Hawkesbury Destination management Plan & action plan 2017-2021 Prepared For Destination NSW | July 2017 This report and its contents are owned by Destination NSW. Destination NSW may share the following report (in whole or part) with any third party. Destination NSW has commissioned The Stafford Group to develop this report and Hawkesbury DMP. However, to the extent legally permitted, Destination NSW and The Stafford Group cannot guarantee that at any time in the future, the information will not be out of date, incorrect or out of context. Destination NSW and The Stafford Group accept no responsibility or liability in contract, negligence or otherwise, arising in any way out of this report or your use of it. Cover image credit: James Horan, Destination NSW 1. Executive summary ......................................................................................................... 1 2. Introduction................................................................................................................... 10 3. Situation analysis .......................................................................................................... 12 4. Visitor trends & markets ............................................................................................... 16 5. Destination benchmarking ............................................................................................ 22 6. Target markets ............................................................................................................. 25 7. Product audit ................................................................................................................ 39 8. SWOT Analysis .............................................................................................................. 49 9. Challenges .................................................................................................................... 51 10. Activating the DMP ....................................................................................................... 60 11. Potential opportunities ................................................................................................. 64 12. Visitor forecasts ........................................................................................................... 81 13. Action Plan .................................................................................................................... 89 14. Supporting documentation ........................................................................................... 97 Figure 1: Product pillars and associated product for the Hawkesbury region ........................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Figure 2: Boundaries for this DMP and Action Plan ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Figure 3: Visitation (2012 – 2016) ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 17 Figure 4: Visitor nights (2012 – 2016) ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Figure 5: Total visitor spend (2012 – 2016) ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 18 Figure 6: Average length of stay (2012–2016) ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Figure 7: Purpose of visit (5-year average, 2012-2016) ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 19 Figure 8: Visitation by segment (5-year average, 2012-2016) .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 20 Figure 9: Visitation to competitor destinations (2015) ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 22 Figure 10: Visitation trends to competitor destinations (2012-2015) ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Figure 11: Visitor nights to competitor destinations (2015)..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Figure 12: Accommodation audit mapped by accommodation type ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 42 Figure 13: Experiences and attractions audit map by type ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Figure 14: Food and beverage audit map by type ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 44 Figure 15: Event audit mapped by event type ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 45 Figure 16: North West Growth Centre ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 51 Figure 17: Sydney.com Regions................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 54 Figure 18: Population Age Group Change (2001 – 2011)......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 57 Figure 19: Product pillars and associated product for the Hawkesbury region ....................................................................................................................................................................... 64 Figure 20: Seafood Seduction Tour, Tasmania ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 66 Figure 21: Orange F.O.O.D Week............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 66 Figure 22: IlluminARTe .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 68 Figure 23: Spookers Haunted House, New Zealand ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 69 Figure 24: Best practice glamping ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 70 Figure 25: Traditional caravan parks ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 72 Figure 26: Destination holiday parks ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 72 Figure 27: Hawkesbury Horizon - Equine Precinct Concept ....................................................................................................................................................................................................