Unlocking the Potential: A Sustainable Tourism Development Plan for Avon Valley, Perth

Report

Tourism Development at Avon Valley

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Avon Valley, Perth

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Executive Summary

This report is about the tourism development at Avon Valley, Perth. The report is written for the

Board of Experience Perth in order to present sustainable tourism plan for the place. The report will

be comprising of analysing the background, new developments such as geographical location and

potential effects on the community. A tourism plans includes how a location will serve visitors,

protect the cultures and environment and adapt to their growing numbers. At Avon Valley, there are

plenty of things that a tourist can plan to see, which includes aviation, museums and heritage, retail

and galleries, walk/drive trails and bookable tours. The attraction of several tourists towards Avon

valley can easily increase its market share not only in Australia but in the whole world. With this, the

people around the world will get to know about Avon valley and they will become interested in

visiting it.

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Contents

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 2

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 4

Destination Background .......................................................................................................................... 4

Survey of existing situation .................................................................................................................... 5

Analysis of market trends ....................................................................................................................... 5

Identification of future opportunities ...................................................................................................... 6

Sustainability of future opportunities ...................................................................................................... 7

Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 8

Recommendations ................................................................................................................................... 8

References ................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

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Introduction

This report aims at developing a tourism plan for the Board of Experience Perth. The report will be

sustainable tourism plan for a tourism place within the Experience Perth region. This place will

comprise of elements such as survey of the existing resources, analysis of market trends, new

developments such as geographical location and indication of potential impacts on the community,

environment and economy. At the end, it also provides recommendations prioritising development

opportunities. Tourism planning is a critical part of a country’s economy. As per (Inskeep, 1991), it is

the process of coordinating land use, economic development and community participation in order to

improve the tourism of the country. In order to ensure, a plan called tourism development plan is

developed outlining how a location will serve visitors, protect the cultures and environment and adapt

to their growing numbers.

Destination Background

Avon Valley is a picturesque location situated just east of Perth, which is just an hour drive from

there. The valley comprises of rolling hills and winding streams. This place is peaceful and is a

perfect tourist destination. For all kinds of travellers including those looking for romantic holiday,

adventure holiday or family holiday, Avon Valley is a perfect place. The best way to reach Avon

Valley is by train. AvonLink is the perfect way to start or end any adventure. There are plenty of

things that a tourist can do at Avon Valley including visiting Northam Race Club, Connors Mill, and

Bilya Bidi Tours etc (Avon Valley, 2015). As per Perth Metropolitan Development Commission

Area, following are the statistics of the visitors from 2011-2013.

Fig 1: Results of Visitor Surveys

Source: http://www.tourism.wa.gov.au/

As per above figure, from 2011-2013, the international visitors coming in Perth were highest as

compared to interstate visitors, which are lowest.

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Survey of existing situation

In this section, the focus is given on surveying the existing situation and analysing the most attractive

tourist attractions at Avon Valley. There are plenty of things that a tourist can plan to see and visit at

Avon Valley. It includes aviation, museums and heritage, retail and galleries, walk/drive trails and

bookable tours. As far as aviation is concerned, tourists can either go for skydiving at Spencers

Brook-York Road or go for a ride in Windward hot air balloon at Northam Airfield. Besides this,

there are museums which attract tourists surely including York Residency Museum, New Norcia, and

Slater Homstead. The retail and galleries include York Embroidery, Brookton supermarket and the

Sock factory. Apart from these places, there are many self walk tours throughout the valley

facilitating the tourists to get an amazing view of the environment. They can also get the facility to get

tour guide on paying extra. This is the supply side of place i.e. Avon Valley has so many places for

the tourists to visit.

