Australia should stick to the cliches, says The Backpacker
Australia must promote the cliches which make it so loved amongst travellers if it is to remain competitive against Asian destinations, according to Ben ‘The Backpacker’ Groundwater, at last week’s Adventure and Backpacker Industry Conference in Sydney.
Sydney-based travel writer Ben Groundwater, who writes Fairfax Media’s hugely popular ‘The Backpacker’ blog, told a packed conference room that, “the trouble for Australia obviously now is that it’s expensive and we have competition which is a lot cheaper and can offer a lot of things that we can offer”.
He continued: “You think about Australia as having beautiful beaches, but Vietnam has those. You think Australia can offer parties, but Thailand has a great party scene. If we market Australia as beaches and parties, we’re doomed.
“We need to find out what makes Australia unique and then offer hands-on experiences. We kind of get embarrassed about kangaroos and stuff, but that’s what people think about when they come to Australia and that’s what they want to see. I grew up with kangaroos in my backyard and people find that amazing.
“We like to say, ‘we’ve got great food and festivals’, but our food and festivals don’t compare to those in Europe or Asia, so it a case of looking at what’s unique to Australia.”
Mr Groundwater went on to suggest that New Zealand is a country that has got its tourism sector right. He said: “New Zealand do it fantastically well. I can’t put my finger on exactly what they do, but all the operators are friendly, they’re fantastic, you always feel like you’re having a great time in New Zealand. It’s easy to get around, the fact that it’s fairly compact helps with that, but they just really seem to have their tourism industry sorted out.”
By Andrew Westbrook · November 1st, 2011 at 3:51 pm
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Comments
1 Nov 11
5:06 pm
New Zealand operators are tough enough to say no to ridiculous commissions so they make money. Enough to to put a smile on anyones dial.
1 Nov 11
5:56 pm
Well done, Ben THE BACKPACKER.
The Kiwis make sure you have a good time because they`ve never been as prone to navel-gazing as we Aussies have been over the past 20 odd years and because they are all still economically sustainable over there: commission is capped at 15%!!
Once again, I`m banging on about the good ole days, prior to the commission genie being released from its bottle, but the feeling of the first Expo week I went to in 2002 is so far away from everyone’s minds nowadays, it`s like we`ve stepped into a parallel dimension since 2006!!
The free and easy attitude at Expo back then, the large and numerous stands (2 whole levels worth!!), the few quieter hostels complaining about not being full over their high season, TNT party attracting upward of 300 exhibitors (about 500 would turn up!!), the fantastic ratio of genuine non-Australian backpackers flowing past our stands to chat to about our destinations (a bit easier for them to have fun back then, before all the RSA/WH&S bullshit prevented the South Africans offering Amarula and the Fijians the Kava ceremony, ETC. ) seems a world away from this year’s timid offering.
New Zealand is proof of confidence and solid direction in what its unique selling points are and how best to sell them.
Australia, by contrast, is proof of what over-thinking our product and its delivery can do to what should be an awesomely successful brand.
If we can but convince our tourism bodies to concentrate on keeping the message simple about our amazingly deserted yet incredibly beautiful and unique remote areas and natural attractions (reefs, islands, forests, indigenous culture, surf beaches, flora & fauna) we should be able to command way more of the international visitor market. The current “There`s nothing like Australia” campaign has the perfect latitude to exploit this fully within its branding.
Despite the fact that a hell of a lot of Ben`s revelations weren`t really revelations (backpackers spending big bucks on tours? some backpackers actually being high-earning professionals? more mature backpackers travelling, not just the 18-25s? REALLY!), it`s always good to have another fella from outside the industry offer some clarity with their take on the state of play.
I know TA wants to send Oz back to the top of the list of most-visited destinations: with a bit of luck, last week’s conference may spark the beginning of the whole country`s realization of this goal.
2 Nov 11
1:54 pm
The best ad to showcase Australia was the 70s retro tv ads displayed in the freedom camper debate, girls in bikinis, meat pies and girls in bikinis dancing with other girls in bikinis oh and was there a car advert somewhere in that as well? Then I think there was um, oh yeah, more girls in bikinis and some lovely shots of girls (no longer in bikinis) driving along pristine Aussie beaches where they would eat a pie, in bikinis.
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