With most Australian travellers living in cities, Australian holidays have traditionally been anchored at exploring what is outside of our cities – the beach, the desert, the wilderness. Cities as tourism destinations, in comparison, have taken a ‘back-seat’ to our natural attractions in terms of exposure and marketing effort domestically, and now internationally in the face of a growing outbound market.

Key events, such as the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and the 2006 Commonwealth Games, as well as the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions market, have leveraged Australian cities into the destination limelight. Cheaper domestic airfares have also been an impetus to converting Australians to city-based holidays. Cities are now on Australians’ radar as tourism destinations and importantly attract high-yield travellers who spend when on holidays in a city. The challenge however is to increase yield through extending length of stay, more spend on the holiday and encouraging repeat visits.

Roy Morgan Research, with its leading Single Source survey of 55,000+ Australians per year, reveals the marketing intelligence needed to drive strategy for city-based travel. This paper uses Roy Morgan Single Source to address how major Australian capital cities are viewed and consumed as travel destinations by Australians. Importantly the paper addresses how segmentation can quickly and effectively identify travellers who present the greatest yield opportunities for city-based holidays, and the triggers required to effectively communicating with them. Roy Morgan Research draws upon their highly respected Roy Morgan Values Segments1 as a case-study.

Read the full paper here...