Bundaberg Region Limited Tourism Marketing Strategy for Bundaberg and Coral Coast - Example

Bundaberg Region Limited Tourism Marketing Strategy for Bundaberg and Coral Coast Name Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date Executive summary Bundaberg and Coral coast are endowed with natural and manmade resources that are underutilized in tourism industry. This marketing strategy has outlined mechanisms of promoting it to the rest of Australia of a cost slightly above $100,000. The region has unique features that are found nowhere else in Australia and hence they are likely to be attractive to many short break tourists who mostly hail from Australia. A combination of various media will be used to create awareness and increasing preference for Bundaberg and Coral coast as a tourist destination. Table of Contents Executive summary 2 Introduction 4 Characteristics of Bundaberg and Coral coast 4 Bundaberg Region limited 4 Key attractions 5 Purpose of the report 6 Target market 6 Situational analysis 6 Macro-environment STEP analysis 6 Social 6 Technology 7 Economic 7 Political 7 The competitive environment 7 Destination resources as sources of competitive advantage 8 SWOT matrix 8 Positioning strategy 9 Objectives and performance indicators 9 Marketing communication tactics 10 Time line for marketing plan 12 Budget for three months 12 References 13 Introduction Characteristics of Bundaberg and Coral coast The origin Bundaberg name is the aboriginal elder name Bunda and the older Saxon word for town: berg. The Great Barrier Reef is just off Bundaberg shores and the city host many things that tourists can see (Bundaberg Coral Coast and Country, 2011). The city’s Bourbong Street was transformed by bright coloured flowers which blend with leafy green trees and fountains into a streetscape (Woodside, 2010). The city has Whaling wall which is a reminder of marine biodiversity. The city is divided into two by Burnett River which flows through the city. A road bridge links the two parts of the city and has heritage colours. Coral Coast is a region found in western coast of Australia that is found between the capitals, Perth, and stretches to Exmouth town (Bundaberg Coral Coast and Country, 2011). Its name was derived from its unusual coral formation. The region has exotic marine life, beaches, national reserves and the bluest ocean that one can ever see. The regions coast line stretches from Cervantes to Exmouth. Bundaberg Region limited There are 14 regional tourism organizations (RTO) in Queensland. Bundaberg Region limited is one of these RTOs that were formed in 1971. It is a non profit making firm committed to delivering value to the communities. The firm is responsible for marketing and positive promotion of the entire Bundaberg region to target and key markets. The firm changed its name form Bundaberg District Tourism & Development Board to Bundaberg Region limited in 2002. The firm has several subsidiaries. Key attractions Bundaberg has impressive historical buildings such as the Commercial Bank building (1891) and School of Arts building (1889). The greatest tourist attraction in Bundaberg is the Bundaberg Rum Distillery (Bundaberg Coral Coast and Country, 2011). Others include the Hummock volcanic remnant, sugar facilities, botanical gardens and the museum, mystery craters, tropical wines and sunny soft drinks, Boyd’s Antiquatorium and Lady Musgrave Island National Park. To the east of Bundaberg is the Baldwin Swamp environment park which is home to many birds’ species and wildlife. Bundaberg also has sea shells, coral and shell craft display in Poseidon’s Seashells at Burnett Heads (Bundaberg Coral Coast and Country, 2011). Various sporting activities such as skating water sliding and golfing are available in Bundaberg. Thus Bundaberg provides a tourist with both historical artefacts and natural phenomena which leaves them relaxed. Coral coast has various attraction features. The region has unique rock formations in Pinnacles and one of the world renowned Ningaloo Reef (Bundaberg Coral Coast and Country, 2011). The Ningaloo Reef, apart from its amazing appearance it is a great place for fishing and diving (Singh, 2008). The area also has spectacular reefs and marine life, warm turquoise waters and white sandy beaches. The region is one of the few places in Australia where one can swim the largest fish in the world: whale shark (Woodside, 2010). Coral Coast inland is covered with exciting carpets of wildflowers. Another key attraction in the region is the amazing experience and interaction that one can have with a variety of marine life such as dolphins of Monkey Mia, sea lions, dugongs, manta rays and humpback whales. Purpose of the report The purpose of this report is to prepare a marketing strategy to position the Bundaberg and Coral Coast region as a short break holiday destination in the Brisbane market. Target market The target market for this communication plan is a group of