Adelaide Hills Management Plan - Case Study Example

Adelaide Hills Management Plan Student’s Name Course Tutor’s Name Date Adelaide Hills Management Plan Tourism has both positive and negative effects on destinations. Positive effects include economic multiplier effects, increased foreign currency earning by the government, increased employment creation and improved infrastructure. The negative effects include environment degradation, cultural attrition, increased costs of living, and leakage of income from destinations. Additionally, tourism may lead to a decline in traditional employment for locals and seasonal unemployment during low tourism seasons (Tand Publishing 2011, p. 360). In A-Hills, the South Australian government has already identified three areas that stakeholders in the tourism industry need to work on in order to reduce the negative effects that are likely to emerge with increased tourism activities. They include: social (i.e. the need to improve and maintain liveability in A-Hills); economic (i.e. the need to enhance the competitiveness of A-Hills as a tourism destination); and environment (i.e. the need to drive resilience and sustainability towards climate change) (Adelaide & Flinders Universities 2012). But what would a plan to protect the social, economic and environmental assets that A-Hills has look like? Well, for starters, the social assets would need to be accounted for by upholding or improving the relaxed lifestyle that A-Hills currently has. Additionally, stakeholders would need to champion the need to have a cohesive community. Moreover, all stakeholders should have access to equitable and adequate services, leisure activities and cultural activities. Overall, A-Hills should be destination that inspires both locals and visitors to spend less time indoors or in their cars, and instead venture out and enjoy nature and culture. To enhance A-hills’ competitiveness, the region will need to attract jobs and investments, retain workers, attract visitors from different cultures, protect its attractive and scenic landscape from overexploitation, obtain clean and renewable energy, conserve water, and offer hospitality services to day-time trippers and overnight visitors to the region. In relation to environment, the plan should articulate deliberate patterns of settlement developments in order to secure A-Hills’ natural resources. Additionally, A-Hills stakeholders should device methods of enhancing water and energy efficiency as a way of responding to the threat posed by climate change. Stakeholders will also need to find ways and means of preserving and restoring the natural environment, which may have succumbed to destructive tourism activities. Ensuring quality visitor experience Apart from laying down the infrastructure needed for quality visitor experiences, tourist operators at A-Hills need to go a step further to get accreditation for their services. In addition to acting as an assurance that the tourist operators have met the industry standards required to give visitors quality experience while on tour, accreditation also provides the destination (and the tourist operators therein): enhanced exposure to the market; enhanced online marketing via partnerships such as TripAdvisor; and differentiation from other non-accredited operators and/or locations. Additionally, accreditation boosts the destination’s credibility, hence making it more attractive to tourists. The Australian Tourism Quality Assured (T-Qual) is one such accreditation scheme that A-Hills operators should pursue because it logo – the T-Qual tick – acts as a symbol of tourism quality by the Australian government (Tourism Australia 2013). Based on the same, businesses that have the T-Qual tick are interpreted to have the government’s approval in regard to quality, and are hence better positioned to provide visitors with quality experiences. Before tour operators receive accreditation, they need to indicate their business details, insurance details, licenses and permits, and their business and marketing plan builders. Moreover, the accrediting authorities require a proof of the business operating systems; human resource management capacity; risk management; customer service policies and procedures; and the financial systems as proof of economic sustainability of the firm (Tourism Australia 2013). Other requirements include proof of environmental management; continuous improvement; cultural and social sustainability; and a code of practice. Combined, the requirements, often provided in a checklist, are meant to ensure that tourism business operators have the goodwill, the financial, management and human resource capacity needed to provide tourists with quality experiences. At A-Hills, a plan to ensure that tourism business operators attain accreditation will hence ensure that all accredited firms will be well equipped to meet the demands of tourists in a satisfactory manner. Accreditation, awards programmes and policy instruments and the need to base new development on market research and alignment to brand attributes of A-Hills are also part of the plan of ensuring quality visitor