It’s the June 2026 edition of ‘Have You Heard Y.E.T?!’

Welcome to the June edition of ‘Have you Heard Y.E.T?!’

In this month’s newsletter we bring you up to date on all that’s happening at Your Exclusive Tours, our highlighted supplier is ‘This is Melbourne’ and the destination experience of the month is the Yarra Valley.

What’s happening at Your Exclusive Tours?

Welcome to Winter! Like previous years, May is traditionally one of the quietest months, and this year set a record low in tour experiences for us. Whilst only running several tours for the month, we know that the tourism industry as a whole is currently experiencing a global downturn in activity, so we know we’re not alone.

I recall a tourism colleague saying last year, which I quoted in our May 2025 edition; “we’ve had a whirlwind season since October last year and the extended warm weather into Autumn has been fantastic up until the end of April. Yes, it is now quiet, take this as an opportunity to rest, relax, recharge and prepare for next season”.

This sentiment has echoed throughout May this year and it’s been a good month to review and reset after family illness and personal challenges of the past nine months. To the tourism colleagues that have lent an ear, offered support, and their time, I thank you very much. It is greatly appreciated.

Given the unexpected gift of some early winter downtime, we attended the Australian Tourism Exchange in Adelaide and took some time to reflect on the past several months. As part of our review, we are developing several new products, including one experience that can be replicated across two different regional destinations offering the same or similar experiences with the sights, scenery, tales and history every bit different. We’re excited to able to share these new experiences with you soon. 

Our May touring highlights include:

Your Exclusive Tours’ biggest critic, my Mum celebrating her 90^th birthday with meeting Kookaburras Wafer and Pretzel, Emus Chili and Pepper, and Dawn the Masked Owl at Moonlit Sanctuary.

Celebrating the retirement of Captain Michael Guymon after flying for 35 years. Check out adventures of Puffing Billy, Wine Tasting, Wildlife Encounters, and 12 Apostles over two amazing days.

YET attends Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) 2026

The Australian Tourism Exchange 2026 (ATE26) was held in Adelaide this year and full of meetings, networking, and social events to connect with Travel Agents / Advisors, Inbound Tour Operators, Wholesalers, Suppliers, and industry stakeholders.

Your Exclusive Tours was there only for the day on Tuesday 12/5/2026 and what action-packed day connecting with existing agents & suppliers and hunting to create new relationships with agents and suppliers.

A real highlight was having a photo taken with group of colleagues that I worked with 10 years ago and today we have own tourism businesses.

Review of the Month

This month’s review is from Anna, who spent two days touring with Rob in the Yarra Valley and on the Great Ocean Road. We’d like to thank Anna for leaving her review.

Our Suppliers – This is Melbourne

We continue our ‘Our Suppliers’ series this month with our focus turning to Food Walking Tour operator ‘This is Melbourne’.

Who are they?
This is Melbourne are a premier supplier of guided walking tours throughout Melbourne’s city centre. Founded by ‘Chief Foodie’ Martina Jennings, this is Melbourne’s tours share the best of Melbourne’s diverse culinary scene.

What do they do?

This is Melbourne’s tours include ‘The Foodies Bucket List’, ‘Street Eats’, ‘Evening Palate & Pairings’ and ‘The Story of Melbourne’. Melbourne has truly earned its reputation as one of the foodie capitals of the world, with over 2000 eating establishments in the central business district. Martina and her team have made it their mission to know where the best of the best are hiding.

Why we love them
When Your Exclusive Tours teams up with This Is Melbourne, our guests enjoy an experience that is like no other exploring Melbourne culinary scene and hearing the tales, stories, and history of Melbourne through our collaboration product called “Melbourne Highlights & Foodie Tour”..

Destination Experience of the Month – The Yarra Valley

As winter descends on Victoria and the temperatures drop, the Yarra Valley turns into a cozy haven for those that like it warm, cold weather hiking for the brave at heart, and snow play for those that really like it cold!

Many of the Yarra Valley’s wineries feature large open fireplaces in their tasting rooms & restaurants, with menus offering hearty winter season meals, paired with rich, full bodied wines.

Warburton’s California redwoods are a sight to behold in winter, when the forest comes alive with winter fungi, mosses and ferns.

Mount Donna Buang offers snow play and tobogganing, and many a family has enjoyed a day building snowmen and having some epic snowball fights on their tour adventures.

Foodies can explore the truffle season (mid-June to late August), Rayner’s Orchard has stunning winter fruits ready to pick, and for many guests, the rich, warm hot chocolates at the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie are the ultimate indulgence on a cold winter day.

If winter in the Yarra Valley sounds like your go-to adventure, contact us for a chat, and we’ll put together a customised itinerary with pricing just for you.  

Stay tuned for more news in our next edition of ‘Have you heard Y.E.T?!’, and in the meantime, if you haven’t yet subscribed, you can do so here below: