University Tourism Business Plan: Market Analysis and Strategy Report

This report presents a comprehensive business plan for an adventure tourism company targeting Asian tourists in Australia's Northern Territory. The plan begins with an executive summary highlighting the focus on low-price adventure tourism in Arnhem Land. It includes a detailed market analysis of the adventure tourism industry, emphasizing its growth and the competitive landscape. A SWOT analysis identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report also details the company's branding strategy, including the brand name 'Off-roads Ecstasy,' designed to appeal to adventurous travelers. Marketing strategies, including the marketing mix (4 P's), are discussed, along with sales and profit estimations. The plan aims to attract Asian tourists with unique experiences in natural settings, offering soft adventure activities. The report concludes by emphasizing the potential for success in a growing market, with a focus on sustainable tourism and competitive pricing.

Running head: TOURISM
Tourism
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1TOURISM
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Market Analysis...............................................................................................................................3
Situation Analysis............................................................................................................................5
Competitor Analysis:.......................................................................................................................6
Branding Position............................................................................................................................6
Chosen Market Segment: Identification of Needs, Wants and Willingness to Pay for Service......9
Tourist Service to be offered.........................................................................................................10
Tourist Service Distribution: Market Entry and Promotion..........................................................12
Marketing Mix (4 P’s)...................................................................................................................13
Sales and Profit Estimation............................................................................................................15
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................15
Reference List................................................................................................................................17

2TOURISM
Executive Summary:
Considering the increasing popularity of adventure tourism amongst the people of Asia,
the present business plan intends to attract the attention of the Asian tourist base, who might be
likely to be thrilled about undertaking adventure tourism in Australia. The target market
comprises of the Asian tourists, and this particular tourist company intends to offer low-price
tourist service to the Asian citizens in the selected areas of Northern Territory. The Northern
Territory of Australia has been chosen, so that the travellers can be led to the forest, where they
can explore shady monsoon forest lands, and ancient rock art, while also getting thrilled at the
sight of wildlife existence. The aim of the present market report is to present a marketing plan
that analyses the market situation for this emerging company and the competitor analysis of the
tourist company that is going to be established, Further, the report also offers an insight into the
marketing and distribution strategy as adopted by the company in order to ensure high sales
growth since the beginning.

3TOURISM
Introduction:
Adventure Tourism refers to a distinct form of tourism that enables the tourists and
travellers experience an adrenalin rush and derive thrilling experience from the places visited.
Australia is regarded as the best place for adventure tourism, simply because the country offers
exciting opportunity to the travellers to undertake adventurous activities in various parts- Gold
Coast, Canberra, and Gold Coast. The adventure tourism in Australia allows its travellers to
enjoy adventurous activities starting with rock climbing, skiing, snowboarding, to parasailing
and bungee jumping (Pomfret, 2006). While the number of domestic visitors participating in
adventure tourism in Australia remains as high as always, the majority of the participants are
international tourists, and after Europe, the largest overnight adventure tourism participants were
coming from Asia, especially China (Jin & Sparks, 2017).
Considering the increasing popularity of adventure tourism amongst the people of Asia,
the present business plan intends to attract the attention of the Asian tourist base, who might be
likely to be thrilled about undertaking adventure tourism in Australia. The Northern Territory of
Australia has been chosen, where the travellers can be led to the forest, where they can explore
shady monsoon forest lands, and ancient rock art, while also getting thrilled at the sight of
wildlife existence. Arnhem Land is one of the true wilderness areas that the tourists might wish
to explore, which is not only popular as the most spectacular natural destination, but also as a
habitat to abundant wildlife that includes salt water crocodiles, dugong, buffalo, migratory birds
and nesting turtles (McLennan et al., 2017). Besides, the place is also known as a great fishing
spot that is sure to appeal to the taste and choice of the adventure tourists. However, despite the
immense potential of the area to attract the attention of the tourists, it is important to critically
analyse the prospects of such a tourist service offering as far as Asian consumer base is

4TOURISM
concerned, and to comprehend how far the Asian market shall permit its consumers to spend
money in such tourist activities. Further, the report, presenting a market plan, also intends to
chalk out branding and promotional strategies that can help in attracting the attention of the
potential consumer base.
Market Analysis:
The adventure tourism industry is still considerably young and a newly emerging one,
and even twenty years from today, this form of tourism was completely unheard of. As of now,
almost half of the international tourists are travelling to Australia are adventure tourists, and the
average duration of their stay at Australian adventure tourist spots is approximately 15 days.
Compared to the year of 2013, the year of 2014 witnessed a considerable rise in the number of
international tourists coming to Australia for this form of tourism (Ruhanen et al., 2015). There
are very few tourist companies in Australia that are offering tours and trips to the adventure
tourists. Although Adventure Tours Australia (ATA) does offer adventure tourism service to the
people of Australia and abroad, it is suitable for the active budget tourists only. Herein lays the
competitive advantage of the organization to permeate the market and attract the attention of the
tourist consumers (Khan, 1999). Despite the explosive growth of tourism in Australia and
abroad, there is very little scope of adventure tourism in the Asian countries. It should be noted
in this connection that adventure tourism is defined as a guided tour activity, that involves
outdoor recreation that offers excitement to the client through visiting the sights of the natural
terrain as well as offering specialized equipments. However, due to the huge expenses involved,
most of the commercial adventure tourist activities involve nothing beyond mere skiing and
surfing activities across the Australian locations. It approximately takes $400 for a single person
to travel to Australia and experience adventure tourism (Ruhanen et al., 2015). Needless to state,

