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Subject Name: Tourism Marketing Data and Analytics
Assessment Title: Assessment 3- Tourism Marketing Research Report
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 Table of Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………… 3
Target Audience………….……………………………………………………………… 3
Tourism Industry Market Analysis……………………………………………………….6
Evaluation and Recommendation……..………………………………………………….9
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….11
References………………………………………………………………………………..12

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 Introduction
Recent years have seen a remarkable resurgence of nature-based tourism in Australia
both domestically and internationally (Ecotourism Australia, 2020). This implies that a larger
tourist audience's engagement, awareness, and conservation message must be rebuilt and
maintained with increasing frequency. Phillip Island Nature Parks, located on Summerland
Peninsula, is a market leader in Victoria ecotourism and a prominent location for excellent
ecotourism experiences. Among these, Penguin Parade is the most popular destination with the
most remarkable visitation rate. Therefore, this nature park may attract support for continuing
protection based on this information. In this report, several aspects of identifying and assessing
marketing opportunities, such as target audience and tourism sector market analysis, will be
explored in this paper in order to increase conservation participation and visitor numbers. In
addition, it proposes additional strategic activities to promote the conservation objectives of the
Penguin Parade in Phillip Island Nature Park.
Target Audience
The Phillip Island Nature Park is one of the most popular tourist destinations due to its
extensive collection of breathtaking cliffside vistas, picture-perfect beaches, unique opportunities
to observe native wildlife, and a year-round schedule of sporting competitions on a national and
international scale. The region also has a rich history of Aboriginal people and pioneers, both of
which need more respect given the increased tourist interest in these topics. Inside Australia, the
region offers a variety of tourist markets and high-quality experiences that are easily accessible
within a self-contained area close to the large population hub of Melbourne. The incredible
biological richness of Phillip Island, its leadership role in wildlife research, its coastline vistas of
unparalleled natural beauty, and its superb and constant surf all contribute to the island's
attraction on a global scale. It also plays a part in marketing Melbourne internationally as a
location where tourists may enjoy classic Australian landscapes and animals, such as the Penguin
Parade.
As a result, with its five distinctive attractions, over 1.12 million people visit Phillip
Island Nature Parks annually (Phillip Island Nature Parks, n.d.). The largest incentive group to
visit Melbourne picked nature parks as Victoria's the first impressive attraction (Melbourne
Convention Bureau, 2020). The Victoria state economy receives a direct yearly contribution

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from the Nature Parks of over $500 million (Premier of Victoria, 2019). PINP is thus considered
a significant participant in the ecotourism sector.
The Phillip Island Nature Park visitor survey provides an overview of the typical
recreational visits to national parks. Families and adult couples may be distinguished as
significant examples of the usual target groups for nature-based leisure (see figure 1).

Figure 1: Who our visitors are travelling with August vs YTD

The demographic shift is the basis for the increased number of middle- aged people, who
are classified as visitors from 26 to 35 years old (see figure 2)

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 Figure 2: Visitor Age Bracket
Visitor management often emphasizes the importance of families with children as a
primary target audience. It makes a case for how important families are to environmental
education (BayStMLU, 2001). Both groups have a high degree of knowledge, much like those
who like outdoor activities. Here, the comparison to earlier surveys conducted at Phillip Island
Nature Park shows that visitors' levels of education have consistently risen in recent years. In
addition, there is a clear and growing need for accessing, enjoying, experiencing, knowing, and
comprehending nearly-natural and tranquil environments and landscapes, similar to the
educational level. Information and explanations about nature and the environment are of
particular interest to recreationalists (Hennig & Moller, 2009) (see Figure 3)

Figure 3: Why our visitor come to the Nature Parks

Tourism Industry Market Analysis
The segmentation of the market for nature-based tourism in Australia is nebulous, and its
scale has yet to be quantified. However, the number of Australian visitors to Phillip Island
Nature Park in 2019 is the closest approximation to a market size estimate (Australia
Government, n.d.). More than sixty percent of 2019 visitor traffic originates from Victoria
(Australia Government, n.d.). In addition, according to Roy Morgan (2020), 3.0% of all persons
who visited a wildlife park in an average of three months were from Western Melbourne.
Although there are no official market numbers for nature tourism, it is possible to discern
the behavior of the tourist industry before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. The primary source
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of PINP's roughly 200,000 foreign visitors in 2019 was Asia, and this figure is anticipated to rise
due to the interest of high-end tourists in wildlife (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: International visitors in FINP (Roy Morgan, 2020).

