Market segmentation: Australia

market sh celestial orbittion AustraliaABSTRACTMarket Segmentation recognizes that people differ in their tastes, needs, attitudes, modus vivendis, family size, and composition, etc It is a deliberate policy of tap demand by directing merchandise efforts at significant sub-groups of customers of consumers (Chisnall, 1985 264).Segmentation involves viewing a manifold market as a number of smaller, more homogeneous markets (Smith, 1956). These smaller markets can be noble-minded by different consumer needs, characteristics, or behaviour. For segmentation to be managerially useful, each segment needs to be accessible, measurable, and literal (Kotler, 1980).The report focuses on the particular case of touristry Australia, which grows Australia as a touristry coating multinationally and domestically and delivers research and forecasts for the sector. (tourism Australia, 2009)Why segment a destination?It identifies the destinations potential customersIt enables the organizat ion and other get to agencies and tour operators to focus their marketing on the customers who will be most bethe likes of to buy the serve that ar on produce.Enhanced profits for businessHelps improve customer service.Kick-starts competition in particularized parts of the marketINTRODUCTIONtourism Australia is a statutory authority of the Australian Government, which promotes Australia as a tourism destination foreignly and domestically and delivers research and forecasts for the sector.Established on 1 July 2004, touristry Australia brings unneurotic the collective skills and knowledge of four separate organisations the Australian Tourist Commission, See Australia, the Bureau of touristry query and touristry Forecasting Council. In a strategic picturening process Market Segmentation is a stepping step which recognizes that peoples need, desire, and expect different characteristics from products or services that they experience or purchase.Under the Tourism Australia strike (2004), Tourism Australia has a statutory obligation to help foster a sustainable tourism manufacturing in Australia. Sustainable tourism is in the buzz now, and is one of the many key segments, that Tourism Australia focuses on.The Tourism White Paper is an AustralianGovernment tourism initiative,designed to achieve industry growth and provide greater synergy crossways all argonas. It provides framework for structural change to more effectively support Australias tourism industry.Tourism Australia and their Market SegmentationTourism Australia concentrates on demographic and Psychographic segment wherein mainly it attracts jejuneness travellers and other spare- condemnation activitys and leisure travellers.1. DemographicUnderstanding demographics is vital to service/product development and segmentation, especially with regard to understanding trends in the market place. Demography includes the study of age, sex, education, family status, life cycle etc., which acts as an excellent tool for a Destination focus Company or a Travel Board to attract more tourists and travellers to their country. In the case of Tourism Australia and this report I have chosen to concentrate on Lifecycle laying emphasis on jejuneness Market.1.1 Lifecycle1.1.1. The Youth MarketThey have lower than average incomes, senior high energy approach to travel they are more likely to undertake backpacker tourism, adventure sports, and other activities on offer that generate high adrenaline.Focusing on Tourism Australia as a potential attractor to the Youth Market in that location are a few most openhearted segments that the marketing team concentrates on.1.1.1a. Nature is the most sympathetic experience to youth travellers with high appeal in all markets. Australias wild flora, fauna, its scenic beauty acts as a perfect getaway and holiday destination for youth of this generation. Australia has a lot on offer like sea, good sense, sun, surf, bungee jumping, parasailing, et c., which attract youths and alike see to it that they are connected to personality and still restrain the ecology.1.1.1b. Coastal Lifestyle experience is excessively very appealing to youth traveller. It portrays a very standard Australia outdoor lifestyle and provides a whole lot of fun and thrill at the same time. Travellers get to meet new people, mix and learn the lifestyle of the locals and enjoy the fun environment the destination has to offer.1.1.1c. aborigine Australia is of trendrate appeal to youth traveller. The Aboriginal Australia is very historical and cultural, but not many are interested in undertaking this segment of tourism that the country has to offer. It calls for less(prenominal) interaction and very negligible socialising, whereas youth prefer the opposite. ( Aboriginal Tourism Australia ).1.1.1d. Outback Australia and Food Wine are less appealing to youth travellers and are not currently perceived as being unique to Australia. While the outdoor, rel axed nature of this experience has appeal, in general it is seen as an expected element of a holiday. There is an opportunity for Australia to promote accessible and affordable quality food wine experiences to the youth market. There are opportunities to reposition these experiences for the youth market to make them more relevant to this segment (Marketing Resource, Tourism Australia, 2009).1.1.2. The Family MarketIn accordance with segments created by Tourism Australia, the family market constitutes of the above average education and income, most affluent of the