Steps Taken by Tourism Australia to Brand Australia - Case Study Example

Executive Summary This report provides an exploration into destination branding as topic as it analyzes steps taken by Tourism Australia to brand Australia. The analysis and discussion identifies Australia and the Sydney city as tourist destinations. The report is introduced by a brief segment that emphasizes the importance of destination branding. Australia is presented as a tourist destination that appeals to the international world in the Western and Asia Pacific regions due to diversity of culture, landscapes, and variety of alluring sites and sport activities. A problem that hitherto affected the industry has been discussed as well as the destination branding strategy that was used to make Australia to be a formidable tourist destination. Industry implication and recommendation provides the influence of the tourist industry and suggest alternative ways that can be adopted to make the industry better. The report ends with a conclusion and a list of references. Introduction This report focuses on Australia as a successful tourist destination in the Asia Pacific region. The city of Sydney has been specific singled out as an example of successful branding undertaken by Tourism Australia in destination branding. Australia has been recognized as a leading country in its branding efforts. This report provides an insight into the branding efforts undertaken in Australia as well as problems that bombarded the industry. Discussion and Analysis Identification of the destination Tourism Australia and the predecessor, Australian Tourist Commission, have engaged in actively marketing Australia on the international front as a tourist destination from 1967. Australia is renowned as a reputable innovator in the realm of tourism marketing and has resulted into one of the greatest successful and desirable tourist destination. Henderson (2007) states that domestic and international marketing incline the world towards experiencing Australia. The target of Tourism Australia is experience seekers in all income levels, age groups, and geographic locations. Sydney is an important city in the economy of Australia. Generally the state of New South Wales where Sydney city is located plays an important role in Australia’s tourism industry. The 2000 Olympic Games held in Sydney, gave the city a boost on its international image and branded it as a tourist hub. Sydney is an important city in Australia dotted with many tourist destinations. The level of tourism in Sydney is high and there many attractive sites present in this city. Australia is endowed with a diverse cultural background, breathtaking landscapes, amazing beaches, variety of sports, and attractive natural beauty. Australia also has a variety of species of animals including the Kangaroo that has been used in the branding strategy. The city of Sydney offers the major entry point into Australia. The city is endowed with Darling Harbor, museums, shopping malls, the beach and a Zoo. Other attractive places in Australia include Gold Coast, Fraser Island, Cairns, Ayers Rocks, Great Ocean Road, magnetic island, Tasmania, and Kakadu National Park. There are a variety of sites that visitors will enjoy visiting while in Australia. Sydney, Australia is a tourist hub that boasts of large number of visitors of the Asia Pacific region and the Western countries (Henderson, 2007). Lagoons and mountains are renowned for their wild life and beauty. There are a variety of activities that tourists can engage in the form of sport. They range from scuba diving, ice skating, to sunbathing. Visitors are spoiled for choices when they visit Australia. The unique elements that are found in Australia have been successfully used for its destination branding. Some of the main tourist destinations are found in the New South Wales city of Sydney. Darling Harbor, Sydney Opera House, and other tourist attractive sites are found in Sydney (Anderson, 2006). Diversity defines the endowment of Sydney city. This is in terms of culture, natural beauty, beaches, language, and tourist destinations. The major problem and/or opportunity on the previous Australia image The Asia pacific region includes East Asia, New Zealand, and Australia. There are about 56 countries which fall in this region. Tourism is a booming industry in Singapore, Japan, Australia, Thailand, and Peru which are found in Asia Pacific. The Asian financial crisis which was witnessed in the 1990s was one of the major problems that affected tourism marketing in Asia Pacific. Before the Asia financial crisis most of the countries in Asia Pacific were being sustained with their average yearly growth rate of about 10 percent in the period from 1990 to 1996. The quick economic growth resulted into a larger middle-class who could afford foreign travel (Hall, 2010). The Asia financial crisis was witnessed from July 1997 following the devaluation of the Thai currency and by December the same year, it dropped to 40% in value as compared to the US dollar. The worst hit country was Indonesia which saw its currency falling by a margin of 70% in value to the US dollar. The crisis was compounded by forest burning and severe drought which was reported in some parts of the Asia Pacific region. The Australian tourism industry was called to the attention of the crisis in 1997 December when tourists visiting from Korea fell significantly. Airline traffic was hard hit as demand fell drastically. Ansett and Qantas airlines began to suspend their services by January 1998 (Doganis, 2002). Air passengers had an opportunity to enjoy highly