinations and experiences, and the preservation, improvement and promotion of the ones we already have, more visitors will wear out their tyres and experience all Peel has to offer as a stand-alone destination: whether that's a trail through a pristine and unique environment, a pub lunch, fine dining at a winery or historic location,an adventure trip or indigenous guided experience that expands our horizons.