consumers termed most profitable prospects (Beeton, 2005). This is based on the fact that marketing efforts are likely to convert the interest of such individuals to actually visit Bundaberg and Coral coast (Bundaberg Coral Coast and Country, 2011). These individuals have preference and propensity of visiting Bundaberg and Coral coast in addition to being able to spent at least $200 per night on their final day of touring various parts of the country and who are capable of spending at least $2,000 on their holiday trip. Such tourists for Bundaberg and Coral coast include young couples and singles in addition to older affluent couples who are still working. Situational analysis Macro-environment STEP analysis Social Social factors which affect business include demographics; lifestyle patterns and changes in attitudes; social mobility; ethnic and religious differences and media views and perceptions. Tourism is a social practice and by touring Bundaberg and Coral coast tourists will have an opportunity to recreate, sightsee and engage in many other amazing and relaxing activities (Bundaberg Coral Coast and Country, 2011). Visiting museums and parks will enable tourists to have private time for them as they socialize (Woodside, 2010). Technology Technological factors that affect businesses include relevant current and future innovations in technology (Beeton, 2005). Development in the ICT will be instrumental in promoting Bundaberg and Coral coast. This is because the internet will provide a platform for web-based advertisement. Economic Economic factors entail the general economic situation (Beeton, 2005). Most Australians are affluent and have at least $2000 to spend on short break holiday trip. However, recent economic crisis could make some of them be unwilling to participate in tourism activities such as visiting Bundaberg and Coral coast (Woodside, 2010). Political Political factors that can impact on a business include current and future taxation policies; current and future political support; trade bodies, grants, initiatives and funding; and the effect of worsening relations or wars with certain countries (Beeton, 2005). Australia is a politically stable country and hence the prevailing environment is likely to boost local tourism who account for highest percentage of short break tourism (Woodside, 2010). Foreign tourists are also likely to visit Australia based on its record of political stability. The competitive environment Bundaberg and Coral coast is found in Queensland which has other tourist regions that pose a threat to it. Given that other regions in Queensland such as Brisbane are renown throughout Australia as tourist destinations (Dwyer, Forsyth & Dwyer, 2010). In addition, other areas of Australia have tourists’ destinations that are likely to compete for the local tourists who make up a large number of short break tourists (Agarwal & Shaw, 2007). Destination resources as sources of competitive advantage Bundaberg and Coral coast has a combination of unique features that gives it competitive advantage over their competitors (Bundaberg Coral Coast and Country, 2011). Features such as the Ningaloo Reef which is world renown are unique to Coral Coast and Bundaberg Rum distillery is unique to Bundaberg (Bundaberg Coral Coast and Country, 2011). Thus such unique features in addition to unique wildlife and marine life found in the region are likely to provide the region with competitive advantage over its competitors in Queensland and Australia at large for short break tourism (Woodside, 2010). SWOT matrix Strength of sunlight soap Bundaberg and Coral coast has unique tourism attraction features that are not found anywhere else in the world such as Ningaloo Reef Bundaberg and Coral coast has well developed transport system The region has state of art accommodation facilities Weaknesses of sunlight soap The region tourists features are not popular in Australia Most key attraction features are unknown to Australians Opportunities There is opportunity of increasing awareness of unique features of the region Advent of online marketing and sales will help in promoting the region to large number of Australians Threats Competition from other tourists regions Economic downturn has impacted negatively on expenditure Positioning strategy Bundaberg and Coral coast will be positioned as land of diversity (Bundaberg Coral Coast and Country, 2011). Bundaberg will be presented as home for tropical parks and gardens, classical revival buildings, lazy green brown tropical rivers, beautiful site of fig and palm trees, and wide streets (Kulendran & Dwyer, 2008). The city will also be positioned as a land of historical artefacts and buildings. Coral Coast will be positioned as a place where human meet diverse marine life (Bundaberg Coral Coast and Country, 2011). The diverse marine found at Coral coast will be used to market the region as the most preferred place to relax during short break holiday. Objectives