experiences. Award programmes in their nature are voluntary and involve giving the South Australian Tourism Industry Council (SATIC) – as is the case in Australia – permission to visit and inspect sites. SATIC judges who of the award entrants will receive recognition by reviewing evidence gathered from the site inspections. Entrants must however abide by indicated rules of entry (SATIC 2012). In its website, SATIC underscores the marketing advantage that tourism business operators get from achieving accolades through tourism awards. Policy instruments on the other hand include such items as regulatory instruments (e.g. quotas and zoning), tradable market permits, financial incentives, user fees, environmental taxes, property usage regulations and rights, and eco-labels just to name a few (Environmental Justice Organisations, Liabilities and Trade (EJOLT) 2012). A plan to use policy instruments would ensure that the use of the tourism resources is done in a sustainable manner and that in case of pollution, the polluter pays. Combined, the use of accreditation, tourism awards and policy instruments will enhance the business operators’ willingness to act more responsibly in not only providing tourists with quality experiences, but also ensuring that their short-term pursuit of profits does not jeopardise A-Hills’ ability to be a quality tourism service provider in the future. The foregoing underscores the need to base new development on market research and alignment to brand attributes for A-Hills as a tourism destination. As more businesses recognise the need to get accreditation, embrace policy instruments, and participate in tourism awards, competition will soon expand from quality experience provision to visitors, to include uniqueness and differentiation in tourism destinations (De Lacy et al. 2002). A-Hills therefore needs to invest in research, which will ideally provide business operators with the industry knowledge needed to position their competitive advantage on unique brand attributes. Industry leadership Recognising the leadership in any industry is important for any plan since it provides the businesses therein with the knowledge about where to seek information, insight and direction if and when the need to do so arises. Due to its location in South Australia, A-Hills is in the leadership jurisdiction of the Southern Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) (South Australia 2012). In the past, SATC has been at the forefront of marketing A-Hills, and such trends are likely to continue into the future. Figure 1 below is an illustration of the A-Hills marketing campaign by SATC. Figure 1: An Advertisement by SATC highlighting some of the experiences A-Hills can offer visitors to the region Source: Novak (2012) The South Australian government set up SATC and gave it the mandate to promote the entire state as a holiday destination. In addition to aligning SA’s tourism strategic plans to those of the larger Australia, SATC also has a responsibility to develop localised strategic plans. The South Australian Strategic Plan (SASP) is one such plan that gives leadership to the industry in matters of growth and sustainability. As a leader in the industry and with consultation with local business operators, SATC also develops destination action plans, which are outcome-focused projects in specific regions. The Adelaide Hills Destination Action Plan (2011-2014) for example, outlines the developments that need to be undertaken in the destination and the marketing activities that will be involved (SATC 2011). The South Australian Tourism Industry Council (SATIC) is also another organisation that offers leadership in SA’s tourism industry. Unlike SATC, SATIC is a membership organisation which shapes the industry in ways that are meant to benefit its members. SATIC offers accreditation and tourism programmes to its members, gives them a chance to participate in award programmes, offers training and events, and provides industry resources with the intention of supporting opportunities, addressing issues and enhancing the growth of tourism businesses in SA. As has been indicated by Commonwealth of Australia (2009, p.6), “Strong leadership is needed in order to achieve substantive policy outcomes across jurisdictions and portfolios” in the tourism sector especially if one is to consider the diversity presented therein. In SA, there appears to be a strategic and synchronised leadership approach that ensures that both the supply and demand sides of tourism are adequately addressed. By encouraging businesses to seek accreditation, participate in awards, undergo training, and make use of available information resources, SATIC for example addresses the supply side of tourism by making sure that providers are well-equipped to provide quality services. By marketing destinations on the other hand, SATC addresses the demand side of tourism by ensuring that the destination is well marketed to both domestic and international customers. Documents such as the Adelaide Hills Regional Strategic Tourism Plan 2011-2014 by SATC (2011), and accreditation information kits provided by SATIC are some of