South Australian Tourism Plan - Case Study Example

Submission on the south Australian tourism plan Name Date: Introduction The South Australian Tourism Commission’s tourism plan aims at reaching the maximum potential of the industry that is believed to be over 8 billion dollar annually. To achieve this potential, there is a need to draw a clear plan that will be the road map to delivering this potential. In the past, the South Australian Tourism Commission has developed plans that aimed at moving the industry forward. This includes the 2003-2008 plan and the 2009-2014 plan. In these plans, the aim of the commission is to identify the strengths of the state and come up with more creative ways to open up the tourism market for both state and interstate tourists. The Draft Strategic Tourism Plan 2015-2020 developed by the South Australian Tourism Commission is a way forward in improving the tourism sector of the state. As stakeholders in the industry it is important to provide a level of input to the document to ensure its effectiveness as a plan. This is done keeping in mind that the hotel industry which is a key contributor to the industry should provide its opinion to the plan. This will enable the commission factor in what the hoteliers think is effective in making the plan work. This is the official response to the draft plan 2015-2020 provided by a hotel manager. Background of the plan As indicated earlier, a number of plans have been developed in the past with the aim of steering the industry forward to its full potential. In the 2003-2008 plan, the main intention of the commission was to identify the strengths of the south Australian industry and its competitive advantage over other destinations so as to improve the industry. The plan had the intention of increasing the overall expenditure of the tourists in the state from the estimated $3.4 billion in 2001 to $5.0 billion by 2008. This would be done by improving the visitor numbers or the length of stay at the destinations which would eventually improve the general yield from the industry. In the outlook of the industry, it was discovered that there has been a considerable growth in the tourism industry in the recent past. In Australia, the international arrival was about five million at the time which accounted for at least 30 percent of the tourism visitors in the country. A bulk seventy percent of the visitors were local tourists from the within the country (South Australian Tourism Commission 2002, pp 5). The plans vision was to set up South Australia as the inspirational leader in the tourism industry. This would be achieved by creating innovative and sustainable developments in the tourism industry. The plan identified four main goals of achieving this vision. First, there was need to develop authentic tourism destinations and products. This would spark a need just like in Tuscany and Bordeaux. Secondly, the destinations were to be marketed rigorously. The aim of the marketing is to show the tourism market the variety of products available in South Australia. Thirdly, the plan that was developed was to be aligned with the different tourism policies that have been developed at higher levels to ensure that there were no conflicts arising from the plan. Finally, the plan included a need for a strong and professional industry that was also profitable. The vision that was foreseen in this plan was to mature the tourism to levels that it would achieve sustainability in the long run. The plan identified a variety of areas that needed improvement and set these as the main objectives that were to be tackled to achieve the overall vision of the plan. These included the wine and food experience, natural assets, integrating coastal experience, events and festivals, Murray River experience, Arts and culture, history heritage and culture, places and infrastructure. The marketing would be used mainly to influence the decisions taken by the tourists. The 2009-2014 plan builds on the gains that were achieved in the previous plan. In this plan, the aim of the commission shifts from maturing the tourism to integrating the tourism marketing with other sectors of the economy to achieve greater results. The target of the plan is to attain a $6.3 billion industry. It recognizes that the competition in the industry is dynamic and as such there is constant need to develop a plan that will manage the changes. The pan focuses on six main priorities. These include the impact of marketing, new signature experiences, distribution channels, air access, policy environment and building the capacity of the industry (South Australian Tourism Commission 2008, pp 6). To build on the gains of the previous plan, the new plan targeted other areas that need improvement to make it effective. The marketing plan that was previously used had to be improved for effectiveness and it now was based on the targeted market segments for improvement. The developed signature tourism experiences were also to be improved in this plan to create more new experiences that would cope with the dynamic market. At an advanced level, the marketing requirement for the industry has to be customized to deal specifically with the segment that is most likely to consume its products. The policy environment has also to change to accommodate the dynamism that is associated with the industry. A clear roadmap is provided within this plan to shape and provide the time frames within which this has to take place. The 2003-2008 plan and the 2009-2014 plan were in line with the 10 year common wealth tourism plan. The striking feature that each of the plans possess is that the previous plan is advanced by the next plan within the national governments plan for tourism. As an advancement of the planning process, the 2015-2020 plan maintains key focus on the area of marketing. This makes it compatible with the previous tourism plans that have been developed. It is essential to note that marketing is a key component of any industry and it dynamically changes as per the market segment that has been identified. As a means of improvement marketing remains a strategic part of the plans. For each tourism improvement plan, the market has to be influenced to consume the products that have been developed by the industry. It is therefore a necessity that the plan for 2020 includes the core component of marketing. The new plan also list five priority areas that are targeted for growth of the industry. These include the marketing, the use of events, recognizing the value of tourism, support for what is already gained in the industry and bringing all the support businesses to work together. Of all these priority areas identified, the plan is largely a continuation of the previous plans that sought to improve that tourism of South Australia (South Australian Tourism Commission 2014, pp 9). Stake holder response to 2015-2020 There is a general agreement that the projected growth levels should be expanded further. In the previous years running