Due to its diversity in both tourist attractions and business opportunities this city receives a large number of visitors. According to statistics on the New South Wales website there were over 2.5 million travelers who stayed over night in Sydney in the year ended December 2009, Tourism NSW(2009). Of this visitors the greatest percentage was for those who were visiting for leisure and holiday at 56.2 followed by those visiting relatives at 22.7 and then finally for business at 14.
On domestic travelers the number was even higher. The same statistics show that there were 6.8 million visitors visiting friends and relatives -36.8, leisure and holiday-29.3 and business 27.9. The statistics shows that the area gets a lot of travelers. There is therefore the need for marketing strategies that target the visitors traveling there.
According to Mahoney and Warnell (1987) a marketing strategy can be viewed as a package that is put together with offers that attract and serve customers or visitors. The strategy may involve the use of their products and services appeal, the prices they offer, their location in relation to the visitors place of interest, various promotional activities, quality control, personal selling as well as high hospitability.
There are different kinds of visitors to Sydney as I had stated earlier. To expand further, visitors can be classified as those that are in Sydney for business, leisure and holiday, adventure, shopping, sight- seeing and eco-touring. To target business travelers there are various strategies that have been employed. The New South Wales government has a website that they have devoted to advertising Sydney as an ideal business location.
The package developed to market the destination to businesses includes the hotels and the facilities available for business conferences, availability of technological amenities, a good business environment compared to other destinations in the world, the tax rates, infrastructure and communication, political stability, skilled work force among many other favorable conditions.
Some of the strategies that are used in Sydney are those that boost the confidence of the visitors, overcome objections, create awareness, give luring incentives and leverage their emotions. In the business section for example, details about conducting business in Sydney found in the NSW government website is a strategy that boosts the confidence of any would be investors.
For example the fact that Australia is a country that requires one to travel long distances over long hours is negated by the portrayal of the country being ahead of competing markets. Since Sydney is 10 hours ahead of GMT their markets are open to trade earlier than those in Tokyo, Japan and Singapore among others.
For a business to flourish there is need for stability in the country where the business is being conducted. Lack of political stability affects the stability of the economy as well. Another strategy that is used in Sydney is the portrayal of the country as a stable environment which is ideal for businesses. The favorable tax system is also flouted as an attraction into the city for business.
The other marketing strategy involves the overcoming of objections raised about doing business in Sydney. This is accomplished by showing that the cost of doing business there is cheaper than in other areas. For instance the authoritative NSW website says that Sydney offers more affordable office space compared to other competing destinations like London, Paris, and Tokyo among others. Another attraction to negate any objection is the fact that skilled labor is more affordable in Sydney.
Sydney also applies the strategy of offering luring incentives in the business arena. For instance the government offers lower power bills in some regions as well as reduction of the charges at the ports. The infrastructure is advertised as world class with reliable communication networks.
Another strategy is the use of the appeal of doing business mixed with pleasure. There are many conferencing, convention and seminar venues available to suit a variety of needs. The M-Power Accommodation Pty Ltd website gives a directory of the various hotels that are suitable for business purposes. Some like the Novotel Hotel Olympic Park Sydney offer such facilities as a business centre, secretarial services, fast internet, conference rooms, and wake up services. All this are for the business travelers appeal.
For those visitors that travel to Sydney for holiday and leisure, there are also some marketing strategies that are used to target them. One is the strategy of creating awareness of Sydney as one of the worlds most attractive destination for a holiday. To achieve this most companies that deal with tourists put up their advertisements on the internet, a place that can be reached by those looking for a holiday destination.
The hotels and relaxation sites available are advertised as possible destinations. Usually a site like the Sydney.com gives a list of the various places that one may visit and activities that one can engage in while on holiday in Sydney. Another marketing tool is the Sydney Weekender program (Sydney weekender site) that showcases some of the places and activities as visited by the weekender team.
Sydney being a far way destination also lures holiday makers by the promise of fair weather all year round. This is normally advertised as one of the strategies to over come the objection of traveling there because of distance. This is at its peak when other countries like those in America and Europe are in their winter season. The look of white sandy and sunny beaches is quite alluring during the winter season in other destinations.
In order to attract visitors with different accommodation needs, different facilities are available. There are the five four and less stars accommodations. There are backpacker accommodations, and hostels. Their location near attraction sights is also included in their ad campaigns. Also, to overcome accommodation expenses, options like camping are advertised. The camping is not put across as an option for the poor but as a way to be at home with nature. As the open road website puts with under camping in Sydney section, There is nothing quite like camping to put you in touch with Mother Nature.
