Tourism Research Project Proposal

This assignment requires students to develop a comprehensive research proposal focused on the tourism industry. The proposal outlines the research problem, objectives, methodologies (qualitative and quantitative), data collection techniques (focus groups, observations, in-depth interviews), and data analysis process. It also includes a section on references.

Running head: ASSESSMENT 3 0
Bus 707
Applied Business Research
Research Proposal on International Students
Student Name:
Student ID:
Kings Own Institute

ASSESSMENT 3 1
Table of Contents
Abstract......................................................................................................................................2
Research Problem.......................................................................................................................2
Research Hypothesis..................................................................................................................3
Background................................................................................................................................3
Ethical Consideration.................................................................................................................6
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................7
Research Proposal’s Aim and Objectives..................................................................................8
Research Design.........................................................................................................................9
Quantitative Research............................................................................................................9
Qualitative Method...............................................................................................................10
Data Analysis Process..............................................................................................................11
Editing..................................................................................................................................11
Coding..................................................................................................................................11
Data Entry............................................................................................................................11
Data Analysis.......................................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................13

ASSESSMENT 3 2
Abstract
This report focuses on analysing the social, economic and business factors relating to the
Australian dollar and its influence on country’s economic and social sector. In previous years,
the Australian dollar remained lower in value than compared to US dollar. However, many
new factors provided that it is getting stronger and competing equally with US dollar. The
increase in worth of Australian dollar determines that the revenue in the US or other countries
is valued lower than before. The growth in the Australian dollar will influence different
sectors in the country such as agriculture, mining, education, business, exports, imports and
many others. Along with the growth in the Australian dollar, the number of international
students coming to Australia for further studies is expected to reduce. It is also expected that
Australian farmers will generate fewer profits and bear more loss. Nevertheless, various
policies and strategies can be implemented by the government to enhance the productivity of
these sectors such as proving student scholarships, reducing tuition fees, increasing the rate of
tax on imports and increasing the availability of local products to customers.
Research Problem
Before starting a report, the first steps that researchers are required to take is analysing the
possible research problem in order to solve the problem which will occur in the study.
The education industry, especially international students, contributes a major part in the
Australian economy. But, with the growing value of Australian currency in comparison to US
dollar will have a negative impact on the education industry which will reduce the number of
international students who visit Australia for further studies. The primary objective of this
research report focuses on studying and understanding the social, business and economic
factors relating to strong Australian dollar and evaluates its impact on the economic and
social sector of the country. The growing value of Australian dollar reduces the number of
international students in the country. This research proposal analyse the decreasing rate of
international students in Australia with the increase worth of Australia dollar. The Australia
education sectors contribute more than $47.5 billion to the country’s economy. However, due
to increase in Australian currency, international students prefer to study in the United States
or any other country instead of Australia. Due to high currency rates, international students
have to the high amount for everything including university payments, tuition fees,

ASSESSMENT 3 3
accommodation, and residential cost. These factors affect the decision of international
students and their spending choice in Australia. It can be clearly seen that appreciating in the
Australian dollar will result in reducing the number of international students in Australia
which negatively affects their economy. Therefore, proper research is necessary to
understand the situation and determining ways to address this issue which will assist in
boosting country’s economy.
This research proposal will evaluate the issues face by hotels in Australia and many others
factors that are related to international students visit in Australia.
Research Hypothesis
 What if the packages of hotels and accommodation centers are reduced for
international students?
 What if promotional campaigns are created by concerned departments to address to
increase the number of international students?
 What if discount offers are provided for the international student by educational
institutes?
 What if cheap airfare packages are offered for international students?
 What if international students shift their destinations to other countries for further
studies?
Background
In previous years, the Australian dollar has always remained less valued than compared US
dollar. However, present trend in international markets showed that it is becoming stronger
and equivalent to US dollar. The value of Australian dollar has increased recently, and many
experts have provided that it is expected to rise even further in following days. Now, the
currency’s value has surpassed the ceiling limit of US$79, and it is showing possibilities of
significant growth. This calendar year, the Australian currency reported a growth of 9.9
percent; it has reported an overnight increment of 1.5 percent which increased US$79.18 to
its peak amount of US$79.43 (AFR, 2017). Continues and strong growth of Australian
currency provide the weakness of US dollar, but, it owes a large amount to high-interest rates,
international investors and prices of commodities (Conversation, 2017). The strong position
of Australian dollar may lead to different social, business and economic consequences.

