Destination Port Stephens Destination Management Plan 2014 INDEX PREFACE ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ 7 THE DESTINATION ....................................................................................................................................... 8 STRUCTURE OF TOURISM IN PORT STEPHENS ............................................................................................. 9 Organisational ............................................................................................................................................. 9 Relationships ............................................................................................................................................. 10 Resources .................................................................................................................................................. 10 Visitor Servicing ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Visitor Information Centres (VIC’s) ............................................................................................................. 10 Online Bookings .......................................................................................................................................... 11 Digital Information ...................................................................................................................................... 11 Other ........................................................................................................................................................... 12 SIGNIFICANCE OF PORT STEPHENS AS A DESTINATION ............................................................................. 13 Quantitative Research ............................................................................................................................... 13 Brand Health Tracking (BHT) ...................................................................................................................... 13 Hunter Valley Research Foundation (HVRF) Omnibus survey: 2000 and 2002 .......................................... 13 UTS undergraduate survey on short break holidays (Kim Trinh, 2012) ...................................................... 14 Port Stephens Beachside Holiday Park (PSBHP) study (2010) .................................................................... 14 Inclusion in International Travel Programs ................................................................................................. 16 Qualitative Research ................................................................................................................................. 16 Perceptions of Air Travel to Newcastle and Regions: A Qualitative Study: (April 2005) ............................ 16 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................... 16 Analysis of Visitors ..................................................................................................................................... 17 Domestic ..................................................................................................................................................... 17 Age of our Visitors ...................................................................................................................................... 17 Lifecycle ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 Travel Party Composition ........................................................................................................................... 18 Seasonality .................................................................................................................................................. 19 Overnight Domestic Source of Visitors ....................................................................................................... 19 Activities ..................................................................................................................................................... 20 International ............................................................................................................................................... 21 International Visitation: (IVS) ................................................................................................................. 21 Neighbouring regions ................................................................................................................................. 22 Accommodation Capacity .......................................................................................................................... 24 Trends ....................................................................................................................................................... 25 Domestic ..................................................................................................................................................... 25 International ............................................................................................................................................... 26 Marketing ................................................................................................................................................. 27 Destination Experiences and Key Visitor Source Markets .......................................................................... 27 Domestic ..................................................................................................................................................... 28 International ............................................................................................................................................... 29 ASSETS AND OPPORTUNTIES .................................................................................................................... 33 Brand Assets ............................................................................................................................................. 33 Logos ........................................................................................................................................................... 33 Still Images .................................................................................................................................................. 34 Videography ................................................................................................................................................ 37 Emotive ....................................................................................................................................................... 38 Attractions ................................................................................................................................................ 38 Natural ........................................................................................................................................................ 38 Marine and National Parks ......................................................................................................................... 39 Beaches ....................................................................................................................................................... 41 Man Made .................................................................................................................................................. 41 Events ......................................................................................................................................................... 42 Accommodation Assets .............................................................................................................................. 42 Infrastructure Assets .................................................................................................................................. 43 Airport......................................................................................................................................................... 44 Boat Ramps ................................................................................................................................................. 46 Walking Trails.............................................................................................................................................. 46 Sporting Facilities ........................................................................................................................................ 46 Surrounding Regions ................................................................................................................................... 47 North Coast ................................................................................................................................................. 48 Hunter Region ............................................................................................................................................