According to the Australia's Tourism Forecasting Committee's most recent visitor growth
data, Melbourne residents will still account for 51.3% of all Phillip Island tourists in 2035. The
city's ongoing eastward expansion will probably be the main factor in the anticipated almost
doubling of tourists from this area. By 2035, it is anticipated that the percentage of foreign
visitors to both areas, including international and domestic areas, would have tripled, with the
majority of them coming from Asian countries like China and Malaysia (see Figure 5).

Figure 5: Current and Projected Visitors to Phillip Island by Origin (Bass Coast Shire
Council, 2016)

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 The Phillip Island Nature Park can afford to pursue conservation efforts due to the
tremendous expansion potential of its tourist base. The Nature Parks' overarching objective is to
become a location where exceptional nature protection and the inclusion of unique ecotourism
experiences motivate tourists to take environmental action (Phillip Island Nature Parks, 2019).
Nonetheless, these substantial visitor numbers will have ramifications for road access and
infrastructure, as well as exacerbate parking shortages in certain regions. Moreover, it also raises
environmental stress. The combination of increased tourism and mounting environmental
constraints might strain the region's natural resources in the coming years. Protection of the
natural environment will continue to be essential for Phillip Island to sustain the quality of life
that people already enjoy and anticipate and attract visitors. Recognizing the influence of the
environment on Phillip Island's offerings, it will need to be included in every future vision-
achieving choice. Additionally, it causes gaps in product and experience. The nature park will
help increase its exposure and appeal to a wider audience thanks to recent and planned
investment products and experiences, but there are certain identified gaps that must be remedied
in order to meet future market growth requirements (Bass Coast Shire Council, 2016)

Growth market Product Gap

Melbourne/Victorian Lifestyle
leaders
Interstate Markets (NSW,QLD)
Core International Market (UK,
Europe, NZ, China & USA)
Emerging International market
Event visitors
 Eco-friendly and opulent lodging with
a restaurant
 Activities and events centered
 Interpreting the discrepancies in
culture and nature
 Beachfront and waterfront precincts
 Increased Penguin Parade size to ease
peak-hour congestion
 Cruise ship facilities/jetty
 Updates to the visitor facilities and
tender jetty on cruise ships
 Year round events calendar

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 Niche markets
Soft Adventure  Characteristics of walking and
cycling, as well as marine experiences
Educational tourism  Interpretation at natural places in the
ket
 Eco-educational center
Touring  Looping tours
(Bass Coast Shire Council, 2016)

Evaluation and Recommendation

Given the nature of an ecotourism business, one of the Nature Parks' greatest assets is
their distinct and diverse animal resources, as well as their attractive landscapes and stunning
beaches and coasts. The Nature Parks' capacity to carry out their strategic plan is assisted by their
strong engagement with the community, which goes beyond intensifying interaction with the
neighborhood and an exceptional research team that helps to the creation of conservation
solutions for the Nature Parks (McLoughlin & Aaker, 2010). However, expensive infrastructures
for growth represent the organization's greatest vulnerability. Recently, to renovate the Penguin
Parade visitor center, the Nature Parks needed a $48.1M contribution from the State Government
(Phillip Island Nature Parks, 2019).
After the COVID-19 outbreak, Phillip Island Nature Park must recover and continue
refining its business strategies to bolster its financial and commercial standings and support
conservation initiatives. Australia aggressively promotes both domestic and international travel.
To recoup the money lost by the tourism sector during the Covid-19 outbreak, the federal
government has declared an open-door policy for international travel (Crowe, 2020). It is clear
that the most frequented location in PINP was Penguin Parade (see figure 6).

