DESTINATION GIPPSLAND RESEARCH PROGRAM Health of Tourism Preliminary Results Mike Ruzzene Director, Urban Enterprise CITY OF GREATER GEELONG
OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH HEALTH OF TOURISM STUDY BUSINESS SURVEY - Online survey sent to Destination Gippsland s Tourism Business Database HOLIDAY HOME RESEARCH SURVEY OF HOLIDAY HOMES - Hard copy survey distributed by South Gippsland, Wellington, East Gippsland Shires (Bass Coast undertook one last year). VISITATION ASSESSMENT BY LGA - Using Urban Enterprises PAVE Model ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT - Using input output modelling COMPLETION DATE: September
HEALTH OF TOURISM SURVEY - RESPONSES CITY OF GREATER GEELONG
OVERVIEW OF RESPONSES BY SECTOR Sector Number of % of total responses respondents Accommodation 141 53% Attractions 14 5% Galleries/Antiques/Art & Craft 11 4% Restaurants 18 7% Tours & Activities 13 5% Wineries 12 5% Visitor Information Centre 5 2% Other 51 19% TOTAL 266 100%
OVERVIEW OF RESPONSES BY LGA LGA Number businesses who % of total responses responded East Gippsland 81 32% Wellington 56 25% South Gippsland 40 16% Baw Baw 35 14% Bass Coast 25 10% Latrobe 19 7% Total Gippsland 266 100%
EMPLOYMENT CITY OF GREATER GEELONG
EMPLOYMENT IN TOURISM BUSINESSES - TRENDS Full Time 35% 39% Part Time 14% 14% Jan-11 Dec-11 Casual 47% 52%
EMPLOYMENT BENCHMARKING WITH MORNINGTON PENINSULA Casual 47% 48% Part Time 14% 14% Gippsland Mornington Peninsula Full Time 39% 38%
EMPLOYMENT BY SECTOR All Sectors 39% 14% 47% Accommodation 40% 12% 48% Attractions 31% 21% 48% Galleries/Antiques/Art & Craft 52% 21% 27% Full Time Part Time Restaurants 50% 10% 40% Casual Tours & Activities 27% 18% 55% Wineries 36% 16% 47% Other 36% 13% 51%
AVERAGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES BY SECTOR Sector Gippsland Mornington Peninsula All sectors 4 4 Accommodation 3 2 Attractions 11 10 Galleries/Antiques/Art & Craft 2 5 Restaurants 12 19 Tours & Activities 6 2 Wineries 4 6
EMPLOYMENT EXPECTATIONS 2012 Increase Remain the same Decrease Other 17.6% 62.7% 19.6% Wineries 30.0% 50.0% 20.0% Tours & Activities 18.2% 63.6% 18.2% Restaurants 7.7% 61.5% 30.8% Galleries/Antiques/Art & Craft 100.0% Attractions 25.0% 66.7% 8.3% Accommodation 13.0% 75.6% 11.4% All Sectors 14.7% 71.0% 14.3%
EMPLOYMENT EXPECTATIONS COMPARISION WITH MORNINGTON PENINSULA Increase Remain the Same Decrease Gippsland 15% 71% 14% Mornington Peninsula 16% 75% 8%
GROSS BUSINESS INCOME CITY OF GREATER GEELONG
Decrease No chang e Increase CHANGE IN BUSINESS INCOME 2010 TO 2011 31% or more 3.9% 21% - 30% 8.3% 11% - 20% 20.4% 1% - 10% 24.9% 9.9% 1% - 10% 13.3% 11% - 20% 11.6% 21% - 30% 31% or more 3.9% 3.9%
CHANGE IN GROSS BUSINESS INCOME 2010 TO 2011- BY SECTOR All Sectors 58% 10% 33% Accommodation 57% 9% 35% Attractions 46% 18% 36% Galleries/Antiques/Art & Craft 29% 29% 43% Increase No Change Restaurants 70% 10% 20% Decrease Tours & Activities 60% 10% 30% Wineries 67% 33% Other 62% 10% 28%
EXPECTED CHANGE IN BUSINESS INCOME FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2012- BY SECTOR Increase Remain the same Decrease All Sectors 45% 29% 26% Accommodation 39% 33% 28% Attractions 64% 18% 18% Galleries/Antiques/Art & Craft 57% 29% 14% Restaurants 40% 20% 40% Tours & Activities 60% 20% 20% Wineries 78% 11% 11% Other 43% 33% 23%
EXPECTED CHANGE IN GROSS BUSINESS INCOME COMPARED WITH MORNINGTON PENINSULA Increase Remain the Same Decrease Gippsland 45% 29% 26% Mornington Peninsula 56% 34% 10%
CAPITAL INVESTMENT CITY OF GREATER GEELONG
MEDIAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT BY SECTOR Sector Median ALL SECTORS $13,250 Accommodation $14,650 Attractions* N/A Galleries/Antiques/Art & Craft $3,500 Restaurants $20,750 Tours & Activities $5,850 Wineries $13,000 Other $5,850
MARKETS CITY OF GREATER GEELONG
ORIGIN OF CUSTOMERS Interstate, 9% International, 7% Regional Victoria, 12% Melbourne, 47% (Gippsland), 25%
ORIGIN OF VISITORS COMPARISON WITH MORNINGTON PENINSULA Gippsland 47% 25% 12% 9% 7% Metropolitan Melbourne Locals Regional Victoria Interstate Mornington Peninsula 44% 27% 13% 10% 8% International
ORIGIN OF CUSTOMERS BY SECTOR Local (Gippsland) Metropolitan Melbourne Regional Victoria Interstate International All Sectors 25% 47% 12% 9% 7% Accommodation 11% 59% 12% 10% 7% Attractions 41% 27% 12% 8% 12% Galleries/Antiques/Art & Craft 46% 26% 11% 10% 6% Restaurants 52% 29% 10% 5% 3% Tours & Activities 36% 34% 10% 7% 14% Wineries 48% 34% 9% 6% 4% Other 41% 32% 12% 8% 6%
