Sean Blocksidge, Margaret River Discovery

Sean Blocksidge Margaret River Discovery Company

In his previous life, Sean Blocksidge managed a five star hotel and esteemed Margaret River winery before stepping out of the corporate world. Sean developed the Margaret River Discovery Company to more deeply connect visitors to the region and showcase how much more there is than just wine.

Through his shared passions in the environment and the gastronomic delights, he is making a powerful contribution to the region and state. Described as the ‘tour for people who don’t do tours’, The Margaret River Discovery Company is currently rated the number one tour experience in Australia on the Tripadvisor website.

Winning the FACET Golden Guide Award was a game changer for me both personally and professionally.

I didn’t win the first year I entered which in hindsight was the best outcome I could have hoped for. The judges gave me great feedback on how to improve the tour experience and those changes revolutionised the way I deliver the tour. I studied the principles of interpretation and developed a few key ‘ka-pow!’ revelations about why the Margaret River wine region was the most consistent wine producing region in Australia. Ironically it was losing the award that actually made me a better guide with a much better tour!

The award added credibility to what I was doing but mostly it gave me confidence that I was on the right path. My style of tour was very different to anything on offer in Margaret River and it’s no understatement to say the business was struggling in its first few years. As a result the business is now solidly booked almost every day of the year, even in winter.

It has also been a great result for the Margaret River region as we now have 4 FACET Golden Guides delivering world class tourism experiences in a small area. Greatly benefiting visitors to the region and helping lift the standard of experience and service of all the competing tourism operators throughout the Capes region.

www.margaretriverdiscovery.com.au

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