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After analysing the past three years trends of the Australian dollar, as provided in the figure
below, the currency had reported many fluctuations over the year. The Australian dollar has
reported its minimum value in the starting of 2016 financial year. Although, with time, the
Australian dollar has slowly climbed to the top with many fluctuations and it reached its peak
in the middle of 2017. Following figure present the value of Australian dollar in comparison
with US dollar.
Source: http://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/historical-data.html
The growing rate of Australian dollar provides that the revenue in US dollar or any other
nations is valued lower than its previous rate; due to which it negatively influence different
sectors. The products and service which are valued in the Australian dollar will be more
expensive after converting to US dollar due to which the number of country’s exports will
reduce. Due to high prices, the demand for Australian products will reduce in international
markets which will negatively affect Australian producers. The Australian corporations
which export their products will have to reduce their prices in order to export their products
which will result in decreasing their profits. On the other hand, the prices of products and
services of overseas companies will reduce which will increase the number of imports.
Similarly, with the growth in the Australian dollar, the number of international students
visiting Australia for further studies will reduce since it will be more expensive. However, for
Australian students, it will be cheaper to study in foreign universities.
Following chart was uploaded by Australian Financial Review which analyses the Australian
dollar’s trend in comparison to US dollar.

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(Source: Trading Economics, 2017)
The growth in Australian dollar negative affects the educational sectors in Australia which is
one of the major contributors to its economy and national income. With the growing value of
Australian currency, the number of international students will reduce because it will be more
expensive to pay university and tuition fees. Also, it will be more expensive for them to live
in Australia than compared to other countries such as United Kingdom or United States.
The number of international students in Australia is only 700,000 in April 2017 which is
significantly lower than compared to previous months. Further, the number of international
students reduces to 600,000 in June 2017 which is a result of appreciated AUD value. The
international students face high costs due to increasing Australian dollar rates, and they have
to pay more amounts for education and tuition fees. Following is another graph which shows
the link between Australian dollars and international students.

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(Source: Trading Economics, 2017)
The above graph provides that link between increasing Australian currency rate and
decreasing number of international students visiting the country for education purposes. In
April 2015, the exchange rate for Australia dollar was 0.765 as compared to US dollar, and it
increases in April 2016 and at the same time, the number of international students also
reduces. The number of international students has declined since June 2016 because of high
value of Australian currency. However, by the end of 2016, AUD reached its lowest point,
i.e., 0.71642 and at the same time, the graph reflects an increasing number of international
students. So, the graph shows that there is an adverse relationship between the number of
international students visiting Australia and AUD. This relationship influences Australian
economy because international tourists contribute to country’s economy.
Ethical Consideration
While performing any practice, ethical consideration is necessary to be taken. Therefore, the
researcher should also fulfil the ethical behaviour while performing the activities of research.
Following are various ethical considerations that are necessary to be fulfilled by researcher:
 Research is necessary to be completed with honesty, and it is obvious to provide
information about the process used in the research and what results are obtained by
the study.