Analysis of market trends

As per (Gunn, 1988), carrying out thorough market research in order to understand the trends is

critical for a tourism report. Due to its picturesque beauty, it is one of the most attractive tourist

destinations in Australia. The potential visitors to the valley fall in the age group 10-65. Being a

beautiful place, it is one of the important destinations which is visited by kids, teenagers, couples, and

old people looking for peace. There is an activity existing in the valley for every kind of tourist. For

instance, for adventurous visitors, skydiving at Spencers Brook-York Road is a great option. Also,

tourists can go for a ride in Windward hot air balloon at Northam Airfield. There are museums which

attract tourists surely including York Residency Museum, New Norcia, and Slater Homstead. The

retail and galleries include York Embroidery, Brookton supermarket and the Sock factory. There are

many self walk tours throughout the valley facilitating the tourists to get an amazing view of the

environment besides the museums and other activities. As of now, the number of tourists in the region

has been very high. Also, there are certain ongoing activities going around at the Avon Valley such as

“Ok at the Time Exhibition” in which there is things depicted the life of Irwin Whitefield are kept.

This exhibition is open till December this year. Besides this, there is an event called ‘Remembering

them’ which aims at commemorating the first world war. This exhibition aims at to look at the

impacts of the war on society and economy. The price for an adult is $10 while for a kid; the cost to

attend the exhibition is $3. The third event going around at Avon Valley is West Coast Sundowner

which is a skydiving extravaganza. The event is attended by a mix of local, national and international

coaches and it is one of the exciting events at Avon Valley. These are some of the events conducted at

the valley which welcomes the visitors of every age.

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Identification of future opportunities

The Avon valley already has so many activities that are alluring tourists. But there are more

opportunities that can be explored by Avon valley to attract more tourists. The most remarkable point

is that the Avon valley is very popular among domestic and national tourists but there is less number

of people visiting Avon valleys. The opportunities that are still unexplored by Avon valley are

attracting more national and international tourists by introducing several activities (Avon Valley,

2015). The place is already very scenic and is perfect for a mini holiday. The natural beauty in and

around this place is mesmerising and is enough to keep the tourist pacified and contented at this place.

By attracting several tourists the Avon valley can easily increase its market share not only in Australia

but in the whole world. With this the people around the world will get to know about Avon valley and

they will become interested in visiting it. To attract more people and identify its future opportunities

in a very manner it is first required by Avon valley to get the feedback from tourists about their

experiences and services at the time of their stay at Avon Valley. One more opportunity that can be

explored by Avon Valley is to increase its profit and market share. These three opportunities are

running simultaneously as they are interlinked and interrelated to one another. There is one more

thing that Avon can plan to do that is to start its chains on other places as well. For this it has to offer

exquisite boarding and lodging facilities. The Avon valley also has to make them world class and

supreme holiday destination. After doing this it can easily approach its next future opportunity that is

to start its chains everywhere else. This would not only increase the popularity but the market share

and profit margin as well. The kinds of services that are offered by Avon valley at present time are

also fabulous and people have a very positive response towards it. The Avon valley does not have any

budget constraint and this is the point which will help in exploring new opportunities. As of now

Avon valley has everything to offer to the needs of families and married couples. The next

opportunity in front of Avon Valley is to attract young generations and kids. These particular

segments comprise of a very huge population and if they become the permanent tourists of the Valley

then it would be very beneficial for them. Thus a number of opportunities are there in front of Avon

valley but the only thing that is required to be done is to go for a proper market research. To realise

these opportunities the Avon valley has to do so many things. The first thing that is required to be

done is to open up a play zone for the kids. The play zone should be planned in such a way that it

should be proper blend of fun and beauty (Avon Valley, 2015). This would be a USP for Avon valley.

As there are number of play zones available in the city so it has to be different from them in all

respects. Secondly to attract the young tourists the Avon Valley has to make its night life at par with a

night club. The young people are more interested in partying and enjoying so this should be tailor

made according to their needs. To attract young tourists the Avon valley can also open a club that

provides services that are extraordinary in nature. The services can include casino, bars, dance cubs,

rave parties, theme parties etc. This is sure to attract so many young tourists because a young crowd

wants enjoyment along with natural sightseeing. The new concept here for Avon valley could be to

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have an open air club and that is a very unique idea to be different from others. The club can also go

for an open air theatre. The reason behind this is that the Avon Valley has mesmerizing beauty and it

should use it in realising its future opportunities. Thus the future opportunities of Avon valley that is

to make a tourist base from around the world is realised if it will explore the new things and introduce

them there. Avon valley would become a top choice of the tourists that are seeking a mini holiday

where they want to have premium and exquisite services along with a ting of nature.

