Tourism Research and Analysis: A Case Study of Australian Tourism

This report presents a case study on the tourism landscape in Australia, analyzing primary data collected through surveys from tourists. The study investigates trends, demographics, and motivations, focusing on popular destinations like the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, and Circular Quay. Findings reveal that holiday travel is the primary reason for visiting Australia, followed by education. The analysis includes demographic profiles of tourists, including age, gender, and country of origin, along with an examination of travel durations for both holiday and business trips. The report concludes with recommendations to develop education tourism and enhance attractions, especially in Sydney, while acknowledging limitations such as the small sample size and lack of seasonal variations. The study uses descriptive statistical analysis to answer key research questions about the Australian tourism market.

Running head: TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

1TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Data Collection method and description:...................................................................................2
Methodology and Research objectives:.....................................................................................3
Analysis......................................................................................................................................3
Demographic Profile..............................................................................................................3
Findings..................................................................................................................................6
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................10
Limitation:................................................................................................................................11
Recommendation:....................................................................................................................11
Reference..................................................................................................................................12

2TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Introduction
This paper is a case study on the tourism scene in Australia. Primary data was
collected from tourists and analysed to identify the notable trends at the time. It was then
objectively studied.
Section 2 describes the data collection methodology and structure of the data. Section
3 lays down the research methodology and the objective along with rationale. The findings
are compiled in section 4. The paper then concludes with the answers to the questions as well
as providing recommendations and identifying the limitations of the study.
Data Collection method and description:
The data used for the case study is a primary dataset that was collected through survey
method. Primary data analysis was chosen to collect current data as per the suitability of the
defined research objectives which are elaborated in the methodology section (Walliman,
2017). The data was collected in four parts by four separate individuals, whereby the
respondents were chosen randomly using simple random sampling rationale from tourists to
Australia which can be considered independent (Peck, Olsen & Devore, 2015). Simple
random sampling is a simple and robust data collection method which assigns equal chance to
every member of the population in being included in the sample (Burns, Bush & Sinha,
2014). This allows for unbiased, robust, simple and cost efficient method of data collection in
primary research. This ensures equal and fair representation and unbiased estimation of
statistics (Yin, 2017). In this case tourists were randomly chosen and data was collected from
the population of all tourists in Australia in 2018. Primary data analysis using quantitative
data can be used to objectively identify valuable insights (Creswell & Creswell, 2017).

3TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Each individual collected 10 observations each and these were merged to form the
complete data of size 40 observations, The dataset had 7 variables which were all categorical
in nature, namely, gender of the tourist (with categories, male or female), country of origin,
destination visited, occupation of the tourist that is, whether student, retired or employed; and
reason for visit that is, whether business trip, holiday trip, meeting up with friends or for the
purpose of studying, which were all nominal. The variable age of the tourist was ordinal with
age being denoted as age divided into intervals in years (Anderson et al., 2016).
Methodology and Research objectives:
The design is cross-sectional, with data collected around the same time for multiple
tourists. This was because the scope of the study is to explore current scenario (Bryman &
Bell, 2015). The study is a descriptive study. The demographic variables, age, gender and
country of origin were first summarized using frequency distribution in numerical and
graphical format. The response to the items in the dataset was then explored by mean of
various charts to form a descriptive analysis (Veal, 2017). The collected data were analysed
using tools of descriptive statistical analysis by means of Microsoft Excel tools. The research
objective is to study the trends in tourism in Australia. The analysis targeted the data for
trying to answer the following research questions.
 What are the most popular reasons for visiting Australia?
 How many days does a tourist spend in Australia?
 What is the popularity of the destinations in Australia?
 How many days would a tourist spend holidaying in Australia?
 How many days would a tourist spend in a business trip in Australia?
 Age of people on Holiday in Australia?
 Popularity of destination as per reason for visiting Australia?

4TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Analysis
Demographic Profile
The sample of data acquired therefore had the following demographic profile. 50%
were aged between 20 and 30, 27.5% were aged above 40, 20% were aged between 30 and 40
and 2.5% were aged less than 20. Again, 47.5% were males and 52.5 % were found to be
females among the collected sample. 12.5 % were from China, UK and Italy was reported
10% each, Vietnam and Japan was reported by 7.5% each, Nepal other parts of Australia,
Singapore, India and Malaysia constituted of 5% each, Egypt, Turkey, Cambodia, France,
Belgium, Scotland, Argentina and Spain all constituted 2.5% of the sample. The following
figures give the graphical summary of the same. The data thus reveals that much of the
tourists to Australia are Chinese. As per Pham, Nghiem & Dwyer (2017), one of the key
drivers of Chinese tourists is that of affordable cost of travel. Hence it is suggested that the
tourism in Australia could have satisfied those requirements to draw such Chinese attention.
Again, Madhavan (2014) had studied what drives tourist’s motivations for travel, especially
keeping in mind senior tourists. This study also concludes that higher prices and under-
developed accommodation facilities, serve to demotivate travels. Given that the data found
the second highest proportion of tourists to be above 40 years of age, it is suggested that
Australian tourism also keeps the same in mind to provide ample affordable travel facilities.

5TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
2.50%
50.00%
20.00%
27.50%
Age of Tourists
<20
20+
30+
40+
Figure 1: Age of Tourists
52.50%
47.50%
Gender of Tourists
Female
Male
Figure 2: Gender of Tourists

6TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
CHINA
UNITED KINGDOM
ITALY
VIETNAM
JAPAN
NEPAL
AUSTRALIA
SINGAPORE
INDIA
IRELAND
MALAYSIA
EGYPT
TURKEY
CAMBODIA
FRANCE
BELGIUM
SCOTLAND
THAILAND
ARGENTINA
SPAIN
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
12.0%
14.0%
12.5%
10.0%
10.0%
7.5%
7.5%
5.0%
5.0%
5.0%
5.0%
5.0%
5.0%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
Country of Origin
Figure 3: Country of origin of people in the sample
Findings
As per the sampled data, 55% of the tourists were visiting Australia for holiday
purpose. The second most popular reason identified was to study, with 32.5% reporting the
same. It is to be noted in relation to this finding, that as per Wearing et al. (2016), education
tourism is an emerging market in Australia with considerable scope for growth. 10% reported
that they were here for business and 2.5% said that they were visiting friends.
Business
Holiday
Meeting friends
Study
0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00%
10.00%
55.00%
2.50%
32.50%
Reason for visit

7TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Figure 4: Cause for Visit
The Opera house was found to be the most popular destination with 20% reporting
that they wanted to visit the place. The Queen Victoria Bridge, Harbour Bridge and Circular
Quay had 17.5% people naming them each. The rocks had 15% of the votes. Hence these are
the most sought after destination in Australia. These are followed by the Royal National Park
withb7.5% and Anzac park and the city of Sydney with 2.5% each.
ANZAC PARK
CIRCULAR QUAY
HARBOUR BRIDGE
OPERA HOUSE
QVB
ROYAL NATIONAL PARK
SYDNEY
THE ROCKS
0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% 12.0% 14.0% 16.0% 18.0% 20.0%
2.5%
17.5%
17.5%
20.0%
17.5%
7.5%
2.5%
15.0%
Popularity of Destinations in Australia
Figure 5: Destinations in Australia by popularity
25% of the tourists in the sample were found to be retired individuals, 40% were
students and 35% were employed.

8TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
35.00%
25.00%
40.00%
Occupation of Tourists
Employed
Retired
Student
Figure 6: Occupation of the tourists
Out of the total number of people who are reportedly holidaying in the sample, the
majority, 40.91% were found to be on a 7 to 15 days trip. Around 31.82% were visiting for a
3 to 7 day trip. So, about 72.73 % holiday for 3 to 15 days. 13.64%. 13.64% reported that
they were holidaying for 1 to 3 days. 4.55% said that their trip was between 15 to 30 days and
9.09% came to holiday for over a month. These numbers describe the probability distribution
of the days of stay of a person holidaying in the city (Salkind, 2016).

9TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
1-3 3-7 7-15 15+ 30+
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%
45.00%
13.64%
31.82%
40.91%
4.55%
9.09%
Days spent holidaying in Australia
Figure 7: Days spent holidaying in Australia
75% of the tourists in Business trips were found to spend 3 to 7 days whereas 25%
were found to be there for more than 30 days. This may be interpreted as the probability
of an individual on a business tour to be in the city for 3-7 days and greater than 30
days respectively (Rumsey, 2015).
3-7 30+
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
75.00%
25.00%
Days spent on Business Trips in
Australia
Figure 8: Days spent on Business Trips in Australia

10TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
The most popular destinations with foreign students were found to be the Harbour
bridge and Opera house. The opera house attracted all kinds of tourists. Circular Quay, QVB
and the rocks were the most favoured spots for those on Holidays. Those on business trips
were found to be limited to Sydney, the Rocks and the Opera House. The following stacked
column chart shows the popularity of each destination for each group (Winston, 2016). Now,
taking into account a study by Gardiner, Grace & King (2014) which found that hedonistic
experiences are the primary drivers of tourists in Australia today, it is corroborated with the
findings where sites like the Opera house draw more attention than other sites which may be
more aligned with functionality. In fact all the top destinations lean more towards hedonistic
experiences. This is also reflected in how holidaying forms the top most reason for visiting
the country.
ANZAC
PARK CIRCULAR
QUAY HARBOUR
BRIDGE OPERA
HOUSE QVB ROYAL
NATIONAL
PARK
SYDNEY THE ROCKS
0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
120.0%
140.0%
160.0%
180.0%
200.0%
7.7%
38.5%
23.1%
15.4%
7.7%
7.7%
31.8%
9.1%
9.1%
22.7% 9.1%
18.2%
50.0%
25.0% 25.0%
100.0%
Destination popularity by tourist's reason for
visit
Business Holiday Meeting friends Study

11TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Figure 9: Destination popularity as per tour reasons
Conclusion
The most popular reason to visit Australia was found to be holidaying. However
education was also identified to be a notable reason. A tourist holidaying in the country was
mostly found to spend between 7 to 15 days. Chance of people on business trips spending 1
to 3 days is 75% and 25% spend over a month. The most popular destination was found to be
the Opera house which had attendance from all identified groups of tourists, especially
students and people meeting friends. Those on business trips were found limited to Sydney.
The Harbour Bridge was yet another spot popular with students and Circular Quay was found
to be the destination where most holiday goers went.
Limitation:
The study is limited in terms of data and variables. The volume of tourists to the
country per year is large. However the sample size is very small in comparison. The study
should increase the size of data and variety of variables for more in-depth and reliable results
(Walliman, 2017). The study also does not take into account impact of any changes arising
out of seasonal variation which may reveal significant trends as per Veal (2017).
Recommendation
It is recommended that the tourism authorities look towards developing education
tourism further as the number of students visiting the country is seen to be noteworthy. It is
also recommended that more attractions be invested in Sydney for drawing short term
attention, for those who may be in the city for Business purposes. Finally, it is recommended

12TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
that cost of travel be kept affordable and it is ensured that enough accommodation and
transport facilities are set up and maintained.

13TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Reference
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14TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
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