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 The research objectives must be free from biases which assist the researcher in
avoiding any confusion in the report and focusing on key goals. The research must not
be biased.
 The research must be completed with transparency and reliability. The information
used in the research must be straightforward to the public.
 It is necessary that the research must respect people’s privacy. The research proposal
must avoid disclosing any sensitive or private information about public and client.
Literature Review
The literature review is a crucial part of a report which points out the issues of the research.
In literature review section, the finding of various researchers and scholars are analysed
through online sources in order to find whether there is an issue or not. Increased value of
Australia dollar signifies that it will negatively influence the education industry and the
number of international students that visit Australia for further studies. Various entities win
or lose because of increasing value of AUD. The losers are the exporter corporations
according to the article published in Courier Mail. The increasing rate of AUD has been
negative for international students visiting Australia, but it is a positive factor for Australian
students who want to go overseas for further study. Increased AUD value makes it easier for
them to select the University of their Choice and choose the desired location for study since it
will be cheaper for them.
The Australian economy has significantly influenced by the increased value of AUD (Kohler,
Monalo & Perera, 2014). The movement in the value of Australian currency has a substantial
influence on nation’s economy. The increasing rate of AUD has a negative impact on
country’s economy which will result in reducing the investment in Australian businesses. It’s
natural for investors to invest in the Australian currency when it decreases. Many
international students visit Australia each year because of its diversity, attractive places, and
strong education system. For students, beaches seemed to be the more attractive point.
Similarly, fireworks contribute is another primary reason due to which international students
visit Australia. However, with the increase in the value of AUD, the number of international
students has reduced substantially in Australia in the past few years.
An article published by Phil Mercer during mid-2015 for BBC news, evaluate the influence
of reducing AUD value towards country’s economy especially toward education industry.

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The article provided that there is 25 percent decline in the value of AUD from mid-2014 to
2015. At the same time, the number of international students visiting Australia increased by 2
percent as compared to students going out of Australia that was on 0.7 percent. The number
of Australian students going in foreign countries for further studies reduced because people
prefer domestic universities since they are a cheaper option as provided by Commonwealth
Bank.
According to IBIS world report, reduction in value of AUD has positively influenced the
education sector in Australia since 2013. There is a high rate of inflow in international
students because of the low value of AUD. This report clearly provided that increase in the
value of Australian dollar will reduce the number of international students visiting Australia.
The increasing rate of Australian dollar affects international students because it increases
their university costs tuition fees and living expenses (Webber, 2001). The students have to
pay more than they expected, therefore, they are more likely to change their mind about
selecting a destination for further studies.
David Taylor provided an article called “the world today” which shows the influence of
increasing Australian dollars on backpackers. Backpackers are key contributors to the
Australian economy, and they are one of the key income generating factors in the country.
Therefore, increasing rate of the Australian dollar has caused a serious problem for
backpackers since it increases their expenses which negatively influence Australian
economy’s growth.
So, the literature review provided a clear picture of the issue which provides that increasing
rate of AUD will result in reducing the number international students visiting Australia for
further studies which reduce the growth of nation’s economy.
Research Proposal’s Aim and Objectives
The research objectives focus on providing direction for research by identifying various
variables relating to the research problem. The main aim of this research is to analyse the
increasing value of Australian dollar and its influence on the number of international students
visiting the country. The number of international students visiting Australia and value of
AUD is directly related to each other. Therefore, any decrease or increase in value of AUD
results in decreasing or increasing the number of international students in Australia
respectively. Following are the key aims of this research proposal:

ASSESSMENT 3 9
 Analysing the reducing number of international students in Australia.
 Evaluating various measures for increasing the education sector in Australia.
 Finding out whether the increasing value of Australian dollar decreases the number of
international students in the country.
Overall, the key objective of this report is to discover the relationship and impact of
increasing value of Australian dollar over the number of international students visiting the
country for further study and finding different measures for addressing this issue.
Research Design
Research design focuses on analysing the research problem by collected and evaluating the
data in a systematic manner. The research design assists in meeting the key objective of the
research. Generally, there are two types of research design used by researchers which include
qualitative and quantitative research. This research proposal includes both quantitative and
qualitative ways of data collection from different primary and secondary sources.
Quantitative Research
The quantitative research is also called secondary research method which is based on
mathematical, numerical and statistical data that is collected for understanding and evaluating
the research problem by reviewing documents, questionnaires, and analytical data. This
method is one of the cheapest, easiest and quickest methods for conducting research. This
method is useful for viewing and analysing large sample sizes and different views and
opinions. In this research proposal, qualitative research methods are used to determine the
fluctuating trends of Australian dollar than compared to US dollar and analyse its relationship
with increasing or decreasing number of international students visiting the country. Every
result is evaluated which automatically contributes to outlining the characteristics of different
factors. Further, analysis can be done by controlling and exploring the gathered data which
help in identifying correct patterns. This method is acquired to collect the data in relation to
different viewpoints.
Analytical data assist in identifying and analysing the existing data which is available on the
topic.