and performance indicators Awareness: many people in Australia do not know the wealth of features found in Bundaberg and Coral Coast. Our campaign aims to build awareness of 60% within our target market. Interest: With about 60% of the target market aware of tourist attraction features in Bundaberg and Coral Coast, it is expected that 40% will be interested in visiting Bundaberg and Coral Coast. Evaluation: with 40% of customers interested in visiting Bundaberg and Coral Coast we want them to evaluate, that is, to compare Bundaberg and Coral Coast to other tourist destinations available in Australia and Bundaberg and Coral Coast to make their list of possible choices at least 30% of the time. Trial: After evaluating the Bundaberg and Coral Coast, potential tourists ought to select it over other tourists’ destinations at least 20% of the time because of diverse marine and wildlife, manmade features and historical artefacts. Adoption We intent to built adoption of more than 75% which will mean that the potential tourists will visit Bundaberg and Coral Coast and have positive response to features found in Bundaberg and Coral Coast. Marketing communication tactics Our first objective is to create awareness by 60% among our target market. Creation of awareness will involve making the target market aware of the various features of attraction in Bundaberg and Coral coast (Kulendran & Dwyer, 2008). First, we will use print media available in Australia. This will include adverts in daily newspapers and lifestyle magazines (Carlsen & Charters, 2007). Adverts will also be placed on several bulletin boards and billboards in major towns in Australia. Audio/visual media will also be employed for effective creation of awareness Bundaberg and Coral coast special features. Websites addressing tourism issues will also be used for advertising Bundaberg and Coral coast. Our second objective is to create interest in visiting Bundaberg and Coral coast by 40% among our target market. The company will be involved in sponsoring tourism programs among communities (Agarwal & Shaw, 2007). To create interest among youthful audience several concerts featuring various music types and artists will be sponsored Bundaberg Regional limited to help in creation of interest. Our third objective involves evaluation. This will be achieved via describing various means of transport available to visitors (Kulendran & Dwyer, 2008). The company will be sponsoring several concerts and will be participating in other events. In as much as the events will be used to create interest in Bundaberg and Coral coast, they will also be used to encourage evaluation at a target rate of 30%. The Bundaberg and Coral coast special pictures will be made available at various events to enable participants to have a look at what is available to them when they visit the regions. Our fourth objective is to encourage visitation of Bundaberg and Coral coast by 20%. Potential tourists will be provided with price rebates to help in achieving this objective. This will encourage tourists to believe that they are getting a bargain. Our last objective is to encourage actual visitation by 75% among our target market. To attain this we will be liaising with accommodation firms to offer discounts to first five visitors. Time line for marketing plan Activity Month   November 2011 December 2010 January 2010 February 2011 March 2011 Assembly of promotional requirement XXXXXXX         Media advertisement and other promotional activities   XXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX   Evaluation of marketing campaign     XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX   Budget for three months Media Number Cost per media Total cost Newspapers 3 $325 $975 Television 3 $10,000 $30,000 Radio 10 $1,000 $10,000 Posters 10,000 $0.5 $5,000 Magazine racks 200 $28 $5,600 Event promotion 3 $7,000 $21,000 Internet budget   $1,700 $1,700 Support media   $9,640 $29,640 Total     $103,915.00 References Agarwal, S., & Shaw, G. (2007). Managing coastal tourism resorts: A global perspective. Sydney: Multilingual Matters. Beeton, S. (2005). Film-induced tourism. Melbourne: Channel View Publications. Bundaberg Coral Coast and Country. (2011). About Bundaberg Region Ltd. Retrieved from http://www.bundabergregion.org/bundaberg-region-ltd/bundaberg-region-ltd_home.cfm Carlsen, J., & Charters, S. (2007). Global wine tourism: research, management and marketing. London: CABI Dwyer, L., Forsyth, P., & Dwyer, W. (2010). Tourism economics and policy. Melbourne: Channel View Publications. Kulendran, N., & Dwyer, L. (2008). Measuring the return from Australian Tourism Marketing Investment in Asia. London: Sustainable Tourism CRC. Singh, L. (2008). Marketing in service industry: airline, travel, tours and hotel. Sydney: Gyan Publishing House. Woodside, A. (2010). Tourism-marketing performance metrics and usefulness auditing of destination. Sydney: Emerald Group Publishing. Read More