FOR the first time in a very long time, Jo Thomas is not in the wine game.
Her residential address - not to mention her new-ish plum role as executive manager, marketing, at Reflections Holiday Parks - is compensation.
"I live in the Hunter Valley and commute to Newcastle, so I get my fix of local restaurants and have mates in the industry so I don't feel like I've left it behind," says Kurri Kurri-raised Ms Thomas, 51.
After more than three years as general manager of the Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association, Ms Thomas says the opportunity to work at Reflections was too good to pass up.
"During the interview process I was asked, 'How do you feel about moving away from wine tourism?' and the answer was marketing first and foremost is my passion," she says. "While I've had over 25 years in wine and tourism and a stint in the health industry, the whole idea is understanding the consumer and making sure that the experience they get from your product or destination is you delivering on your promise."
Ms Thomas has her work cut out for her, in arguably some of the state's most scenic locations: there are 37 Reflections Holiday Parks in NSW, all owned and managed by NSW Crown Holiday Parks Land Managers.
"They need some love, so part of our remit is to ensure we give back to the community by doing capital works, creating some community areas within our parks so everyone can enjoy them, not just the people staying there," Ms Thomas says.
Reflections Holiday Parks often flank national parks and coastal and inland waterways, offering camping and cabin accommodation to suit different budgets.
"We have some amazing assets and ... the challenge is when we are looking at new markets, is convincing them to come to our parks, or revisit the park because we have new product," she says.
In her first few months on the job, Ms Thomas has visited 11 of the 37 parks and aims to visit them all by mid-2020. With inland parks, a focus will be to "drought-proof" them and devise suitable activities.
"Like any business inland or northwest or inland NSW they are suffering, occupancy is down," she notes. "We champion our coastal parks at his time so we can continue to support the inland parks," she says.
Ms Thomas is developing a strategic marketing plan looking at the parks' main selling point - prime locations among nature and water that she says their competitors don't always have.
A strong message, too, particularly in the festive season, is to remind visitors to "switch off and dig your toes in the sand and get back to nature and discover your loved ones."