the instruments used to provide leadership in the industry. Growing unique and sustainable tourism industry within Adelaide Hills Adelaide Hills has been described as being “close to the city but a world away” (SATC 2011, p. 12). This description is derived from the rural villages and towns which have a chic characteristic; local food that is fresh and healthy; and the luxury wines that are available in a contemporary style. A-Hills also has the uniqueness of interesting people, unique stories, and real history (SATC 2011). According to SATC, Adelaide has the added benefits of having identified its target market – i.e. the 30-60 year old tourism experience seekers who are well educated, and in unpretentious relationships. This description can be interpreted to mean that in addition to the unique physical offerings that A-Hills has to offer, it is the experience that its targeted market are seeking that it has to be well-prepared and equipped to offer. To this end, A-Hills has to be willing to engage with diverse stakeholders in the industry in order to understand the experiences that its target customers would be seeking. Additionally, and after identifying the experiences, A-Hills must design effective offers through which it will provide the identified experiences to the customers. Currently, SATC and Adelaide Hills Tourism (2012) have identified shopping, visiting vineyards and wineries, attending cultural events and arts festivals, sampling food in restaurants, and visiting historical sites and experiencing their legends as the unique offers that A-Hills has for its visitors. Going forward however, one would expect that the preferences of the target market would change, in which case, A-Hills would need to be equally alert to notice such changes, and prepared enough to incorporate changes in its offers. Due to its proximity to Adelaide, A-Hills will probably continue being a favourite destination for day-trippers. Its attractiveness will however depend on more experience tourism offers especially if the destination wants to attract and retain repeat visitors. Issues that will impact on the social sustainability include the need to protect the rural cultures from erosion, and the need to motivate and inspire local communities to support tourism development. Economic sustainability on the other hand will most likely be affected by seasonality of the tourism industry and other external factors that include global financial situations, threats from terrorism, and the marketing activities that SATC and other stakeholders engage in. Environmental sustainability at A-Hills will be affected by factors such as the need to conserve A-Hills natural resources, climate change effects, water usage, and energy use. In conclusion, and as stated in the introductory part of this plan, A-Hills needs to improve and maintain liveability in order to enhance its social sustainability; enhance the competitiveness of A-Hills in order to enhance its economic sustainability; and drive resilience and sustainability towards climate change as a way of enhancing its environmental sustainability. A-Hills, under the leadership of SATIC and SATC, and in collaboration with individual and/or corporate tourism business owners, further needs to find a way of lessening the negative effects of tourism and enhancing the positive effects of the same. Considering that A-Hills is a favourite destination for day-trippers, encouraging overnight stays is one possible approach through which the destination can start expanding its future marketing prospects. A-Hills could also market itself as the preferential stay location for people visiting Adelaide. References Adelaide & Flinders Universities 2012, ‘Regional development Australia Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island’, South Australian Centre for Economic Studies, viewed 28 April 2013, . Commonwealth of Australia 2009, ‘National Long-term tourism strategy’, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, viewed 28 April 2013, . De Lacy, T., Battig, M., Moore, S & Noakes S 2002, ‘Public/private partnerships for sustainable tourism’, CRC Tourism, pp. 1-120. Environmental Justice Organisations, Liabilities and Trade (EJOLT) 2012, ‘Mapping environmental justice’, viewed 29 April 2013, . Novak, L 2012, ‘Adelaide Hills hoisted into limelight in SA tourism campaign’, The Australian, viewed 29 April 2013, . SATC & Adelaide Hills Tourism 2012, ‘The Adelaide Hills: Presentation action plan 2012-2015’, May, pp. 1-5, viewed 28 April 2013, . South Australia 2012, ‘Tourism Investment South Australia’, pp. 1-32. South Australia Tourism Commission (SATC) 2011, ‘Adelaide Hills: Regional strategic tourism plan 2011-2014’, viewed 28 April 2013, . South Australian Tourism Council (SATIC) 2012, ‘Important information’, viewed 29 April 2013, . South Australian Tourism Industry Council (SATIC) 2012, ‘What is SATIC?’ viewed 28 April 2013, . Tand Publishing 2011, ‘Section 1: know positive and negative impacts of tourism on destinations’, Sample Pages unit 12, pp. 356-358, viewed 27 April 2013, Tourism Australia 2013, ‘The T-Qual tick’, viewed 29 April 2013, . Read More