To elaborate on some of the points that earlier posts have made:
It’s not as if the airlines make it easy to travel. Airports are places to be avoided. Most people’s flying experience has to do with them being herded into a coach seat with no seat space, no leg room, bad (or no) food and lousy service. The average airline passenger is thinking, “I was about to go nuts after 2 hours, how am I going to last for 20 hours.”
The conditions of current airline travel are teaching people that air travel is something to be avoided, not enjoyed. In many cases it’s worse than taking the Greyhound. Yes, business class or first class travel can be enjoyable. When it costs 20 times more than a coach ticket it gives people pause.
For me, if I can’t get a reasonable upgrade, Ambien is a cheap upgrade. Knock me out so I don’t have to deal with the misery of flying coach.
Not to be too nitpicky, but the DS should probably be fine (of course, check it!) Most high end consumer electronics- camera chargers, MP3 chargers, etc. can be used 110-240v. It’s only small things like hairdryers that get zapped these days.
Well, but, any American tourist who can’t cope with Australian electricity would be just as frustrated in Europe — or in most of the world outside North America for that matter. So, no excuses for them on that account.
You’d think so, but not always. We used to get a lot of US electronics- primarily things like Nintendo DSs and a few others- that weren’t dual voltage. Camera/MP3 chargers are usually dual voltage, though, as you mention.
For some reason, Americans who come to Australia often seem genuinely surprised the power supply is different. I didn’t necessarily say it was valid, just one of the things I’ve heard Americans visiting Australia comment on.
In your definitions of what you say you wanted, you didn’t mention a) experiencing a different culture from your own or b) unique sights - which are the two primary motivators for people flying halfway around the world. IMO, you’re therefore not the person they should use their money marketing to, because the sort of stuff you want can be got anywhere - Cancun, the Virgin Islands, Florida etc.
IMO the Aussie tourism marketing people should ignore your demographic and market to people who want the a) and b) I’ve listed above.
What surprises me is how difficult and expensive it is to visit the Outback, even for Australians. I’d like to see more effort made to encourage visitors- local and international- to visit the Outback and see the wildlife, experience the lifestyle, and generally see the unique side to Australia.
Hun… people who want to explore exotic cultures already are going to know about the cultures, and will catch that tramp steamer to some exotic island.
The average American wants the image of an interesting vacation - BUT they want comfort, good food, fruity drinks with parasols and easily accomplished tourism. Air conditioning, waiters, maids and shopping for interesting trinkets, and public museums.
Are you trying to tell me the Sydney Opera House is some rare and exotic site that needs to be tromped to through steaming jungles with rare and exotic flowers cute fuzzy tarantulas and native guides?
To be honest, other than the aborigines, there is nothing really exotic about Australia. Some amazing views out in the bush ranging from desert to verdant jungle, an interesting bunch of red necked mining communities in the opal areas, but it is full of working stiffs like Britain or America. The coast is good for surf bums, and people looking for bikini bodies, and the reefs are good for divers. Most Americans probably go there for the food drinks and beaches.
To get anything other than a pseudoexotic vacation out of Australia, you need to know something about its history and actually want to visit Ned Kelly’s camp, or which beach the Prime Minister disappeared from on a warm summer day surrounded by people…
Sorry, but that is the way it is … there are no great ruins, mysterious artifacts, Ayers Rock is probably the closest thing you will get. There are natural wonders that most Americans wont arse themselves to go see unless it is in an organized tour in an air conditioned bus. Travel between cities is so damned expensive because they are so damned far apart, and there is the time constraint of travel from the Americas.
To interest someone in the monied demographic, you need to show them that their pale fat body doesnt need to compete with the bikini babes on the beach at Cairne. You need to show how Cairne is modern, up to date, has great food, some interesting boutiques, a thriving tourboat industry that can take them out for sport fishing, guided snorkeling tours, classes in scuba if they are inclined, and that there is a full service beach for them to relax upon. AS I said, the exotic vacation lovers will already be half way to Papua. They want a hilton, or major hotel chain and the experience to be as comfortable as if they were in Hawaii [another pseudo exotic location full of hotels, air conditioning and waiters.]
Wow, that I did not know. There’d be rioting in the streets if they tried to pull that in the UK. (Not that they ever would: the big supermarket chains, who make big profits from alcohol sales, have too much clout, and it would be electoral suicide for any party that suggested it anyway.)
Sorry you experienced that. For my money, if we’re talking about marketing the friendliness of ‘people’ as a tourist attraction, I like Canadians, and Americans in that order (still not sure about the rest of the world :))
aruvqan, I don’t really get your response. I’m not talking about exoticism, I’m talking about uniqueness. Why would a regular American tourist bother to fly for 14+ hours to get to Australia if they weren’t seeking something unique to see? Most other tourists I met when I was touring Australia were looking to see stuff like Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge (neither falling into your criterion of exoticism, but definitely within mine of uniqueness), experiencing the cosmopolitanism of Melbourne, or heading out to see Uluru or the Whitsundays or the Barrier Reef. (Disclaimer: I met no Americans on that trip.)
