Tilma Group Pty Ltd

What Tilma Group Pty Ltd does

Tilma Group Pty Ltd is a privately-held Australian consulting firm founded in 2008 by Managing Director Linda Tillman and headquartered in Toowoomba, Queensland. The firm provides regional tourism consulting services organized around four pillars: Destination Development, Strategic Activation, Experience Design, and Capability Building. Its clients are predominantly local government councils, regional tourism organizations, tourism operators, event committees, and farmers pursuing agritourism diversification across rural and regional Australia. Notable named clients include the City of Karratha, Latrobe City Council, Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council, Warrnambool City Council, Tourism & Events Queensland, Destination Phillip Island, Tourism Central Australia, Outback Music Festivals Group, and Spirits of the Red Sand.

The company delivers project-based consulting engagements covering destination management planning, regional event strategies, tourism grant applications, award submission reviews, feasibility studies, sustainable accreditation support, experience design, and one-on-one mentoring for destination managers and tourism operators. Core technology consists of proprietary consulting methodologies, destination management frameworks, experience design processes, and sustainability accreditation guidance tailored to regional Australian tourism contexts, rather than software or platform products. Tilma Group has helped clients secure over AUD 5.6 million in grant funding and supported multiple Gold wins at the Australian Tourism Awards, with sector specializations in agritourism, Aboriginal tourism, and nature-based tourism.

The business operates on a professional services revenue model with quote-based, project-by-project pricing and multi-year contracts. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct, combining discovery calls with relationship-based business development, thought leadership content (a blog and quarterly newsletter), conference presentations at industry events such as Destination Q and the Australian Regional Tourism Convention, and a long-running 8-year strategic collaboration with JJ Strategic Consulting. The firm completed 28 projects in 2024 benefiting 25 regional communities and 21 tourism businesses, and reported work benefiting 29 businesses and 10 communities in 2025, with an additional 2,200 industry professionals reached through the Queensland Welcomes You training program developed for the Queensland Department of Tourism. The firm has no venture backing, achieved B Corp certification in 2026, and maintains GSTC membership and Future of Tourism signatory status.

Name

Tilma Group Pty Ltd

Legal name

Tilma Group Pty Ltd

Website

https://tilmagroup.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tilma Group is an Australian consulting firm providing regional tourism strategy, destination planning, grant application support, and capability-building services to local councils, regional tourism organizations, tourism operators, and event organizers across rural and regional Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tourism Consulting Services

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional & Land Use Planning (BPAHAKAE)

Keywords

• Regional tourism consulting
• Destination management planning
• Agritourism development
• Visitor economy strategy
• Tourism capability building

Headquarters

HQ city

Toowoomba South

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Tilma Group generates revenue through professional consulting services including destination management planning, tourism strategy development, experience design, and capability building programs. Services are delivered through project-based engagements with councils, tourism organizations, and tourism operators across regional Australia.
2. Grant Application Support: The company assists clients with grant writing and application support, helping secure funding from various tourism-related grant programs. In recent years they have helped clients win over $5.6 million in funding.
3. Award Submission Reviews: Tilma provides detailed feedback on award submissions to help destinations and operators strengthen their chances of winning tourism awards, applying their experience in writing, judging, and winning awards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Tilma Group is a professional services consultancy that helps rural and regional Australian destinations, councils, and tourism businesses develop, activate, and grow sustainable visitor economies. Its work is organised around four pillars — Destination Development, Strategic Activation, Experience Design, and Capability Building — delivered through destination management planning, event strategies, agritourism and Aboriginal tourism development, grant and award support, sustainable accreditation, feasibility studies, and mentoring. Revenue is earned through project-based consulting engagements, grant writing support, and award submission reviews across rural and regional Australia.