Another strategy to capture the holiday making lot is by creating awareness of attraction sites. Attractions such as the Opera house, The Harbor Bridge among others are advertised. The marketing strategy would be incomplete if the beaches and water based fun activities were left out. In using leverage to emotions as a marketing strategy, beach related activities are advertised.
Beautiful pictures of the city in the sun are used to appeal to the emotions of leisure travelers. Overall the portrayal of Sydney as a world class destination makes most potential travelers feel the need to travel here if just to maintain the status of being a person who is widely traveled.
For adventure seekers there are plenty of options in Sydney. The strategies used in this category include The use of offers, emotional leverage, and the awareness creation for numerous adventure sites and activities.
Where the strategy involves the use of offers, companies give offers for adventure activities like cruising with a condition on the offer. For example at the Biggest Loser Sydney Adventure there was a free offer to get a free bridge climb and a choice between Classic Sydney Bike Tour with Bonanza Bikes or a surfing lesson at the Bondi Beach.
The strategy involving awareness creation seeks to let adventure seekers the various attractions that can satisfy their adventuring quest. Here advertisements for adventures such as surfing, mountaineering, cruising snorkeling and diving are advertised to lure potential adventure seekers.
The School holiday adventure with Sydney Aquarium and Sydney Wildlife World is an advertisement that appeals to those who can stand extreme adventures. Although the adventure can also fit into an example that gives an offer that has a deadline as a marketing strategy (...but this unique wildlife experience ends on October 18, 2009), it is also a good example that seeks to lure those who have a taste for adrenaline releasing activities.
For the category of visitors travelers whose interest is in eco-touring, the Sydney community employs the use of packages to win over clients. There are different types of packages that are offered to win the appeal of eco tourism lovers. Some offer to take up everything including the planning of the tour accommodation and the sites to visit at a certain fee.
An example is found on the Australia Eco Tour Adventure website where they offer to take up the whole organization of the tour. Their packages range from those that go for a few days and zero-in on Sydney only to those that have an itinerary for the whole country. The other strategy that is employed is the one that involves the boosting of the consumer confidence. The Australian Eco Adventures partner with governmental organizations. This gives them credibility as people who are genuine providers of ecotourism.
Since some of the people who are specifically interested in eco-tourism are sensitive in matters concerning nature there chances of responding positively to any advertisements on eco tours is boosted by the governments involvement. Another organization the Ecotourism Australia provides a listing of eco certified tours, accommodation and attractions.
There are those travelers who are interested in Sydney because of its people. This includes their culture, lifestyles and diversity. One of the most popular marketing strategies in the whole of Australia is the flaunting of the fact that the whole country is a multicultural society. Australia prides itself in the fact that it is one of the countries in the world that has people from different backgrounds. This strategy is carried out by way of giving historical background of specific locations.
The oldest living human culture the Aboriginal people, are one of the interesting phenomenon that most tourist would be interested in. Aboriginal experiences are organized where people can interact with this community that has been able to resist the wind of modernization. The tales by the aboriginal guides, traditional practices are all very inviting to tourists.
Art lovers are lured by the advertisement of the Aboriginal art that is found in Sydney. There is also an Aboriginal cultural centre where those who have a taste of art can by original art. Still on the issue of meeting with the people, walking tours in Sydney are advertised as opportunities to come face to face with the lifestyle and the diversity of the people. For example the City of Sydney which is an organization of the capital city council organizes walking tours that familiarize tourists with the historical sites of Sydney.
The last group that I am going to discuss is the group of travelers that is interested in the shopping experience that they get in a particular place. This group may not travel to a place to shop parse but it plays a big role when they are deciding on where to travel to. Sydney also has a fair share of shopping malls that can satisfy the desire of any travelers who likes shopping.
The marketing strategy employed here is on the main based on creating awareness. This is done by
advertising the various shopping neighborhoods, markets, shopping malls and fashion events in Sydney as seen on the Shopping in Style website. The other strategy used is use of promotions and bargain offers. These occur from time to time and have a time limit deadlines on them.
In conclusion the above discussion shows that there are a number of marketing strategies that are used in Sydney. Sydney which is one of the worlds most toured destinations attracts a huge number of travelers each year. Despite this fact the business community there does not take this for granted and keeps on marketing the area to make sure that it maintains its status as a highly toured area and to get the most out of the visits from both the international and local travelers.
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