Destination Management Plan for Port Stephens (Diagnostic Report)
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Destination Management Plan for Port Stephens (Diagnostic Report) Prepared by Tars Bylhouwer for Destination Port Stephens May 2013 INDEX PREFACE __________________________________________________________________ 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ______________________________________________________ 5 WHERE ARE WE/ DESTINATION OVERVIEW _____________________________________ 7 AREA OVERVIEW ______________________________________________________7 STRUCTURE OF TOURISM IN PORT STEPHENS _______________________________8 Organisational ______________________________________________________8 Relationships _______________________________________________________8 Resources __________________________________________________________9 Visitor Servicing _____________________________________________________9 1. Visitor Information Centres (VIC’s) ________________________________9 2. Online Bookings _____________________________________________ 11 3. Digital Information ___________________________________________ 11 4. Other _____________________________________________________ 11 SIGNIFICANCE OF PORT STEPHENS AS A DESTINATION ______________________ 12 Quantitative Research ______________________________________________ 12 1. Brand Health Tracking (BHT) ___________________________________ 12 2. Hunter Valley Research Foundation (HVRF) Omnibus survey: 2000 and 2002 ______________________________________________________ 13 3. 2012 UTS undergraduate survey (Kim Trinh) _______________________ 13 4. Port Stephens Beachside Holiday Park (PSBHP) study 2010 ___________ 14 5. Inclusion in International Travel Programs ________________________ 15 Qualitative Research _______________________________________________ 15 1. Perceptions of Air Travel to Newcastle and Regions: A Qualitative Study: April 2005 __________________________________________________ 15 Conclusions ______________________________________________________ 15 ANALYSIS OF VISITORS _______________________________________________ 16 Domestic ________________________________________________________ 17 1. Age of our Visitors ___________________________________________ 17 2. Lifecycle ___________________________________________________ 17 3. Travel Party Composition ______________________________________ 18 4. Seasonality _________________________________________________ 18 5. Overnight Domestic Source of Visitors ___________________________ 19 6. Activities ___________________________________________________ 20 International______________________________________________________ 21 1. International Visitation: (IVS) ___________________________________ 21 Neighbouring regions _______________________________________________ 23 Accommodation Capacity ___________________________________________ 24 TRENDS ____________________________________________________________ 25 Domestic ________________________________________________________ 26 International______________________________________________________ 27 MARKETING ________________________________________________________ 27 Domestic ________________________________________________________ 28 International______________________________________________________ 29 ASSETS ____________________________________________________________ 31 Brand ___________________________________________________________ 31 1. Logos _____________________________________________________ 31 2. Imagery ____________________________________________________ 33 a) Still ____________________________________________________ 33 b) Video ___________________________________________________ 35 3. Emotive____________________________________________________ 36 Attractions _______________________________________________________ 37 1. Natural ____________________________________________________ 37 1 a) Marine and national parks __________________________________ 37 b) Beaches _________________________________________________ 42 2. Man made _________________________________________________ 42 a) Tours ___________________________________________________ 44 b) Attractions: Land Based ____________________________________ 45 c) Attractions: Water Based ___________________________________ 47 d) Restaurants ______________________________________________ 50 e) Clubs ___________________________________________________ 53 3. State Tourism Data Warehouse _________________________________ 54 a) Attractions ______________________________________________ 54 b) Tours/Hire _______________________________________________ 55 4. Events _____________________________________________________ 57 Accommodation Assets _____________________________________________ 59 1. Accommodation: Bed and Breakfasts ____________________________ 61 2. Accommodation: Backpackers __________________________________ 61 3. Accommodation: Units and Cottages_____________________________ 61 4. Accommodation: Motels/Hotels/Resorts _________________________ 62 5. Accommodation: Serviced Apartments ___________________________ 64 6. Accommodation: Holiday Parks _________________________________ 64 7. Accommodation: Letting Agents ________________________________ 65 8. Accommodation: STDW _______________________________________ 66 Infrastructure _____________________________________________________ 69 1. Airport ____________________________________________________ 70 2. Boat Ramps ________________________________________________ 71 3. Walking Trails _______________________________________________ 72 4. Sporting Facilities ____________________________________________ 72 5. Surrounding Regions _________________________________________ 74 a) North Coast ______________________________________________ 74 b) Hunter Region ____________________________________________ 74 c) Gloucester / Barrington Tops Area ____________________________ 75 d) Great Lakes Region ________________________________________ 75 e) Newcastle _______________________________________________ 75 6. Digital _____________________________________________________ 76 WHERE WE WANT TO BE ___________________________________________________ 77 VISION AND GOALS __________________________________________________ 77 GAPS ______________________________________________________________ 79 STRATEGIES TO DRIVE SUCCESS ______________________________________________ 80 MATCHING THE PROMISE – DESTINATIONAL MANAGEMENT _________________ 81 Products and Experiences ___________________________________________ 81 Service quality and standards ________________________________________ 82 Visitor Servicing ___________________________________________________ 82 Community _______________________________________________________ 83 BUILDING CAPACITY – DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT _______________________ 83 Strategic Leadership ________________________________________________ 84 Corporate Structure ________________________________________________ 85 Infrastructure Development _________________________________________ 85 Sustainable Development ___________________________________________ 86 Transport ________________________________________________________ 86 Research and measurement _________________________________________ 87 BUILDING MOTIVATION – DESTINATION MARKETING_______________________ 87 Branding _________________________________________________________ 88 Domestic Markets _________________________________________________ 88 International Markets ______________________________________________ 89 Events ___________________________________________________________ 90 2 Business Tourism __________________________________________________ 90 Digital Platforms ___________________________________________________ 90 IMPLEMENTATION and Evaluation____________________________________________ 92 KEY PRIORITY PROJECTS ______________________________________________ 92 Action Plan _______________________________________________________ 92 APPENDICES ______________________________________________________________ 93 Consultations _____________________________________________________ 93 PATHWAYS TO SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN PORT STEPHENS _______________________ 94 OBJECTIVE _________________________________________________________ 94 This will involve: ___________________________________________________ 94 To promote: ______________________________________________________ 94 3 PREFACE This Destination Management Plan (DMP) has been undertaken with the primary aim of developing a strategic direction for the Port Stephens Local Government Area (LGA) as a destination to 2020. The plan is based on the principle of “Shared Value” which involves the creation of economic value for society. Rather than pitting business interests against those of our community, it seeks to find ways that the two can complement each other while developing strategies to propel Port Stephens towards the 2020 goal of doubling visitor yield. It is the belief of the author that the DMP should not be at the margin of what businesses do but rather be in the centre of what they do: much like ecotourism seeks to complement the physical, social and cultural environments. The process of developing the plan has followed best practice principles and has included extensive consultation with many stakeholders, as well as comprehensive audits, literature reviews, statistical analysis and extensive discussion of possible strategies. This initial draft diagnostic has been presented to the board of Destination Port Stephens and will be distributed to all stakeholders for further input and feedback to arrive at a final plan which will hopefully be adopted and supported by all concerned.