INTERSTATE MARKETS South Australia, 13% Queensland, 12% ACT, 11% Tasmania, 6% Western Australia, 5% Northern Territory, 2% Sydney, 24% Country New South Wales, 25%
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS 1 0 3 1 6 4 5 4 22 11 14 9 21 46 4 4 2 4 1 6 13 12 8 12 15 11 22 31 1 5 4 7 2 11 19 4 5 14 14 18 17 25 5 4 6 9 5 9 8 15 10 13 10 21 13 13 4 4 5 6 15 12 5 16 15 15 14 19 12 3 Singapore Hong Kong Malaysia Japan Other India Netherlands Other Asia China United States of America New Zealand Other Europe Germany United Kingdom 1 2 3 4 5
TOURISM MANAGEMENT SERVICES CITY OF GREATER GEELONG
GIPPSLAND TOURISM SERVICES SERVICE Currently in Use in the Not likely to Use future use Industry networking functions 52% 28% 18% Professional development & training opportunities 36% 27% 31% Marketing buy-in 27% 21% 42% Visitor Information Centres 77% 20% 11% Research & planning 24% 36% 28% Product development 19% 34% 31% Accreditation & industry standards 34% 28% 30%
BUSINESS SPEND ON MARKETING Sector Median ALL SECTORS $5,000 Accommodation $4,245 Attractions $15,000 Galleries/Antiques/Art & Craft $6,250 Restaurants $4,000 Tours & Activities $8,500 Wineries $10,000 Other $3,600
EFFECTIVENESS OF MARKETING STRATEGIES Marketing Activity Most Effective Cooperative Marketing Campaigns (offered by State, Regional or Local tourism bodies) 14% Visitor Guides/Maps 18% Visitor Information Centres (paid brochures or booking commissions) 23% Print advertising 18% Radio advertising 6% Television advertising 4% Public relations 10% Digital/Online Marketing (e.g. Social media, Search Engine Optimisation, Paid listings or commissions to other tourism websites) 48%
ONLINE PRESSENCE HAVE WEBSITE LIVE BOOKINGS ON WEBSITE No, 8.5% Yes, 37.6% No, 62.4% Yes, 91.5%
ONLINE PRESSENCE ONLINE BOOKINGS SOCIAL MEDIA USE No online booking 43.3% Facebook 50.6% Commercial Provider (Stayz, Wotif, Take A Break, etc.) 43.3% None of the above 49.4% Through Visitor Information Centre 35.4% YouTube 14.2% visitvictoria.com 25.0% Twitter 13.1% Other 17.7% Blogging 4.5%
ISSUES CITY OF GREATER GEELONG
BARRIERS TO BUSINESS GROWTH Seasonality issues Visitor demand 17.5% 17.0% Other The expense of marketing 10.5% 11.7% Lack of or poor marketing and Government regulation 8.2% 7.6% Labour costs Attracting quality staff Obtaining a planning permit Obtaining finance Staff skills and training 5.8% 5.8% 4.7% 4.7% 4.1% Access constraints 2.3%
KEY ISSUES LIMITING GROWTH IN GIPPSLAND Strong competition from other destinations Lack of or poor marketing and promotion Other Changes in domestic consumer spending and behaviour Global Financial Crisis Seasonality Poor quality infrastructure Lack of investment High Australian Dollar The expense of marketing campaigns Town planning Poor quality visitor services Natural disasters Access to/from the region Lack of quality product Skill shortages Lack of quality accommodation 5.2% 4.1% 3.1% 2.6% 2.6% 2.6% 2.6% 2.6% 2.1% 2.1% 1.0% 1.0% 7.8% 14.0% 13.5% 16.6% 16.6%
SUMMARY CITY OF GREATER GEELONG
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS Tourism business expectations in Gippsland looking forward are lower than those of the Mornington Peninsula. Food related sectors however have performed well such as restaurants and wineries. Surprisingly the proportion of international visitors to Gippsland businesses is slightly lower than to Mornington Peninsula businesses, even with the SMCD, GAR and iconic nature based product. Visitor Information Centres are still supported and valued highly by Gippsland businesses. Digital online marketing was considered the most effective and important approach for marketing, however there is still room for improvement in online bookings and use of social media for businesses.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS Seasonality and lack of visitor demand are both seen as key issues facing businesses in Gippsland. Gippsland businesses are concerned with the competitiveness of Gippsland as a destination, this highlights the importance of destination development as a key priority for Gippsland, considerations should include: Continued product development and investment in infrastructure Developing and leveraging off icons (Wilson s Prom, Croajingolong) Refreshing and reinvestment in existing product Awareness of emerging Asian markets, and understanding how to tap into this growth