Sustainability of future opportunities

The future opportunities that are being suggested to Avon valley are enough for it to realise its goals

and objectives in a long run. When the future opportunities are combined with the goals, objectives,

vision and mission of the organisation it has been observed that they are in perfect match. This is

enough t o know the feasibility and sustainability of any opportunity. When an opportunity is being

framed the only thing that should be made sure is that the opportunities for future should be aligned

with its goals and objectives. These future opportunities are well aligned with all of them. This makes

it sure that the opportunities are sustainable in the long run. As proposed that the ultimate objective of

the organization is to increase the numbers of tourists which further lead to the popularity of the

Valley and increase in profit margins of the company. The mission and vision statement of the

company reads that it wants to become a world class tourist destination. The opportunity statement

also elaborates the same (Avon Valley, 2015). To prove the sustainability of the opportunities there

are several evidences that would help Avon valley in realising those opportunities in a shorter time

and get benefits for longer time. The first thing is that it should make efforts to attract young tourists

towards itself. For this it would have to go for adverse marketing and promotion of its services. For

the purpose of promotion it has to go for a club and a set of adventurous activities. These are easy to

install as it has been said earlier as well that it has enough resources and no budget constraint. Thus

this idea is very feasible and sustainable. There is one thing to make sure about the sustainability of

this project and that is to make sure that once a tourist comes here would again like to come and these

activities would lead to more tourists coming to Avon valley. This is for sure that Avon valley would

do this because it is opting for these activities that are not available everywhere else with such a

beautiful ambience. Another opportunity that was proposed is to build a tourist base of foreign

tourists. This is also an opportunity that is sustainable and that will give long term advantages to the

Avon valley. For the first time this would be expensive as the organisation needs to go for intense

marketing that too in the international market but once the plan is successful it would be very helpful

for the Avon valley to cater the tourists from other countries as well. This would also be sustainable

opportunity as the tourists across the world are now seeking to go to the foreign countries for holidays

and this has become a trend. The only thing that is to be done to attract foreign tourists is to make

them aware about the destination and the services being provided there. Another opportunity that has

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been proposed to Avon Valley is that they can also attract kids by introducing some fun activities and

a play zone there. Although this strategy looks a bit sceptic but if it becomes successful then it is

again good news for the AVON valley. Thus all the opportunities being proposed to the Avon valley

are practically feasible and at the same time their sustainability cannot be questioned. All the

opportunities would become sustainable if the Avon valley would work in the right direction. While

working towards achieving its opportunities there are several things that they need to remember to get

succeeded. The first thing is to go for an intense market survey and take the feedback from all the

segments it is targeting. After getting the feedback, it should start the activities so that it can save the

resources as well the time. The second thing to keep in mind is that the preferences and trends in

tourism industry are changing very rapidly and at the time of making any changes the trends should be

studies very carefully. The third thing to remember is that the tourist industry is in the grip of intense

competition and to be competitive an organisation needs to be different from others and provide

superior services to the tourists. Finally the last thing to do is to do is to customize everything

according to the needs and wants of the tourists. If all these points would be taken into consideration

then it would become very easy for the Avon valley to achieve long term goals and retain the tourists

(Avon Valley, 2015).

Conclusion

Overall, it can be said that Avon Valley is one of the exciting places to go. Also, tourism industry

plays vital role in the country’s overall growth. The development of tourism as far as Avon Valley is

concerned. However, the place has very little tourism development as of now and needs strategic

planning.

Recommendations

In order to strategically develop the plan for Avon Valley, some of the recommendations are:

Develop tourism activities as per needs of the customers: One of the steps is to develop tourism

activity as per the needs of the consumer, which can be analysed through appropriate market research.

Develop brochures for tourists: Second step is to develop engaging brochures for the Avon Valley and

distribute to people so that they can get aware about the activities.

Exhaustive marketing: Third step is to carry out exhaustive marketing on social media and

newspapers in order to increase the visibility.