All I’m describing here is the thing that motivates American tourists to visit, say, Europe - that’s not exoticism, that’s seeking difference. The second set of criteria you’ve listed - boutiques, diving, fishing - again, are all things you can get on your doorstep (it’s Cairns, BTW). I don’t see the point in spending marketing dollars on saying to people who want simply a resort trip “hey, Americans, you can get your cookie-cutter vacation here in Oz”. While hoping they will ignore the fact that it’s much, much further away, and costs a hell of a lot more money. What would be the point of marketing that?
ETA: and yeah, Aussies are similar to Americans and Brits, but not that similar. Maybe you’re misinterpreting what I mean by “culture”?
So, why do people visit Australia (apart from those with friends or relations there)?
I’m guessing, but I think the three largest groups of foreign visitors to Australia are:
(1) New Zealanders. They come because Australia is close, and in many ways like the West Island of New Zealand – different, but not all that different. (The next most popular destination of New Zealanders would be the U.K., so closeness isn’t all that important to them: nowhere is really close, and they have close cultural ties with the U.K.).
(2) Japanese. It may be that they are more noticeable than sheer numbers would suggest, but they stand out because they tend to travel in tour groups (because of the language problem), and because a lot of shops in tourist areas have signs in English and Japanese and bilingual staff (the language problem again). They come because Australia is exotic but safe – a bit like Hawaii, but on a much larger scale – and because there is the tourist infrastructure to handle the language problem.
(3) Young Europeans, especially British, who can get working holiday visas. So they can spend up to a year economically in a large westernised country a long way from home. What’s not to like when you’re in your early 20s?
In my experience, Americans don’t figure much in that equation. Yes, some do visit, but a lot tell me, “I’d move to visit Australia,” and you know they never will, because it’s too far away, and there are many other interesting places a lot closer.
Those that do visit do so because it’s exotic, but relatively safe and easy for a person speaking English to get around in. They’ve heard that the people are friendly, but that’s not a primary reason for visiting – a lot more American visit London or Paris, where the locals do not have a reputation for being friendly, so it can’t be a primary reason.
In New South Wales at least, there is a licensed bottle shop next to every big supermarket, so you just buy your beer, wine and liquor after you’ve bought your ordinary groceries. It’s a small idiocy of the licensing laws, but it’s not much less convenient than buying the liquor inside the supermarket. I’m not familiar enough with other states, but I suspect they have similar arrangements. Once you turn 18, it’s very easy to buy alcohol in Australia.
THe only reason 90% of the americans would go to Australia on vacation is for the percieved cache of unique …
oOOooo you went to Cairns, all I did was Disneyland…
BUT you have to convince us to actually GO somewhere. The monied class here that are not the ultra rich jet setting class [ you know, the ones who travel cattle class, not business or first class] want a cookiecutter experience. Stay in a hilton/sheraton/choice hotel, eat at upscale places, go to a concert in the Sydney Opera House, hit the museums there for a few afternoons … shop in the local boutiques for some tchatcheke that has some dreamtime art on it, maybe a digeridoo, and some picturesque native handcrafts… they want the illusion of rare and exotic, but the comfort and safety of a cookiecutter resort. As I said before, teh adventurous ones are already on that boat to Papua.
I think they should focus on cuisine, like his original ads.
“Hey, mate, put Australia on your tour of the mysterious Orient. You know exactly what goes into the shrimp on the barbie.”
Well I would not say that its a lost cause , but I would not be putting a huge chunk of the national budget and expecting swaths of tourists either. Its a catch 22, Australia is always going to be a ten year vacation, 9 times out of 10 people are going to be staying incountry or going to a cancun class resort.
Our demographics are slightly different as well, while some folks may have the money to do an antipodal vacation, the alllowances for vacation time in North America mean that your mostly going to be looking at folks who are at least able to get a sabbatical.
I’d say that your probably better off to turn Australia into what Hong Kong used to be for the English. Easy accsess to working visas and let it be an option for folks who are young and want something foreign and yet still the same.
This isn’t a problem limited to Australia. If you’re on vacation for 2 weeks or so I’m not sure you can get to know the “real” country you’re visiting no matter what country it is. What’s the “real” America? New York? Los Angeles? Dallas? The answer is all of them of course.
Whatever an Australian sees in the US (and vice versa) whilst travelling around themselves is going to be a lot more “real” than the things tour coaches full of Japanese Tourists see here in Australia, if that makes sense.
I think Hogan should come back and pay his taxes, but nevermind.
I actually agree with the notion that something has to be unique and cool to get Americans to come here. I think Australia Zoo was one thing (when Steve Irwin was still alive) but most Americans think we live bush and dodge crocs on the way to work - at least my friends and family did when I moved here.
But I think the main factor is the expense, and that has actually recently changed. I’d be interested to see if the number of American tourists picks up now that there are four airlines between LA and Sydney and ticket prices have dropped a grand. I know it makes it in the realm of reasonable for a heap more people that might have wanted to come before but didn’t have the money.
The ticket price factor isn’t something I see considered here but I suspect it’s more significant than anybody is giving credit for.
Sorry you experienced that. For my money, if we’re talking about marketing the friendliness of ‘people’ as a tourist attraction, I like Canadians, and Americans in that order (still not sure about the rest of the world :))