Australian Government Productivity Commission

Question: Discuss about the Australian Government Productivity Commission. Answer: Introduction The focus of revenue for the government of Australia is the tourism industry of the country (Auspost.com.au, 2016). The tourism industry has been the highest GDP gainer for the country. In addition to this, the number of luxury travelers is also on the rise. The Sifotel Hotel, located in Darling harbor, is in the verge of completion in the year 2017 and currently looking for the target market where it can promote its business (Sofiteldarlingharbour.com.au, 2016). With a 35-storey building and more than 600 designer rooms, it is going to be one of the most luxurious hotels in the land of Australia. The report will look into the target market of Sifotel Hotel and specify the customers who will be interested in the hotel. Target market/ segment characteristics Domestic and international The luxury tourist from domestic and international locations should be the target customers for Sifotel Hotel in Darling Harbor in Sydney. It has been seen that the international travelers in Australia has spent $34.8 billion in the year 2015. In addition to this, the number of family trips for domestic travelers has been on a rise. Australia topped the list of buyers in the Pure Life Experience Hospitality Conference that was held in Marrakech as far as buying the hotels and tour operators are concerned. The Accor Group should also give special attention to their food as the travelers in Australia are getting inclined to the luxurious cuisines offered by the country. The travelers who are travelling to the country to taste the food of the place can also be the target of Sifotel Hotel. The government of Australia is highlighting the sophisticated local culture of Australia. Thus, they can target the tourists who are coming to Australia to taste the various cuisine of the country (Oates, 2015). The focus of the Accor Group should also be towards the older age group as many luxury travelers are falling under that age. Many travelers in Australia travel after retirement or with family when they are in the verge of retirement (Kmet, 2015). As they have earned and saved a certain amount of money, the urge of luxury travel is found to be more among this age group. As far as the tourism industry of Australia is concerned it is becoming the favorite among the people who are aiming for luxury travel. The numbers suggest that the market for luxury travel has enhanced. There has been a rise of 30.5 percent in the luxury travel in Australia in the year 2015 surpassing the United States, which has seen an increase of 26.2 percent in the same year (Hurd, 2016). Specific characteristics of target market The Accor Group should target the visitors from America, as there has been significant rise of international tourists from these two countries. The visitors from America and China are looking forward to some luxurious holidays in Australia. For the high-end travelers from America and Canada, Australian has been a common favorite. A study shows that there has been significant rise for luxurious holidays at Queensland , Victoria and Western Australia (Travelandtourworld.com, 2016). The topmost state among the list is Queensland, which has received a rise in the booking by 48 percent from the travelers in the United States. Victoria and Western Australia follow Queensland with a rise in booking 26 percent and 11 percent respectively. Due to the huge footfall of luxurious tourism, John OSullivan, the managing director of Tourism Australia has been planning to do a joint venture with one of the travelling companies in the United States. Figure 1: list of countries from where the visitors spend nights in regional areas in Australia (Source: Australian Government Productivity Commission, 2015) The above graph shows that the footfall from the countries like the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom is highest as far as spending nights in Australia is concerned. Hence, the Accor Group should target the international tourists from the top three countries and attract them towards the Sifotel hotel located in Darling Harbor region in Sydney. Specially designed advertisement that could attract the tourists from the above-mentioned countries would be helpful to get the most from the target market. The graph also shows that the international visitor from India, China and Singapore should get the least priority as far as the target market of the Accor Group is concerned. As far as the domestic travelers are concerned, the Accor Group should focus on the travelers who are in the age group of 50-54 years. On the other hand, the number of people who are travelling within Australia has been declined in the age group of 24-29 years. According to a study, the age group of domestic travelers was 45-49 years in the year 2002. However, in the ears 2012, the peak age group has risen to 50-54 years (Auspost.com.au, 2016). Thus, the Accor Group can target the individuals who are in the age group of 50-54 years. During that age group, the travelers are more interested in family tours and hence, the promotions should be targeted with the advertisements that will promote the family tours. The domestic holidays for the people living in Australia are mainly interested in weekend breaks that with duration of two to four days. Hence, the target market for the Accor Group should be those individuals who are travelling with the family for a few numbers of days. They can give special discounts in weekends so that the domestic travelers get attracted to Sifotel Hotel to spend their weekend. Conclusion After evaluating the tourism sector of Australia and the type of hotel that Sofitel is coming up to be, it can be concluded that the luxury travelers should be the main target for the Accor Group. Both the domestic and the international travelers are aiming for luxury tours. The main target market from the domestic industry will be the family travelers as they are more likely to go for weekend gateways. The international travelers from the United States should be the target as the flow of tourists from the United States to Australia is the highest. References Auspost.com.au,. (2016).Travel Trends - How Australians Travel - Australia Post.Auspost.com.au. Retrieved 8 September 2016, from https://auspost.com.au/how-australians-travel.html Australian Government Productivity Commission,. (2015).Australias International Tourism Industry Productivity Commission Research Paper(1st ed.). Retrieved from https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/international-tourism/international-tourism.pdf Hurd, S. (2016).Australia in prime position for luxury tourism growth.Impactpub.com.au. Retrieved 8 September 2016, from https://www.impactpub.com.au/micebtn/85-news/btn-news/17810-australia-in-prime-position-for-luxury-tourism-growth Kmet, M. (2015).Luxury Travel Report: Things Are Looking Good for 2015.Travelmarketreport.com. Retrieved 8 September 2016, from https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Luxury-Travel-Report-Things-Are-Looking-Good-for-2015 Oates, G. (2015).Tourism Australia Uses Food to Drive Luxury Travel Spending.Skift. Retrieved 8 September 2016, from https://skift.com/2015/12/07/tourism-australias-food-marketing-is-helping-drive-luxury-travel-spending/ Qualia.com.au,. (2016).qualia - Press Releases | Hamilton Island.Qualia.com.au. Retrieved 8 September 2016, from https://www.qualia.com.au/Media-Centre/Press-Releases/Insights-from-the-inaugural-2015-Australian-Luxury Sofiteldarlingharbour.com.au,. (2016).SOFITEL DARLING HARBOUR.Sofiteldarlingharbour.com.au. Retrieved 8 September 2016, from https://sofiteldarlingharbour.com.au/ Travelandtourworld.com,. (2016).Australia a Top Destination for American Luxury Visitors - Travelandtourworld.com.Travelandtourworld.com. Retrieved 8 September 2016, from https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/australia-a-top-destination-for-american-luxury-visitors/