Who we spoke to Long haul travellers across 15 of Australia s key tourism markets
Importance factors for destination choice Read as: 16% of respondents rate exciting events, local festivals and celebrations as among the top 5 most important factors when choosing a holiday destination.
How does Australia compete for exciting events, local festivals and celebrations? Not visited Australia Visited Australia Brazil Italy Hawaii Japan France Spain Germany China (excl. Hong Kong) United Kingdom (e.g. England...) Mexico United States (excluding Hawaii) Australia India Thailand Argentina Greece Hong Kong Central America, Caribbean Switzerland Indonesia/ Bali 34% 33% 33% 31% 29% 28% 24% 23% 22% 22% 22% 22% 21% 20% 20% 19% 17% 15% 15% 50% Brazil Australia France Italy Hawaii Japan United States (excluding Hawaii) United Kingdom (e.g. England...) Germany Spain Thailand Argentina Mexico Hong Kong Greece China (excl. Hong Kong) Central America, Caribbean India Indonesia/ Bali New Zealand 42% 40% 37% 35% 31% 30% 30% 30% 28% 28% 28% 27% 25% 24% 22% 22% 20% 20% 51% 48% The research also showed that of people who have never visited Australia, only 22 per cent associate the destination with exciting events, local festivals and celebrations. However, for those who have visited, Australia is ranked second for its exciting events, local festivals and celebrations (48%) after Brazil.
Perceptions of Australia s events, local festivals and celebrations are mixed across markets, highlighting a significant perception gap. 22% 15 Market 15 Market 48% 20% China China 79% 29% 22% 27% 18% USA India Malaysia Indonesia USA India Malaysia Indonesia 75% 64% 63% 55% % who consumers who associate Australia with exciting events, local festivals and celebrations 27% New Zealand New Zealand 44% 19% Singapore Singapore 39% 30% United Kingdom United Kingdom 38% 26% South Korea South Korea 37% 8% Japan Japan 15% 5% France N/A 30% Germany N/A 20% 28% 11% Italy Brazil Russia N/A N/A N/A Have not visited Australia Visited Australia
Preferred type of event, festival or celebration when travelling internationally Cultural celebrations Local/ regional events Arts and entertainment events Music festivals Food and wine festivals Nature and wildlife events Family events Sporting events Religious events None of the above 15% 15% 14% 13% 11% 10% 10% 6% 4% 2%
Preferred type of event, festival or celebration when travelling internationally Top 1 Top 5 INDO NZ SING MALAY KOR JAP CHINA INDIA RUS ITA GER FRA USA UK BRA Cultural celebrations Local/ regional events Arts and entertainment events Music festivals Food and wine festivals Nature and wildlife events Family events Sporting events Religious events None of the above 15% 15% 14% 13% 11% 10% 10% 6% 4% 2% 16 7 20 19 30 11 8 13 14 20 12 12 15 15 10 12 8 21 21 14 36 12 8 8 17 16 18 15 21 9 15 17 8 10 15 9 18 10 20 11 7 12 15 9 19 9 14 13 6 8 4 6 14 18 7 32 22 13 18 24 12 13 8 13 14 15 21 8 6 11 7 2 9 11 7 11 9 11 8 6 7 20 19 9 14 8 13 9 3 7 12 19 11 7 6 7 4 13 11 3 5 12 9 14 9 4 10 5 6 3 4 4 9 10 9 7 3 8 5 7 8 1 1 7 1 4 4 5 1 5 1 1 5 2 5 2 2 1 4 2 3 3 2 3 2 7 4 1 3 2 Cultural celebrations are most preferred with Indonesia, Korea and Italy. Local /regional events lead for Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and the UK. USA split across cultural, local and Arts/Entertainment events. Family events the top factor for NZ, with Arts a close second. Food and Wine festivals top for China, and Nature / wildlife events are popular for India.
Events as a travel motivator To what extent do you agree with the following: 'When travelling internationally I always look to time my trip and places visited with an event or festival of interest. Strongly disagree to disagree Agree to strongly agree Global average China Indonesia India South Korea Brazil Malaysia Japan Russia USA Singapore Italy France Germany United Kingdom New Zealand 18% 1% 6% 10% 9% 8% 10% 9% 16% 19% 20% 16% 30% 39% 36% 40% 51% 81% 78% 72% 67% 66% 63% 58% 49% 46% 40% 37% 27% 25% 24% 23%
Australian Events Concept Test To understand the most appealing type of Australian events and festivals amongst international consumers, respondents were canvassed on six event categories to showcase the Australian events offering. Each concept consisted of a series of images supported by factual and contextual information.
Most appealing Australian events and festivals category Nature and Wildlife 34% Food and Wine 22% Sports 17% Arts and Culture 12% Music Festivals 7% Regional 7%
Most appealing Australian events and festivals category Top 1 Top 3 INDO NZ SING MALAY KOR JAP CHINA INDIA RUS ITA GER FRA USA UK BRA Nature and Wildlife 34% 25 31 48 32 31 31 37 25 42 38 40 50 32 29 23 Food and Wine 22% 20 25 25 28 28 35 33 12 16 17 11 11 22 22 26 Sports 17% 25 20 10 15 12 10 11 31 15 22 17 16 16 22 20 Arts and Culture 12% 19 12 8 12 15 8 9 17 11 10 11 11 11 10 14 Music Festivals 7% 8 7 4 7 7 5 8 11 8 6 8 7 10 6 9 Regional 7% 4 6 6 5 7 10 2 5 7 7 13 5 10 10 8 Nature and Wildlife Events are considered the most appealing for most countries. India prefers our Sports events (both Tennis and the Cricket). Japan and Brazil prefer our Food and Wine events.
Nature and Wildlife events - metrics Questions: How aware were you of these events and/or festivals before reading this information? How appealing are these type of events or festivals to you? How unique would you say these events / festivals are? Having seen these events on offer in Australia? How likely are you to visit Australia for a holiday in the next two years? Awareness Appeal Uniqueness Intention Negative responses Positive responses
Food and Wine events metrics Questions: How aware were you of these events and/or festivals before reading this information? How appealing are these type of events or festivals to you? How unique would you say these events / festivals are? Having seen these events on offer in Australia? How likely are you to visit Australia for a holiday in the next two years? Awareness Appeal Uniqueness Intention Negative responses Positive responses
Sports events metrics Questions: How aware were you of these events and/or festivals before reading this information? How appealing are these type of events or festivals to you? How unique would you say these events / festivals are? Having seen these events on offer in Australia? How likely are you to visit Australia for a holiday in the next two years? Awareness Appeal Uniqueness Intention Negative responses Positive responses
Arts and Culture events metrics Questions: How aware were you of these events and/or festivals before reading this information? How appealing are these type of events or festivals to you? How unique would you say these events / festivals are? Having seen these events on offer in Australia? How likely are you to visit Australia for a holiday in the next two years? Awareness Appeal Uniqueness Intention Negative responses Positive responses
Music festival events metrics Questions: How aware were you of these events and/or festivals before reading this information? How appealing are these type of events or festivals to you? How unique would you say these events / festivals are? Having seen these events on offer in Australia? How likely are you to visit Australia for a holiday in the next two years? Awareness Appeal Uniqueness Intention Negative responses Positive responses
Regional events metrics Questions: How aware were you of these events and/or festivals before reading this information? How appealing are these type of events or festivals to you? How unique would you say these events / festivals are? Having seen these events on offer in Australia? How likely are you to visit Australia for a holiday in the next two years? Awareness Appeal Uniqueness Intention Negative responses Positive responses