about me

I’m Paul Matthews. I have more than 25 years of marketing, tourism, business and stakeholder engagement experience in both private and public sector organisations. I love helping people and businesses find the sweet spot in what they do.

I’m a cricket tragic, music lover, father of three and home brewer. I have a penchant for dad jokes and while there is a heap of serious stuff happening in the world right now, I try not to take life too seriously. Laughter is a gift we can give ourselves and others that can help with productivity and keep us psychologically healthy. 

I set up the Visitor Economy Tourism Consultancy to help our industry recover and grow. Working at Visit Victoria from 2017 has given me privileged insight into tourism and the mechanics of growing the visitor economy through working directly with regional tourism boards, industry and state government. Prior to working at Visit Victoria, I’ve worked in senior leadership roles with VicRoads, V/Line, Yarra Trams and Met Bus. 

Back in the 90’s, I started my tourism journey working for a travel agent before mobile phones were a thing. I travelled most of Australia by coach when I was the National Product Manager for Greyhound Pioneer Australia creating some pretty cool tours including the first tour itinerary of Kings Canyon in the NT. Recently I was chair of the Victorian Tourism Awards Mentoring panel after spending over 12 years volunteering as a State and National Awards judge and mentor. To say I love tourism is an understatement. 

In 2019 I was seconded into the Victorian Regional Tourism Review which was an absolute immersion into all things demand, supply and otherwise. There are so many moving parts to an effective visitor economy to grows jobs, local businesses and encourage entrepreneurship. Local government and the community play a major role in helping to facilitate this. Anyone can come up with a great idea but it’s how you drive it through that’s the trickier part. 

Understanding and having empathy for all stakeholders, internal and external, and what they are doing makes everything so much easier. Empathy and collaboration are critical assets in a post Covid world. I’d like to think this is my point of difference from your average consultant.  I have a great network of fellow like minded tourism professionals that I partner with as required on different projects. 

I’ve run a couple of businesses before. One, a digital app for kids’ sports, the other a tourism and transport consultancy back in 2010. My career has taken me overseas, around Australia and through most of Victoria. Once it’s in your blood, it doesn’t leave. If you feel I can be of any assistance to you in any of my specialised areas, drop me a note or shout it to the night sky.