other lifecycles. They tend to be shorter-haul travellers because of their busy lifestyles work and in any case are mostly accompanied with children Most of the travellers falling under this kin of the market focus on soothing vacation holidays, so that they are rejuvenated after a febrile schedule of work and life and are ready to get going till the next vacations (Marketing Resource, Tourism Australia, 2009).1.1.3. Th e Mature MarketMature-aged travellers are defined as all domestic or international visitors aged 55 long time and over. They are well educated and affluent and more likely to seek out exploratory vacation activities. Most travellers in this segment of lifecycle segmentation are more likely to visit destinations and other attractions for either exploratory or research work (Marketing Resource, Tourism Australia, 2009).1.1.4 The Senior MarketThe senior market consists of travellers are likely of all the above segments to seek out exploratory vacation experiences, much less likely to view vacations as opportunities for relaxation. Above average conjunction in natural sightseeing, they will be less active in outdoor activities. They rely more on printed material and television for travel opportunities and information. iodine of the most prominent holidays that travellers in this market look out to is travel holiday. Although the might be the smallest segment, special attention shoul d be paid to the seniors market, as its members look for exploratory experiences and prefer value-added components such as guided services (Marketing Resource, Tourism Australia, 2009).Limitations of Family/ Lifecycle approachThis approach gives little or no explanation for differences in consumption patterns as compared to psychographic or lifestyles, demographics conjectures nothing regarding motivations and the value structures which guide the travellers or visitors behaviour. (Moutinho, 2002)2. PsychographicThis type of segmentation divides the market into groups according tocustomers lifestyles.It considers a number of potentialinfluences on buying behaviour, including the attitudes, expectations and activities of consumers.The main types of psychographic segmentation are lifestyle (different lifestyle patterns), Activities, Interests and Opinions (AIO).Purpose of visit classification enables Tourism Australia to identify the nature of its visitor base and to plan activities a ccordingly. It also enables the identification of geographical/seasonal variations in tourism by purpose.In accordance with the case of analysing the segment markets of Tourism Australia, after the reading, I found that they segment their potential tourist market mainly on the basis of Interests. The following are the divers(a) sub-segments and niche markets classified2.1 Interests (Trip Segmentation or Activity Segmentation)2.1.1. bagger Tourism world-wide backpacker visitation has continued to increase by approximately 3% per course since 2000 to reach 566,000 visitors. There were 500,000 domestic backpackers in 2007. (Backpacker Snapshot, 2009)Spending more time in Australia, these travellers tend to search considerably more of the country. Many backpackers participate in working holidays enabling them to stay longer in the country (Tourism Australia Corporate, 2009).2.1.2. Education TourismAn education tourism visitor can be associated as an international traveller whose main reason for coming to Australia is education and length of stay is less than twelve months.This is a very attractive segment that was shake off forward by Tourism Australia in collaboration with tourism boards of other territories in the country, since Australia is one amongst the leading education grounds for many international students.2.1.3 Taste and seeTravellers coming into Australia as learners are inexperienced travellers attracted to trendy well known destinations in and around Australia, like Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane. They highly depend on recommendations from experienced travellers, unremarkably visit destinations with numerous attractions they look out for sun, sea, sand and nightlife. The top travellers of destination motivation for the Taste Try segment include friends who have visited Australia and its tourist attractions and also to visit family who live at the destination (Australian Tourism Commission announce).In 2006 the International and depict ed object visitant Surveys undertook a survey specifically for Food and Wine Visitors. This survey probed awareness of Australia as a epicurean culinary destination.Food and wine visitors aredefined as any holiday or leisure traveller who verbalise that one of their reasons for taking the trip was to experience Australias food or wine(Tourism Research Australia International and National Visitor Surveys, 2007).2.1.4 Roots- Exploring the heritageTravellers under this segment travel to places that they feel a connection to, through heritage. travelling may include with or to visit friends and family. Most travellers under this segment show keen interest in to learn the local languages and are very concerned about various threats that the particular destination or country as a whole faces.2.1.5 Adventure TourismThe sub- segment of Adventure Tourism has helped Tourism Australia to grasp a whole lot of travellers to come to the country and indulge in the various adventure sports and a ctivities, which bring significant gains to regional and national economies.According to the BTR International Visitor Survey, 