Karyn Kent
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Could you take us through the year gone by for Tourism Australia in the Gulf and plans ahead?
We have definitely seen growth in 2013. However, we do not have the final numbers yet. We hope to end up with around 80,000 visitors to Australia from the region. Our key markets for the Gulf region include UAE and KSA, which are our core markets. We have also recorded good numbers in expenditure figures. The plan for the ‘Tourism 2020’ strategy is to grow the industry to be valued at between AUS$ 115 – 140 billion industry.
Every market has a set target to deliver including the Middle East. Looking back, we saw really good growth up to the end of September. Nonetheless, the last few years have been a little more challenging. With this now moving out, we see 2015 as a big opportunity. In anticipation and a lead up, we are looking at increasing our investment in the Gulf market.
There will be an increase in our expenditure and focus. For Tourism Australia, it is about partnerships. This is evident from our partnership with Tourism Queenland who are present in the market as well as with Tourism Victoria. Airlines are another key player in these activities. We did work with Etihad last year and look forward to working with the airline in the coming months too. The partnership with Emirates and Qantas has given the destination an added focus.
Overall, Australia enjoys great air access so that settles the ground foundation. This is followed by easy visa access visa so we just have to increase our focus on promotions. This objective is being achieved through our partnerships.
Could you list down the top performing and emerging markets for Tourism Australia?
The highest performer has been China. In terms of ranking, our top five markets are New Zealand, China, UK, US and Singapore. Overall, we have witnessed a six percent growth on average and some markets are performing well. South East Asia is going strong with Singapore and Malaysia showing double digit growth. India is also doing well. In a bid to focus more intently on destinations, we have a dedicated Tourism 2020 plan for India and China.
How do you see Tourism Australia boost awareness for the country?
We are still working on our promotion options. The first step to increase awareness is to take on a dedicated person like Nishant Kashikar as country manager to handle not just the India but the Gulf market too. We will still work closely with our partners. The next step is to focus on how we build our Aussie Specialist program going forward. This is currently undergoing a global review to access areas of change. The aim of the review is to revamping and reinvigorating the program. The program will also run in the Middle East. The main objective of the program is to get agents to understand and focus on quality rather than quantity. We could see the new revamped program rolled out within the first six months of this year.
Do you see Tourism Australia involving agents into key Australian tourism events?
We have agents who attend the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) every year. However, we want to be a bit more focussed on the market. The other opportunity is to understand from agents what are their areas of interest; do they prefer to cover the entire country or certain specific regions. We have dedicated programs to focus on each region to make the best use of their time.
What is your tourist target from the region?
We are in the process of finalising our targets for 2014-15. We could optimistically say that we are looking at anywhere between 10-20% growth. This is very achievable. We also have a Tourism 2020 target for the Gulf region. The Gulf tourists currently spend about AUS$ 630 m in Australia; we would like to grow this number as we feel there is potential for this number to touch around AUS$2.7bn.
Do you see Tourism Australia bringing in different brands under one umbrella through road shows or similar events?
You will see that Tourism Australia will take on a holistic approach to promote the country. We will look at bringing in key active brand to the region. We know that Queensland and Victoria focus on this region.
Would there be any niches you would like to highlight for the region?
There was a recent global research conducted which stated that Australia’s nature experiences consistently continue to rank very highly. In addition, food was another highlight. In this regard, we are putting a lot more emphasis on our food going forward. The focus on food comes down to three main factors when visitors rank Australia number one in Food – this is mainly People, Place and Produce. The people you meet, the places you can savour the food and the natural produce.
Would you look at partnering with key agents in the region or adopt a mass approach?
Our focus would be to work with Key Distribution Partners (KDPs) who have volumes. More importantly, they need to have the same strategy and vision as Tourism Australia and should be willing to promote the destination with passion.
Could you elaborate on Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) 2014?
The Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) 2014 is happening for the first time in Cairns. This would be the first time the event is taking place in a regional destination; outside a capital city. This is a big destination for international visitors to Australia. The event is very trade-focussed and attending delegates would have an opportunity to experience the region too. The event would witness participation from some Middle East agents.
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