reduced flight air tickets which resulted in airlines making huge losses. The fall in the value of Australian dollar prompted this eventuality. Many visitors took the advantage of the falling prices to visit Australia. In 1998 first quarter, arrivals from Asia had dropped by 32% as compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, the Australian dollar fall in value in 1998 occasioned an upsurge in arrivals from America (14.9%) and Europe (9.1%), (Tribe, J 2012). This can be attributed to the perception that the reduced value of the dollar boosted competitiveness of Australia in the markets which were non-Asian. An analysis carried out in 1999 indicated that the declined had affected many important Asian markets. Inbound tourism from Indonesia fell by 40%, Korea 72%, Malaysia 19%, Thailand 28%, and Japan 8%. Faulkner (2001, p. 137) explains that New South Wales and Australia as a whole was adversely affected as visitors from Hong Kong and Korea were reported to be low towards the end of 1997. The Sydney city in the New South Wales state was adversely affected by the financial crisis (Jonannesson & Huijbens, 2010, 431-3). A huge margin drop of ninety percent was reported. Visitors from Hong Kong began to stabilize in 1998 moving back closer to what was reported in 1996. Visitors from Korea remained low. One of the key markets; Japan, witnessed its numbers dropping by six percent in 1997and 8% in 1999. Visitors from Asia declined from 1997 to 1998. Other countries in the Asia region like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Korea which had badly hit fared on well in 1999. To counter the adverse effect of the Asia financial crisis some states in Australia like the New South Wales, encouraged domestic tourism (Doganis, 2002). New South Wales is recognized as one of the greatest tourist destination in Australia (Hall, 2010, p.408). In the year 1999, visitors to New South Wales made up 63 percent of the international visitors trooping into Australia. The Asia region represents a key market to Australia in regard to tourism. Close to forty percent of visitors who come to New South Wales come from the Asian countries. Australia was affected as a tourist destination with the 2001, September 11 Twit Towers attack in New York. The September 11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center is America led to cancellation of flights as many tourists feared for their lives. The aftermath of the terrorist attack was devastating as about three thousand people for killed and many others maimed for life (Ritchie, 2008). Australia is one of the countries in Asia Pacific that was immensely affected by the turn of events in respect to tourism industry. It was feared that many companies dealing in tourism will go bankrupt. Australian being a close ally of America could be a terrorist attack. This fears led to reduction in tourism activities. This was a big challenge to tourism branding. To counter the impact of September 11 attack, the Federal Government of Australia came up with a Holiday Incentive Program worth $5 million with the aim of encouraging Australia to go for domestic holiday. The program offered a discount of $150 per every booking for people who were booking a domestic holiday by use of a travel agent who is licensed. Ritchie et al (2008, p.201) elaborate that the situation led to the setting up of the ‘Tourism Industry Working Group’ by the Prime Minister on 20th September 2001. The mandate of the group was to evaluate the effects of the terrorist attacks which occurred in New York. The group also investigated the events leading to the collapse of Ansett Airlines. The investigation was meant to provide a course for development of potential strategies and options. The survey provided information on the economic impact of the terrorist attacks on the economy of Australia. Domestic tourism assisted in curbing the effect of the September 9/11 attacks (Enz & Canina, 2002, p.11-26). Sydney city benefited from the arrangement made to recover from the September attacks’ effects. Successful strategy undertaken regarding destination branding One of the major branding steps taken by Australia was known as Brand Australia which was launched in 1995 through the Australia Tourism Commission which preceded Tourism Australia (Pike et al, 2010, p.449). Sydney city grew its image from the branding initiatives. The initiative broke new ground in how the country was being branded to the external world. The plan emphasized on the benefits for visitors and came up with the idea that a vacation in Australia was about experience. This type of branding was advanced to strengthen the emotional bonds that people from overseas have with Australia and enhance the strong appeal of a vocation in Australia. Cohen & Neal (2010) assert that the destination branding adopted a Naturally-Free-Spirited theme and was built on aspects which made Australia unique. Such unique aspects included: Australia’s natural beauty, its landscape and its cities as well the Australia people’ free-spirited nature. This is an enterprise that had a breakthrough until the 2000 Olympics which were held in Sidney. The city of Sidney was successfully marketed as a tourist destination with diverse activities to engage in and breathtaking scenes to view as well as sites to visit. Australia’s international awareness peaked at this time (Assaker, 2008, p.36-40). The terrorist attacks in New York forced the team to revaluate how it presented Australia to the world as a safe tourist destination. The Brand Refresh was undertaken in the late 2003 and beginning of 2004 to reflect the