Croshaw says it’s difficult to predict how they will fare in the year ahead – the mainstream media tend to predict doom and gloom, she says, although there’s no doubt we are in a two-tier economy – but there’s still plenty of appetite for deluxe properties.
“It’s the higher-end properties, the smarter one that are more expensive that are doing better,” she says.
Another plus for Australian tourism, according to Croshaw, is the growth of food and wine tourism. “Food and wine tourism is a popular drawcard. The south coast is starting to generate conversation that not only can you stay in quality accommodation, but you can eat quality food,” she says.
John Lee of the Tourism and Transport Forum says that international visitor numbers are actually holding up much better than similar markets, such as South Africa, which is being hit hard by the debt problems of Europe and the US.
“I’m actually less critical of Tourism Australia because they’re punching above their weight,” Lee says.
Darrell Wade, of PEAK Adventure Group, agrees that Tourism Australia does a creditable job. Having copped plenty of criticism for its Lara Bingle “Where the bloody hell are you?” campaign and the Baz Luhrmann-directed ad to coincide with his Australia film, Peak says the tourism body deserves a pat on the back.
“I actually think they know what to do and are reasonably good at promoting Australia in a very tough market,” Wade says.
Announcing a plan to double the size of Australia’s tourism industry by 2020, Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said last year the body would focus on the “global consumer who is predisposed to Australia and spends more”.
With the economies of Europe and the US struggling and demographics not in their favour, gaming billionaire James Packer is likely right in saying that our Asian neighbours deserve more attention.
Packer, chairman of the Crown casino group which calls itself the largest international tourism operator in Australia excluding the airlines, says by 2020, it’s estimated that 100 million Chinese will travel abroad. He adds that total spending by Chinese outbound travellers will then be worth an estimated $US800 billion-plus.
Darrell Wade of PEAK Adventure Travel Group says there’s no question Asia will drive demand in the future. “We are relatively close and have a huge competitive advantage in our open spaces and blue skies – but we will have to work harder and better to make this happen,” he says.
But with a report by Tourism Research Australia this year noting the number of Australians travelling overseas had grown by an average 7.5% over the past decade, Randall Deer says Australians are “voting with their feet.” By contrast, international visitor numbers are similar to where they were 10 years ago.
Deer, managing director of RewardsCorp Group – which incorporates travel coupon businesses RewardsCorp, My Holiday Centre and Group Buying Escapes – says many Australian hotels these days are simply tired.
Not only that, but Deer says a hotel in Australia rated four stars might only get a 3.5 star rating overseas, leaving intrepid Aussies accustomed to sweeter deals and delivering a rude shock to international travellers expecting more here.
PEAK Adventure Travel Group’s Darrell Wade says his group doesn’t feel the Australian industry has “worked hard to create an innovative product that differentiates itself from the global offering”.
“A destination has to work increasingly hard to gain the respect from international markets, and I think Australian operators have rested on their laurels, failed to innovate and not given clients a reason to come here, or come back here,” Wade says.
A new challenge and opportunity for the travel industry is fast-growing group buying sites, which now include cut-priced packaged deals in their eclectic offerings.
Deer, who runs the newly established Group Buying Escapes, says “customers are speaking loudly, saying, ‘I like this’.”
“Traditionally if they were considering a holiday, an agent would need certainty on a date and they would brushed off if they were just browsing.”
But group buying in the travel sector is a paradigm shift, he says, because it gives people the flexibility of travelling within a centre time period, but with the urgency of booking a deal or missing out.
Still, like all sectors falling under the group buying umbrella, Deer expects teething problems. He says future growth will be limited by deal and credibility fatigue, and notes that many people have already booked their holiday and won’t be interested in the near-term to book again.
“It’s evolving, but it’s here to stay,” Deer says.
What this means for retail travel agents such as Flight Centre and STA remains to be seen.
With the global economic outlook unclear but the Australian dollar only likely to fall dramatically in the event of a major downturn, the challenge for tourism operators is clear.
The ideas for preserving one of Australia’s key industries are as wide and varied as our great southern land:
For Australian tourism doyenne Darrell Wade, operators can play their role by “creating a product that people feel inspired by and want to buy”.
“We have huge advantages and attractions in Australia – and yet we Australian operators seem better at “selling” the disadvantages of a domestic holiday than the advantages,” he says.
“For example, you hear operators complaining that an overseas holiday can be cheaper and they can’t compete. Change the paradigm! Point out that often overseas is not actually cheaper, but also do you really want to lose two days of your holiday by getting there and back compared to a couple of hours?”
“There are a million reasons why it makes sense to take a holiday in Australia – a pity our industry doesn’t use them.”
But Tourism and Transport Forum chief John Lee says some regional Australian towns need to reconsider their reliance on tourism, particularly given one growth market – the Chinese – tend to prefer touring cities over regional centres.
“For regional Australia, I think it’s time to look at whether needs to be a structural adjustment.”
“Places like Townsville work because they’ve got the army, sporting teams, industry, good port facilities.”
“But Cairns has suffered because it’s so reliant on tourism that if an international market dries up or other externalities, it feels the full force.”
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