Product overview

Tilma Group is a professional services consultancy (not a software/platform company) offering a portfolio of integrated advisory services organized around four core pillars: Destination Development, Strategic Activation, Experience Design, and Capability Building. The services include destination management planning, regional event strategies, tourism grant applications, award submission reviews, sustainable accreditation support, feasibility studies, experience design programs, and one-on-one mentoring for destination managers and tourism operators. The company specializes in agritourism, Aboriginal tourism, nature-based tourism, and sustainable/regenerative tourism strategy for rural and regional Australian communities, councils, and tourism businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Destination Management Planning Co-creation of destination management plans and tourism development strategies for regional destinations, leveraging stakeholder consultation, desktop research, visitation insights, audit and gaps analysis of existing tourism offerings, and alignment with cross-sector strategic plans across all levels of government.
• Visitor Experience and Product Audit and Analysis Assessment of existing tourism offerings within a region or sector to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for improvement or expansion. Specialises in regional events, agritourism, nature and outdoors, and Aboriginal tourism.
• Visitor Servicing Review and Recommendations Visitor-centric consulting engagement that identifies cutting-edge and cost-effective visitor servicing approaches, ensuring visitors receive information when and where they need it on their travel journey; delivered for regional tourism organisations and councils.
• Regional Event Strategies Development of events strategies that address challenges and opportunities across the regional events sector, helping Councils maximise event benefits for community and economy.
• Agritourism Development Specialised consulting programs for agritourism experiences, including strategic planning, mentoring of farmers, and supporting planning changes for agritourism diversification across regional Australia.
• Tourism and Destination Strategy Activation Hands-on implementation support to ensure tourism strategies are activated, including coaching teams, developing 12-month activation plans, and facilitating cross-departmental implementation within councils and tourism organisations.
• Tourism Grant Applications Grant writing and application support services helping clients secure funding from tourism-related grant programs; Tilma Group has helped clients win over $5.6 million in funding from over a dozen tourism grant programs ranging from $20,000 up to $3.9 million.
• Tourism Award Submission Reviews Detailed feedback and review service for tourism award submissions that strengthens chances of winning awards, drawing on the team's 15+ years of experience in writing, judging, and winning tourism awards.
• Sustainable Accreditation Coaching, accountability, and development of foundational business documentation to support regional tourism businesses pursuing sustainable accreditation, with strategies aligned to GSTC Destination Criteria.
• New Product and Experience Development Plans Creative and pragmatic development of plans for new tourism products and experiences, based on contextual research, assessment, feasibility, and gaps analysis.
• Feasibility Studies Feasibility reports for new tourism developments, produced with economic analysts and based on contextual research, assessment, and economic viability analysis.
• Sector Product Audit and Analysis Development of audits of local product and experiences that reveal strengths, gaps, and opportunities to support development planning, with specialisation in regional events, agritourism, nature and outdoors, and Aboriginal tourism.
• Experience Design Programs Tailored workshops and programs to support the design of meaningful tourism experiences, particularly in agritourism, nature-based and outdoors tourism, and Aboriginal tourism development.
• Mentoring Destination Managers and Teams One-on-one mentoring and coaching for destination managers and council teams to build the skills and confidence required to manage resilient visitor economies.
• Mentoring Tourism Operators Business coaching and mentoring for tourism operators to help them develop and grow sustainable tourism businesses.
• Positive Impact Mentoring Sustainability-focused mentoring program developed with Wild Adventures Melbourne and 7 Generations Tourism to enable tourism business owners to improve their sustainability.
• Training and Presenting Industry presentations, keynote speaking, and training sessions on visitor experience development, sustainable tourism, and regional tourism strategy for industry audiences.
• Aboriginal Tourism Development Consulting support for the development of Aboriginal tourism experiences and cultural tourism, working with Traditional Owners and indigenous communities to build culturally grounded experiences.
• Queensland Welcomes You Training Program Online training modules teaching front-line tourism staff about Traditional Owners, accessibility, and sustainable local tourism businesses, developed in partnership with JJ Strategic Consulting for Tourism & Events Queensland.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $5.6 million in grant funding secured for clients
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• JJ Strategic Consulting (Jayne Jennings)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Long-term collaboration since 2017 (8 years) co-creating tourism strategies and collaborating on projects including the multi-year Queensland Welcomes You project for the Queensland Government. Jayne Jennings is a regular collaborator on destination development strategies and training programs.
• University of Technology Sydney (UTS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports UTS event management students by providing real-world experience developing event concepts for regional destinations. Students developed concepts for new events for Redlands Coast and Northern Rivers Rail Trail.
• Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on the Queensland Welcomes You training program. QTIC taking lead on the program from 2026. Linda serves on QTIC's advisory group on workforce.
• Ecotourism AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConnects clients like City of Karratha with Ecotourism Australia to learn about ECO Destination Certification. Regularly shares Ecotourism Australia's Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard with mentees.
• Wild Adventures Melbourne / 7 Generations Tourism (Nic Cooper)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered to develop a new 'positive impact' program enabling tourism business owners to improve their sustainability.
• ecoBizminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSought advice from ecoBiz (free for QLD businesses) to understand Tilma's emissions and climate risk reporting requirements. Connected Granite Gardens with ecoBiz for emissions-reduction program.
• Rejenerate.cominorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvided assistance during B Corp certification process to help Tilma Group meet requirements.
• Foundation for Regional and Rural Renewal (FRRR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTilma Group donates 1% of profits annually to FRRR's Prepare and Recover grant program which helps regional communities increase resilience to climate change impacts. FRRR's grants also benefit many of Tilma's clients.
• Global Sustainable Tourism CouncilcoreOthersTilma Group is a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and aligns their strategic plans with GSTC's Destination Criteria.
• Future of TourismminorOthersTilma Group is a signatory to the Future of Tourism initiative, committing to sustainable and regenerative tourism practices.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• EarthCheck: Australia-headquartered sustainability certification body for the travel and tourism industry. Adjacent to Tilma's sustainable accreditation work and an enabling partner for clients pursuing ESG credentials.

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: Global infrastructure consultancy with tourism strategy and destination planning capabilities. Larger player with broader portfolio, providing similar destination advisory services to government clients.
• Deloitte Australia: Big-four consultancy with tourism economics and destination strategy capabilities. Larger incumbent serving government and tourism clients across strategy, economic analysis, and policy.
• KPMG Australia: Big-four advisory with tourism and destination strategy practices that serve government and tourism clients. Competes in the same consulting space but as part of a much broader services portfolio.
• GHD Advisory: Global engineering and advisory firm with a tourism and destination strategy practice that serves regional councils and government clients in Australia. A larger incumbent offering adjacent advisory services.

Direct peers

• Regionality: Australian regional economic and tourism development consultancy. Works with regional communities, councils, and operators on strategy and activation, directly overlapping with Tilma Group's regional tourism development mandate.
• Wild Adventures Melbourne / 7 Generations Tourism: Australian boutique tourism consultancy focused on sustainable and Aboriginal tourism, run by Nic Cooper. Co-develops Tilma's 'Positive Impact' mentoring program and operates independently in the same niche.
• Place Partners: Australian place management and destination planning consultancy working with councils, regions, and tourism organizations on destination strategy and activation. Directly comparable to Tilma Group's destination management planning, experience design, and capability building services.
• JJ Strategic Consulting: Australian boutique tourism strategy consultancy specializing in destination planning and event strategy. Co-develops tourism strategies with Tilma but also operates independently across similar council and tourism organization clients.

Others

• Ecotourism Australia: Australian certification body for ecotourism and sustainable tourism. Tilma actively refers clients to Ecotourism Australia, making it an ecosystem enabler rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/tilmagroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tilma-management
• Xx.com/tilmagroup

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tilma Group Pty Ltd