to 2003, the south Australian tourism industry did perform well under capacity due to the lack of a distinct plan to make it a viable commercial industry. However, there is need for some response from the stakeholders towards the 2015-2020 tourism plan. The proposed priority actions of 2015-2020 plan are beneficial in many ways. The collective marketing approaches that are to be developed are a fundamental way to advance the campaign. In a dynamic market there is need to shift the marketing strategy with the focus to capture many segments. As described in the draft plan, the marketing that will be advanced in the new plan seeks to internationalize the tourism and reduce the percentage of the persons that are locally available is a good idea. To make this marketing work, the commission needs to integrate an advertisement scheme that will target cliché markets. In the recent past, marketing has dynamically shifted and the need to integrate the approaches has led to formation of newer modalities of gaining the market share for various products. In the case of this tourism industry, the need to identify a specific international market and the influencing of the same market is a critical means to move to the goal of the plan which is to increase the demand for the tourism products. This should be done with a significant level of care so as to limit the surplus effect. With the regards to working together, the industry has to develop a specific modality to deal with the specific supporting businesses. In making the wine experience better for instance requires the need to develop a wine industry that is very efficient to create the signature wine experience in South Australia. All these small businesses have to be developed to be in a state of making a signature tourist experience. In this case, the development of these businesses has to be a gradual process and will take a considerable amount of time. Therefore, the suggestion that the businesses that have to be developed to work in collaboration with the tourism industry is an ambitious but unachievable objective or priority. It would take a considerable amount of time to make all the supportive businesses attain the level of support that is required to impact on the experience of the tourist. To this level, the priority is not well placed or will not provide a significant level of impact to the objective of increasing the occupancy levels and duration. Other supporting industries like the aviation can be easily developed and held up as a supporting industry but the numerous other levels would be difficult to up bring. Specifically the wine industry and the aviation of South Australia are two major areas that are easy to develop. However, the other small supporting businesses are difficult to manage. To support what is currently available is a measure that will not only support the sustainability of the tourism industry but will achieve a long term availability of the industry. It is therefore essential for the industry and the government to support the gains that are already made in the sector. This would ensure that the jobs of thousands that are already employed by the sector are protected. The support for what is available can achieve greater capacity by ensuring that the available facilities are well maintained for the development for the posterity of their service. In recognizing the value of tourism to the economy of southern Australia, the government of the state will develop a sense of importance of the sector. Different players will therefore strive to make the sector better. In this perspective even the policy environment that is discussed in the previous plans (2009-2014) will be made easily achievable due to the fact that the government of the state recognizes the importance of the tourism industry to the economy of the state. The use of events to grow the visitation and improve the tourism of the state is a brilliant idea. In this the most important aspect is the marketing that these events will afford the economy of the state. For the international tourist, the need to make reservations and check into the hotels during the events is an initial requirement. Sporting events for instance make a very good number of international tourists to visit the state. International sports like the Olympics or any other ball games attract a large number of tourists that boost the tourism sector expenditure. This is due to the large number of fans that the sport attracts. Conclusion The government’s plan to make the overall work environment conducive is a step forward in developing the industry. A positive policy environment creates investment environment that attracts many entrepreneurs. The increase of investment in the industry will result in a similar increase in the level of expenditure of the tourists. The economic impacts of an investment are direct or indirect. In the current world, the macroeconomic factors remain unconvincing as a direct need for tourism that will play an integral part in the development of the economy. Many political factors tend to diminish the fact that there is possibility of tourism playing a vital role in the development of the economy in general (Hall et al 2006, pp 130). Recommendation To develop a positive and effective policy that will move the tourism of forward, there is need to capture the gains of the previous plan in the current plan. In this way, the plan that is developed makes a pedestal of the previous plans. Compatibility of the plan with the next modeled plans is essential to make the plans work as demonstrated in this study. The priority areas that have been identified are key areas that will spark a level of growth in the tourism industry. Sports tourism for instance is an area that will develop the number of both international and local tourist in southern Australia. As indicated in the drafts plan for 2015-2020, the importance of international arrivals in at the center of the development of the tourism industry. In the plan, it is noted that the air access is the most common modality that is used by the international tourists. It is therefore essential to develop the infrastructure that will handle the type of access that is preferred by the visitors to South Australia to include this capacity. Marketing is an essential part of any industry. To promote the involvement of individuals in the business, there is need to advertise effectively. This will involve the identification of the potential market segment ad advertising to capture their specific needs (Shimp 2010, pp 2009). References HALL, D. R., SMITH, M. K., & MARCISZEWSKA, B. (2006). Tourism in the new Europe the challenges and opportunities of EU enlargement. Wallingford, UK, CABI Pub. SHIMP, T. A. (2010). Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of integrated marketing communications. Mason, Ohio, South-Western Cengage Learning. http://tourism.sa.gov.au/assets/documents/SA%20Tourism/Draft_South_Australian_Tourism_Plan_2 015-2020.pdf Read More

