Research Services
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Tourism Tasmania commissions research to ensure its business decisions are evidence-based. Understanding the needs and expectations of customers is vital to building a strong emotional and cultural connection to Tasmania, and attracting more high-value visitors.
In 2016-17, Tourism Tasmania invested over $1.1 million in market research and visitor tracking programs to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of current and potential visitors to Tasmania. It also engaged with a diverse group of industry, government, business and community stakeholders to provide authoritative insights about visitors, the state’s tourism performance and its potential.
Tourism Tasmania monitors consumer demand, perceptions, expectations and characteristics through its market profiling research programs. It also uses visitor tracking programs, like the Tasmanian Visitor Survey to measure Tasmania’s performance and examine the characteristics and behaviour of those who have come to the state.
Visitor tracking program
Tourism Tasmania’s Tasmanian Visitor Survey (TVS), reports on the characteristics and travel behaviour of visitors to the state. Tourism Tasmania also supports Tourism Research Australia to conduct their national and international visitor surveys, provide information on the economic impact of tourism, and deliver forecasts and tourism investment data at the national and state level.
Tourism Tasmania publishes a quarterly summary of the results in a Tourism Snapshot that includes data compiled from Tourism Research Australia’s national and international visitor surveys. This is publicly available on the Tourism Tasmania corporate website. The full results of the TVS are also available online at www.tvsanalsyer.com.au.
Market profiling program
Tourism Tasmania also conducts a regular quarterly study of travelling Australians to monitor the state’s tourism brand health, conversion potential and challenges, and measure Tasmania’s performance. A summary of results and insights from the Tourism Info Monitor (TIM) are published every quarter on Tourism Tasmania’s corporate website.
Tourism Tasmania also conducts research to evaluate the impact of its brand marketing campaigns, using the findings to inform subsequent campaigns over the coming year. This year, we continued to work with research company TNS Australia to track consumer behaviour in our Go Behind the Scenery and Season of Curious campaigns.
To supplement the regular TIM research, Tourism Tasmania conducted new research in 2016-17 to better understand the market opportunity and provide new ways to focus its destination marketing efforts.
Segmentation research
In late 2016, Tourism Tasmania commissioned its research partner TNS Australia to undertake a market segmentation study in Australia and explore a new approach to identifying and marketing to an interstate audience. Using their Needscope™ model, the TNS study identified a group of emotional holiday needs that Tasmania fulfils better than other destinations. The findings from this research will support the development of Tourism Tasmania’s brand marketing and content development.
The market segments identified through this research introduces a new approach to build emotional and cultural connections with Tasmania and will be incorporated into Tourism Tasmania’s branding, marketing and market research programs in 2017-18 and beyond.
Connect™ research
In early 2017, Tourism Tasmania commissioned TNS Australia to explore and measure the impact of various paid, owned and earned marketing channels in creating appeal for Tasmanian holidays and converting this appeal into purchasing a holiday to the state. While this research technique has been used globally for various consumer goods, this is the first time it has been applied to a travel destination.
Consumer Demand Program
International visitors currently represent around 17 per cent of all visitors to the state. Tourism Tasmania’s long-term target is to increase international visitation to Tasmania to around 20 per cent of the total. In 2016-17 Tourism Tasmania entered a two-year partnership with Tourism Australia to undertake consumer demand research in selected international markets. The $30,000 a year research program explores the level of awareness, appeal and consideration for a Tasmanian holiday amongst potential visitors in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, USA, New Zealand and India.
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