Page 2879 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 17 September 2014
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Aspiration and access pose the most significant barriers to Canberra demand.
In terms of aspiration, while some consumers were simply not interested in the destination, many had other destinations higher on their list. Alternatively, they may have been before and don’t feel the need to return. This implies a lack of unique and compelling experiences to drive repeat visitation.
For those consumers more interested in visiting Canberra, many were deterred by the high cost of flights. This has an impact on those considering Canberra as a short break destination, as other destinations are more competitive in terms of cost.
Just three of the comments were:
It doesn’t match the excitement and energy of Melbourne and its laneways.
I have NT and Queensland to tick off before considering going to Canberra again.
If airlines like Jetstar and Tiger offered cheap flights I’d be more interested.
Perhaps that is part of the discussion, not just the Canberra international airport getting international flights, but certainly it would seem from the survey done by Tourism Research Australia that cheaper flights would make Canberra a more desirable destination.
The conclusion of the report goes to experience development:
Canberra was ranked below key competitors across each of the four experience pillars after respondents viewed stimulus on each destination. Therefore, further experience development is required.
To maximise current demand, it says:
No single pillar currently appeals to be compelling enough as a marketing focus. Broad positioning (rather than specific product focus) may be the most appealing with the current product offer.
Integration of seasonal events (acting as triggers) is likely to be appealing.
But it has a final line:
At a more basic level, it seems that a lack of knowledge of the best tourist experiences, and how to access them, could be addressed through a creative map of the region. The map should highlight attractions that appeal to holiday visitors.
It is interesting that the final piece in the Tourism Research Australia report does talk about low-cost air access, and it finishes with:
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