Destination Research

It’s essential that key tourism planning documents are underpinned by solid research, which has been consistently collected and on an ongoing basis. In particular, the situation analysis, product development and target market segment sections of the Tourism Development Plan should provide the local industry with clearly articulated data that they can use, or at least adapt, for use in their own planning.

New data that becomes available should be shared by the tourism organization with operators, via bulletins, fact sheets, web information pages or, in special cases, industry briefings. Use of common data will support the overall development and marketing thrust of the town or region.

Some tourism regions, such as the Mornington Peninsula, regularly commission ‘health checks’ of their local industry from an external economic planning consultancy. The survey of a large number of tourism and hospitality businesses in the region provides a snapshot of growth or decline in operator numbers, employment levels, business income, capital investment, industry confidence and any potential impacts on the sector. When combined with other data available through various sources, it provides the Council with a regular evaluation of its return-on-investment in the local industry.

Mornington Peninsula’s tourism diagnostic study(2.6mb)

At a broader level, the Victorian Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) undertakes quarterly surveys of the statewide industry, which are published on its website and can be emailed directly to businesses that agree to become a regular respondent to the survey.

Learn more about VTIC and its quarterly survey

The tourism industry is blessed with a wealth of research material available at no or low cost. Key tourism data sources available include:

• International Visitor Survey (IVS) produced by Tourism Research Australia
• National Visitor Survey (NVS) produced by Tourism Research Australia
• Overseas Arrivals & Departures (OAD) produced by Australian Bureau of Statistics
• Domestic and International Tourism Forecasts produced by Tourism Forecasting Council
• Domestic and International Tourism Expenditure produced by Tourism Research Australia
• Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA) produced by Tourism Research Australia
• Victorian Tourism Employment Atlas 2005, TTF Australia

The following particular resources may also be of interest:

Tourism Victoria

The Facts & Figures section of Tourism Victoria’s corporate website contains a range of information that is updated regularly, including international and domestic visitation and expenditure trends for Australia and Victoria and its regions. There are also fact sheets that provide visitor profiling information, including by region, international market and product segments (eg food and wine visitors).

• Significance of tourism
  • Contribution to the economy, employment,
• International Tourism
  • By origin, by region, expenditure, forecasts, market profiles
• Domestic Tourism
  • By origin, by region, by purpose, expenditure, forecasts, market profiles
• Regional Tourism
  • International, domestic, expenditure, accommodation, regional profiles, value of tourism
• Segments
  • Aboriginal, adventure, backpacker, bed and breakfast, caravan and camping, cultural tourism, events, fishing, golf, retail, wineries, ski

These fact-sheets are updated annually and published on Tourism Victoria’s corporate website.

Tourism Research Australia

Tourism Research Australia was formed from a merger of the Bureau of Tourism Research and the Tourism Forecasting Council. TRA operates a statistical enquiries service for industry operators, academics, students and other interested parties.

Phone: 02 6213 6940
Internet: www.tra.australia.com
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Decipher
Decipher is an online tool that acts as a central access point for travel and tourism information relevant to industry, government, consultants – in fact, anyone looking for information related to the Australian tourism industry.

Phone: 1300 885 414
Internet: www.decipher.biz
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

What sort of information is available on Decipher?

• A broad range of travel and tourism information, such as the latest visitation stats or aviation stats, market intelligence reports, planning or accreditation guidelines, or the number of business operators in by region.
• 300 plus data suppliers contributing their latest knowledge bases. These include Tourism Research Australia, Australian Bureau of Statistics, SENSIS/Yellow pages, and content from State Tourism Organisations corporate sites including Tourism Victoria.

Australian Regional Tourism Research Centre

The Australian Regional Tourism Research Centre is a partnership between the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre and Southern Cross University (SCU). The Centre was formed in 1998 to undertake research and extension activities to assist in the growth of tourism industries which would contribute to sustainable communities in regional Australia. Since its inception, the Centre has undertaken numerous projects, produced various occasional papers and kits.

Module 1 in this series "Understanding Visitor Needs and Expectations" provides a good overview of the tools and techniques for tourism research Click here to be taken to Module 1