The plan identified a variety of areas that needed improvement and set these as the main objectives that were to be tackled to achieve the overall vision of the plan. These included the wine and food experience, natural assets, integrating coastal experience, events and festivals, Murray River experience, Arts and culture, history heritage and culture, places and infrastructure. The marketing would be used mainly to influence the decisions taken by the tourists. The 2009-2014 plan builds on the gains that were achieved in the previous plan.

In this plan, the aim of the commission shifts from maturing the tourism to integrating the tourism marketing with other sectors of the economy to achieve greater results. The target of the plan is to attain a $6.3 billion industry. It recognizes that the competition in the industry is dynamic and as such there is constant need to develop a plan that will manage the changes. The pan focuses on six main priorities. These include the impact of marketing, new signature experiences, distribution channels, air access, policy environment and building the capacity of the industry (South Australian Tourism Commission 2008, pp 6).

To build on the gains of the previous plan, the new plan targeted other areas that need improvement to make it effective. The marketing plan that was previously used had to be improved for effectiveness and it now was based on the targeted market segments for improvement. The developed signature tourism experiences were also to be improved in this plan to create more new experiences that would cope with the dynamic market. At an advanced level, the marketing requirement for the industry has to be customized to deal specifically with the segment that is most likely to consume its products.

The policy environment has also to change to accommodate the dynamism that is associated with the industry. A clear roadmap is provided within this plan to shape and provide the time frames within which this has to take place. The 2003-2008 plan and the 2009-2014 plan were in line with the 10 year common wealth tourism plan. The striking feature that each of the plans possess is that the previous plan is advanced by the next plan within the national governments plan for tourism. As an advancement of the planning process, the 2015-2020 plan maintains key focus on the area of marketing.

This makes it compatible with the previous tourism plans that have been developed. It is essential to note that marketing is a key component of any industry and it dynamically changes as per the market segment that has been identified. As a means of improvement marketing remains a strategic part of the plans. For each tourism improvement plan, the market has to be influenced to consume the products that have been developed by the industry. It is therefore a necessity that the plan for 2020 includes the core component of marketing.

The new plan also list five priority areas that are targeted for growth of the industry. These include the marketing, the use of events, recognizing the value of tourism, support for what is already gained in the industry and bringing all the support businesses to work together. Of all these priority areas identified, the plan is largely a continuation of the previous plans that sought to improve that tourism of South Australia (South Australian Tourism Commission 2014, pp 9). Stake holder response to 2015-2020 There is a general agreement that the projected growth levels should be expanded further.

In the previous years running to 2003, the south Australian tourism industry did perform well under capacity due to the lack of a distinct plan to make it a viable commercial industry. However, there is need for some response from the stakeholders towards the 2015-2020 tourism plan. The proposed priority actions of 2015-2020 plan are beneficial in many ways. The collective marketing approaches that are to be developed are a fundamental way to advance the campaign. In a dynamic market there is need to shift the marketing strategy with the focus to capture many segments.

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