2003, it was found that, near 2.2 zillion international travellers undertook adventure activities and spent 77.5 million nights in Australia in the year 2003. These travellers spent an estimated $6.7 million in 2003 in Australia, accounting for 60 per cent of total expenditure by all international travellers.2.1.6 Business TourismBusiness tourists spend more money per night than holiday visitors. Their main mode of transport is air and car hire resulting in high-yield for the car hire industry and the airlines. These visitors provide ameliorate business communication, and help to promote Australian products and services overseas. This in turn generates additional income and employment in spite of appearance Australia.A research conducted by Tourism Australia, 2004, stated that business tourism is a very central high yield sector of the tourism industry . In 2003, visitors who travelled mainly for business purposes spent $11 billion in Australia, accounting for 17 per cent of all tourism expenditure in that year. therefrom the segment proved vital and very fruitful to the organization and the destination (Source Tourism Research Australia International and National Visitor Surveys, 2007).2.1.7 Indigenous TourismIndigenous tourism is defined as participating in an activity that gives Indigenous people the chance to tell their story, in their way, sharing cultural insights, traditional practices and present-day(a) concerns with non- autochthonous Australians and international visitors (Robertson-Friend, 2003).In 2003, about 5 per cent (214 000) of all international visitors visited an indigenous community and club per cent (411 000) of international visitors experienced the Indigenous arts and crafts and cultural displays during their stay (Australia Tourism Research Report Volume 6 Number 1, 2004). The rise in the number of visit ors visiting the country and looking for indigenous tourism is because of the appropriate segmentation and the marketing the specific program to the right target markets.2.1.10 Cruise TourismLarry Dwyer and Peter Forsyth state that Cruise Tourism is one of the major growth areas of world tourism (Dwyer and Forsyth, cited in Peisley, 1992 Hobson, 1993 Cruise Lines International Association, 1995).Cruise tourism has been identified as a key growth area within inbound and domestic tourism and Tourism Australia has increased its focus on this market segment. Cruise shipping as a segment, proved beneficial to the board.A study conducted by Cruise consume Under, 2006 revealed that the total income generated by the cruise shipping industry in Australia was approximately $438.8 million in 2005/06 compared to $228.1 million in 2004/05, including direct expenditure of approximately $256.6 million (Tourism Australia, 2009- Markets)Limitations of segmenting the tourist market according to inte rests are that participation in a specific activity is a sound basis for defining a segment. It could simply be one of the several activities that constitute the overall destination experience. For example the fact that 80% of tourists say they engaged in surfing at a destination does not mean that they see themselves as a special interest group of surfers.ConclusionTourism Australia has a number of resources and opportunities available to dish out tourism industry operators target leisure, business events and niche markets. Tourism Australia segments its market into all the four bases of segmentations that usually all marketers do.It uses geographical- focuses on domestic tourists and visitors as well as international tourists and visitors. Tourism Australia runs special marketing programmes that focus entirely on domestic tourism, which can be interpreted as to how TA has segmented its market in and out of the country.Demographic Segmentation is also used in their STP plan but, doesnt yield high results as compared to the rest. Demographic segmentation doesnt keenly concentrate on what a visitor is looking at, but just segments the market on actual figures like age, gender, incomes, family and its lifecycle, etc,.The best and most expeditious segment that Tourism Australia derived and uses it to its fullest is the Psychographic segmentation, with dedicated significance on interests of the visitor. Various segments like, ecotourism, backpacker tourism, cruise tourism, spa and health tourism, beach tourism, golf tourism, adventure tourism and other such sub segments and types of tourism were created keeping in mind the previous years data and facts. On the basis of research and results, these segments were derived at which proved to be beneficial to the Australian Tourism Board in terms of monetary benefits as well as benefits to the visitor, where in they can easily identify their preferred segment.Behavioural segmentation is also observed in the marketi ng and segmenting of the destination by Tourism Australia, with focus on social-status and occasions. Many new segments are created time after time, keeping occasions in mind, like, special tour packages on Boxing Day, Christmas and New Years, and also a special program that is dedicated to the aborigines of the continent Island.After studying the bases of segmentation that Tourism Australia has put into practice and relating it to the past results, facts, figures and the various researchs that are undertaken to study how beneficial the whole segmentation process has been, it is instead a happy news for the Australian Tourism Board as well as for the Tourism Research Australia Organization.