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 Figure 6: Respondents who visited Retail
Using social media platforms may provide the Nature Parks with more options to attract
tourists, given the present trend toward technological innovation. Moreover, being the location of
the world's biggest tiny penguin colony, the Nature Parks have the chance to make Penguin
Parade a worldwide phenomenon. Regarding social media activity, starting with Twitter, it was
revealed that not all chosen parks have an account on this social network (Faroani et al., 2019). It
may use Twitter's features to create a campaign that attracts more people to the distinctive
aspects of the Penguin Parade. Facebook and Instagram are other essential platforms for
promoting the image of PINP, notably Penguin Parade, in addition to Twitter. These platforms
will supply far more information, have more activity, an enormous breadth in their postings,
produce more events, get and send more "likes," and engage in more frequent interactions.
Noting the significance of social media channels, PINP may solicit funds for Penguin Prada via
social media advertising and conservation messages. People often support sustainability and
animal conservation efforts due to their environmental concerns. Visitors must immediately click
a button on the PINP website in order to make donations. PINP should put up a kiosk outside the
park and ask visitors to adopt a penguin when clicking the button. Then, persons who donate and
sign up for the protection of penguins get stuffed penguins. Since most children are interested in
penguins and have signed up to defend them, they often ask their parents to do this delightful
chore.
Moreover, as the target mentioned above, PINP might strengthen the family- and adult-
couple-focused advertising of the park's diversity, attractiveness, and all family-friendly
activities to convince people to attend, notably the Penguin Parade. The creation of family
vacation packages, for example, Penguin Plus with Audio Guided Tour, Audio Guided Tour at
General viewing volunteer and education packages, or promotion of 3 Parks Passes as the
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preferred ticket type (Phillip Island Nature Park, 2009). This will encourage them to visit
Penguin Parade because they know their children will enjoy all the park offers. In addition,
visitors may participate in several events associated with the Penguin Parade, such as seeing
Little Penguins swim from the water and waddle across the Summerlands beach at night.
Moreover, providing online educational materials and virtual ecotourism products is vital.
Due to the rapid rise of virtual tours in recent years, Guttentag (2010) asserts that tourism
businesses should include virtual reality in their offerings to provide customers with exceptional
experiences. In the post-pandemic era, it is advantageous for Nature Parks to provide new distant
ecotourism experiences for its visitors. This keeps the firm in touch with customers before
reopening and lays the groundwork for future growth. Additionally, consideration should be
given to developing paid online instructional programs about wildlife for children. Considering
that kids are often interested in animals, they should be the new target demographic for nature
parks. Given that the primary source of revenue for Nature Parks is tourism, branching into
children's educational activities might give a new stream of revenue (Phillip Island Nature Parks,
2019).
Conclusion
In conclusion, this report has provided an in-depth analysis of PINP to promote its market
as well as financial issue to do conservation action in a long-term way. Organizing marketing
functions in accordance with target audiences is necessary because PINP's strategy requires
extensive development. Customer engagement is a critical component of their marketing
strategy. This has aided PINP in reaching huge audiences via social media platforms and
donation-based sharing activities. By concentrating on it, PINP will keep its audience engaged
by promoting conservation messaging and encouraging tourism.

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 References
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https://www.tra.gov.au/search.aspx?

moduleid=11599&multisite=false&keywords=national%20park

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https://www.tra.gov.au/search.aspx?moduleid=11599&multisite=false&keywords=adult

%20couple

Australia Government. (n.d). Family visitors. Tourism Research Australian Database.

https://www.tra.gov.au/search.aspx?moduleid=11599&multisite=false&keywords=family

%20visitor

Bass Coast Shire Council. (2016). PHILLIP ISLAND AND SAN REMO Visitor Economy

Strategy 2035. https://d2n3eh1td3vwdm.cloudfront.net/general-downloads/Strategies/

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closed-travellers-urged- to-see-australia-first-once-curbs-ease-20200410-p54iw4.html

Ecotourism Australia. (2019). Nature based tourism in Australia manifesto.

https://www.ecotourism.org.au/assets/Uploads/Manifesto-v5.0.pdf

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sustainability of tourism. Marketing and Market Research Department, Faculty of

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 Economics and Business, University of Granda, 11(15), 4014.

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11154014

Guttentag, D. (2010). Vỉrtual reality: Applications and implications for tourism. Tourism

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https://www.penguins.org.au/assets/About/PDF-Publications/annual-report-2008-09.pdf

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Roy Morgan. (2020). Profile of People who go to a Zoo or Wildlife Park or Sanctuary

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