position of Australia in the changing world. Australia needed rebranding to differentiate it from other countries competing for the same market (Pike et al, 2010). A brand that was unique and resonated well with customers overseas was created. New brand values had to be invested. Australia was portrayed as refreshingly devoid of boundaries, constraints, and inhibitions; this is the integral part of its uniqueness. Tourism Australia has employed all media of marketing to reach out to the potential customers (Walter & Clulow, 2010, p. 812). The message of rebranding Australia was carried through print and Television advertising, online ads, retail promotions, direct marketing, and point of sale pursuit. Direct marketing involved individual being sent to talk directly to potential tourist one on one encounter. Point of sale pursuit is encouraging the tourist to trace the origin of goods sold to them from Australia. The logo of Brand Australia was created with the aim of tying together the discrete elements being advertised-culture, beautiful sceneries, diverse culture, languages, and attractive sites (King & Beeton, 2006, p.163-7). The ‘Australia effect’ was hyped in this rebranding campaign. The Kangaroo was recognized as a favorite marsupial icon in Australia. After market research customers identified the kangaroo as the most recognized symbol in Australia. The colors chosen illustrated Australia’s diverse interior and coastal landscapes. The colors represented diversity in the history and the natural beauty of Australia. Tourism ambassadors were chosen among high profile Australia to take the brand message to countries overseas. Volo (2007) reports that in 2007, Brand Australia mission had a breakthrough since Australia scoped the first position as the world’s top country brand according to FutureBrand’s yearly Country Brand Index (CBI). The attractive city of Sidney was able to witness an upsurge of visitors following efforts of destination branding. Industry implication and recommendation The tourism industry is very important to the growth and sustainability of the Australian economy. Many service providers are supported by the tourism industry. Both long term and short employment are offered through the tourism industry in Australia (Armstrong & Ritchie, 2007). Australia has a vast tourism industry that provides opportunity for people to exert themselves and offer their skills and talent for its growth. The Ansett Airline collapsed following a decline in the tourism industry at the aftermath of the September 9/11 attacks (Gunn, 2004, p.3-7). These points to the sustainability effect that tourism provides to the economy of Australia. The service industry like hotel as well tours and travel have all depended on tourism for their growth and sustainability (Scott, Laws, & Prideaux, 2007, p.9-13). A lot of resources have been committed in rebranding Sydney and Australia as a whole as a tourist destination. The city of Sydney has got potential of attracting more visitors and therefore marketing activities should not relent. Despite Australia being a force to reckon with in tourism marketing there is still much to be done in order to continue witnessing growth in the area. Beerli & Martin (2004, p.676) are of the view that there are still many opportunities in the Asia Pacific region that need to be exploited. The Chinese market offers a diverse environment that need to be exploited fully. The Asia Pacific has got other places that have not been exploited. The Tourism Australia has to invest more is marketing Australia and Sydney is particular in the Asia Pacific region and other destinations in the world (Blackman & Ritchie, 2007, p.46-9). The Chinese market is extensive that need close understanding to exploit opportunities. More funds have to be devoted to research in order to understand potential tourism markets. Tourism Australia has to conduct research to determine customer satisfaction and motivation in order to detect the drives that pull tourists towards a destination. Conclusion Australia is one of the leading tourist destinations in the World. The Asia financial crisis and the September 9/11 attacks had devastating effects on Australia as a tourism destination. The Sydney city was adversely affected by the two events. The Olympics 2000 held in Sydney assisted in its branding. Quick action and good management of crisis saw Australia managing to navigate out of the gloomy era. Australian Tourist Commission which was later changed to Tourism Australia oversaw branding and rebranding of Australia as a formidable tourism destination. Australia has got opportunities in Asia Pacific region and the wider western region. Destination branding has been very successful in Australia. This paper analyzes the steps taken towards branding Australia as a tourism destination and focuses on the city of Sydney. Tourist destinations require rebranding from time to time to maintain and improve the market share of visitors’ arrivals. 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Assaker, G., 2008, Rethinking international tourism in the face of the terrorist threat, Escapes, Tourisme & Loisirs, 257, 36-40. Jonannesson, GT., & Huijbens, E.H., 2010, Tourism in times of crises: Exploring the discourse of tourism development in Iceland, Current Issues in Tourism, 13 (5), 419-434. Doganis, R 2002, Flying off course, Routledge, London. Tribe, J 2012, The economics of recreation, leisure and tourism, Routledge, New York. WORD COUNT: 2408 words (Excluding reference and executive summary) Appendix Figure 1: Sydney Tourist Attractions Source: agoda.com Read More