Western Adelaide Region Alliance
2020 Tourism Destination Action Plan
Project Scope
The Western Region Alliance of Councils comprises the Cities of Charles Sturt, Holdfast Bay, Port Adelaide Enfield and West Torrens. These Councils are committed to working collaboratively together on key economic projects that will develop opportunities to benefit the Western Adelaide communities, including growing the visitor economy.
A key economic project of the Building Western Adelaide Alliance was the preparation of a Western Region Tourism Destination Action Plan (TDAP) to showcase and connect Council areas and experiences to brand the Western Region as a key destination to stay and experience.
The Objectives
This was the first time a Tourism Destination Action Plan had been developed in the region, and it's key objectives were to provide guidance on actions that would:
- Create awareness for the Western Region as a Tourism Destination
- Increase visitor numbers and visitor expenditure
- Encourage repeat visitation
- Improve dispersal and participation in the Western Region experiences
- Increase number of sustainable tourism jobs
- Increased investment in tourism development in the Western Region
- Create a framework template that can be used by each Council to create a Tourism Plan for their Council area that will provide a consistency across the region
^ Consultation workshop with stakeholders from City of Holdfast Bay.
The Process
Discovery + Research
We undertook research with internal and external stakeholders to develop a comprehensive Situation Analysis of the visitor economy in the region.
Additional elements of this stage included:
Stakeholder Engagement
There were numerous government and industry stakeholders whose input was required to gain a clear picture of the state of play for tourism in Western Adelaide. To obtain their insights, we facilitated consultation workshops in each municipality in addition to developing an online survey and individual meetings. Over 100 stakeholders were engaged in this project, who identified many opportunities and challenges across the destination, which were vital in informing the new Plan.
Latent Demand Research
To be able to effectively measure the impact of the Plan, it was decided that a Primary Research project was required. We worked closely with McGregor Tan Research (Adelaide based research agency) to develop a survey that would help to identify the demand prospects for the current and potential tourism product for the destination, in addition to marketing opportunities that could be activated across the region to grow the visitor economy. (Read about the results from the Moseley Beach Club below as a example of the research results).
Tourism Profile
We also worked closely with MyTravelResearch.com (curator of tourism research, based in Sydney) to develop a Western Adelaide Tourism Profile. This identified key visitor economy metrics for the region, as well as providing a baseline which allowed the Plan to be measured. (The first 12 months Visitor Economy results of the Plan are below).
Plan Development, Delivery + Adoption
Once we had established a detailed situation analysis, we could then combine these insights with our own knowledge and expertise to develop the Tourism Destination Action Plan.
Once all 4 internal council stakeholders were happy with the final Plan, we then supported them all in getting the Plan adopted by each of the Elected Member bodies.
^ Consultation workshop with stakeholders from City of Charles Sturt.
Results
Since the roll out of the TDAP in late 2016, each of the 4 councils have seen some positive results.
Jobs Growth, Economic Impact + Visitor Numbers
High-level statistics:
- 107 new tourism jobs created increasing from 9537 jobs in 2016 to 9644 jobs in 2017
- 17% increase in tourism output from $1,512 million in 2016 to $1,779 million in 2017
- New events saw an additional 300,000 event specific visitors (5% being international) in 2017 compared to 2016.
Specific actions from the TDAP contributing to the growth in jobs, economic impact and visitor numbers include:
Adelaide Beaches Website
Development + management of the region's new consumer website Adelaide Beaches, showcasing over 140 tourism business in the region. Since launch early 2017, over 6000 unique visitors have visited the site.
Plans + strategic documents
Relevant documents were developed and progressed from the TDAP including;
- Holdfast Bay – Tourism Plan 2020; Draft Destination Management Plan; Jetty Road Masterplan
- Port Adelaide Enfield – Tourism Strategy & Action Plan 2020; Economic Development Strategy
- West Torrens – Events Strategy
- Charles Sturt – Draft Visitor Destination Plan; Guidelines for Events and Sponsorship; Woodville Town Hall Strategy
- Western Adelaide Marketing Activation Plan
Event Development
Growth in high profile events and festivals that grow awareness of the destinations as diverse and attractive places to visit, including:
- Glenelg Beach Concerts featuring headline acts (John Butler Trio, Missy Higgins, Cat Empire and Xavier Rudd)
- Moseley Beach Club
- Port Adelaide Fringe Festival
- St Jerome’s Laneway Festival
- Hosted International events Australian Women’s Golf Open, Santos Tour Down Under Stages and Queens Baton Relay, Pol Roger Beach Polo, Special Olympics National Games
Product Development
New products developed across the region including:
- Cruise Ship Heritage Tours
- Twilight Beach Picnics
- Dark Tourism History Walk
- Working through approvals for Segway Sensation to commence Segway tours on Glenelg Beach
Moseley Beach Club - Glenelg Beach Activation
The Club was activated based on the insights from the Latent Demand Research results identified in the TDAP.
The economic impact of the Moseley Beach Club (MBC) to Holdfast Bay exceeded Council’s expectations. It not only functioned as a beach club but also offered visitor information for Glenelg, advocacy for the precinct and a referral point for other traders.
Economic Impact over the 2017/2018 Summer were:
- Total Visitors - 30,000
- Direct Economic Impact - $3,672,000
- Indirect Supply Chain Flow on Effect - $1,074,000
- Social Media Reach totalled in excess of 10 million viewers
- Total Media Audience 1,413,773 valued at $211,832 including hosting Nine Network Today Show
Rebecca and Paige are great communicators, flexible in their approach and able to deliver projects on time and on budget.
Adelaide's Western Region Councils (Cities of Charles Sturt, Holdfast Bay, Port Adelaide Enfield and West Torrens) engaged Tourism eSchool to prepare a Regional Tourism Destination Action Plan for the four Councils. We were really pleased with the facilitation of the workshop, development of the framework and insights into the tourism industry that were provided throughout the project and incorporated into the final plan. Rebecca and Paige are great communicators, flexible in their approach and able to deliver projects on time and on budget.
Are you ready to grow your region's visitor economy?
If you would like to chat to us about potentially developing a Tourism Strategy or Destination Marketing Plan to grow your region's visitor economy, then we would be delighted to hear from you!