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Questionnaire is used in order to collect data through checklists. This will assist in
understanding people’s perspective on the subject matter. Survey monkey is used in order to
create and send questions online.
Documents review assists in providing an understanding of people’ true perspective about
the issue.
Qualitative Method
Qualitative methods are known as exploratory research which focuses on collecting data and
information on a specific topic. The collected data assist in developing hypothesis and ideas.
The information linked with education sectors in Australia mainly related with international
students will be researched. The collected data will be used in order to address the issue.
Under the research, different methods will be used such as focus group, observation and in-
depth interview to collect necessary data.
Focus Group includes discussion between small groups of 6-12 people which is conducted
by the help of trained professionals. It reduces the time, and multiple views are collected at
once.
Observations focus on collecting data by witnessing real-life situations.
In-Depth interview referred to a face-to-face interaction which includes a detailed
discussion with respondent regarding the same research problems.
Depending upon nature of data requirement, either quantitative or qualitative method will be
used in the research for data collection purposes. Quantitative methods are helpful if the
research is conducted within a fix period. However, qualitative methods can be used if
research problems are evaluated in detailed.

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Data Analysis Process
Source: http://moodle.koi.edu.au/moodle/course/view.php?id=858
After collecting the data from qualitative and quantitative sources, they will be analysed in
order to obtain crucial information for the research. All the information collected during the
process may not be significant or used in the research. So, effective data analysis process is
necessary to be adopted to acquire only such information that is important for the research.
The data analyses process is divided into different steps:
Editing: The data collected from the qualitative and quantitative process will be raw which
will be accumulated and analysed in order to collected necessary information for the research
to ensure that it is easier for anyone to understand. This is known as editing. The data which
had errors or incomplete information was edited with the help of in-house editing or field
editing. After that, the edited data was further preceded for coding. The field editors
performed the activities of data checking and editing at the same time. In contrast, editing in
office is known as in-house editing.
Coding: It is the process of assigning numbers and other symbols to edited data, and it is the
second phase of data analysis procedure.
Data Entry: After completion of coding process, the data is uploaded on the system which
is called data entry process. In other words, it is defined as the process of transforming coded

ASSESSMENT 3 12
and useful data collected for the research and uploading into computers. In data entry process,
optical scanners are used to marking sensed questionnaires.
Data Analysis: Finally, after the stage of data entry in computers, the data is analysed by
the researchers and conclusions can be obtained from the above findings.

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References
Anon, 2017.[online] Tra.gov.au. Available at:
https://www.tra.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/250/IVS_one_pager_June2017.pdf.aspx?
Embed=Y
Assessment 2, 2017. Background. Applied Business Research, Koi
BBC News, 2017. [online] Available at: <http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34504003>
[Accessed 15 Sep. 2017].
KOI, 2017. Data Preparation - Part 1. [Online]
Available at: http://moodle.koi.edu.au/moodle/course/view.php?id=858
Trading economics, 2017. Australia Tourist Arrivals. [Online]
Available at: https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/tourist-arrivals
Webber, A.G., 2001. Exchange rate volatility and co-integration in tourism demand. Journal
of Travel research, 39(4), pp.398-405.