5TOURISM
that the living cost in Australia is high, and the accommodation and travelling cost is even
higher.
The market of adventure tourism is highly competitive, with most of the companies
charging higher each day, simply because of the growing popularity of this form of tourism
amongst the young people, who are mostly reckless while spending money as well. Most
importantly, the cost of hiring specially trained guides, in supporting the adventurous activities
of the tourists as well as the specialized equipments provided to the tourists add up to make the
travel highly experience. In such a situation, while most of the companies are charging exorbitant
amount of money, the selection of adventure tourism along the forest of Arnhem Land is sure to
cost low. It will present an array of nature and adventure based activities, which will require less
supervision and equipments that in other cases would have made the tourist activity expensive.
The people can wander around the local place, and experience adventure simply by having camp
meals, that will be an integral aspect of the adventure program only, and this can also save the
accommodation expenses as well. According to a research study conducted by West Australia
Tourism Research, a tourist opting for Adventure Tourism will tend to look out for four aspects-
 Unique natural scenery
 Exploration of the local culture
 Pristine natural environment
 Beautiful coastal scenery
By satisfying the above criteria by taking the travellers through the forest regions of
Australia, it is possible to satisfy the requirements of the tourists at a cheap cost. As and when a
tourist company tries to provide hard adventure trips to its consumers, it is likely to lose out on

6TOURISM
its consumers, for the higher expenses involved as well as the higher risk factors involved therein
as well (Beech, J. and Chadwick, 2006). Research suggests that as far as the international tourist
market of Australia is concerned, Australia ranks first. However, other countries such as India
and Japan are exhibiting equal enthusiasm in exploring beyond Melbourne and Sydney, and taste
the local flavours of the regional, remote locations of Australia. Since this is expected to be
cheaper, this is expected to be highly profitable for the tourists here. However, despite their
intense passion for adventure, the tourists coming from Asian continent are still non-athletic by
nature, and hence soft adventure activities can do wonders for them.
Situation Analysis:
In order to critically analyse the future prospects of the tourist company in future, a
SWOT analysis has been conducted, explaining the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat of
the company in the Australian market.
Strength Weakness
Low cost of operation
Highly competitive price for the tourist product and
services
Unique, high-end service offering
Soft adventure activities and sigh-seeing to make
the experience unique
Newly emerging company, and lacks recognition in
the domestic and foreign market
Targeted customer base located in Asia with whom
it is difficult to establish connection
Low price strategy at the beginning may lead to
financial loss at the start
Opportunity Threat
Promote sustainable tourism and attract consumer
attention and government investment
The Asian GDP is unstable, with China’s GDP
dropping to a 26 year low, whereby tourist may not

7TOURISM
Growing popularity amongst the millennial to
undertake adventure tourism in the less explored
regions of Australia
The adventure tourist market is expected to grow at
the rate of 10% (Huveneers et al., 2017).
immediately opt for luxurious and unnecessary
activities (Divisekera & Nguyen, 2014)
Lack of trained and skilled tourist guides can
hinder company’s growth
Intense competition from ATA, Intrepid Travel,
Cosmos and Globus.
Competitor Analysis:
It is also important to develop an understanding of the competitors of the tourist
company, as it needs to formulate its strategies accordingly. First of all, the major competitors in
the market are ATA, Interprid Travel, Cosmos and Globus who are recognized tourist service
providers and can easily become the first choice of the tourists coming from a different
continent. Besides, Kangaroo Island Adventure Tours, Wilderness 4WD Adventures, Adventure
North are some of the less recognized competitors who however can pose threat to the present
company owing to high quality services at extremely competitive prices.
Branding Position: Brand Name and Marketing Image:
Positioning of a product is defined as a strategy adopted by a business organization to
create a perception within the consumers regarding a specific product or service. Accordingly,
brand positioning is an important concept that helps the organizations generate a meaningful
image or identity for the product through which the consumer can associate with the core values
of the company or the fundamental attributes of its services (Aarstad et al., 2015). There is no
point denying the fact that branding has become an inextricable part of product marketing, and as

8TOURISM
consumers are flooded with too many tourist products and services to choose from, it is
important for the tourist company to stand out of its competitors (Page & Connell, 2006). As far
as tourist branding of the company is concerned, it is primarily important to develop an
understanding of the core brand values that the company is connecting itself with. As it is a well-
known fact the brand name represents the unique brand values of an organization that helps to
distinguish its service from its competitors. The core brand values of this company are :
 Adventurous as it intends to attract the attention of the young, energetic and passionate
travellers
 Natural as it helps in connecting the tourists with the natural environment of the forest
regions of the Northern Territory
 Fun and daring as it offers an opportunity to the travellers to explore beyond the
mediocre, monotonous daily life.
Since the brand name of the tourist company is bound to offer a visual representation of
the company’s unique product characteristics, both functional and non-functional, keeping a
meaningful brand name in compliance with the core brand values (Okonkwo, 2016).
Accordingly, the brand name Off-roads Ecstasy has been chosen. It is also important to explain
the reason behind the choice of this name. The very word “Off-roads” implies doing something
off the track, something exceptionally adventurous, that few people would lack the courage to
do. On the other hand, since the company also intends to help the travellers explore the tranquil,
natural beauty of an exotic culture that the tourists must feel ecstatic about, the word Ecstasy has
also been added to the brand name. The very brand name is sure to excite the tourists of the
foreign location, and owing to the absence of hard adventure activities, the company uses a brand
name that is not essentially suggesting any hard core physical activity.

9TOURISM
The marketing image also plays a crucial role in this connection as it will help the
consumers associate with the brand and form meaningful connections. The consumer base that
the company intends to attract comprises of Asian tourists, especially from China and India,
belonging to the age group of 18 to 35 years. Accordingly, the marketing image should be one
that must appeal to the enthusiastic mindset of the young, active and passionate tourists, and
hence the use of prominent logo and relevant slogan is highly required (Dowling & Donnelly,
2013). At the very same time, it should be noted that the tourists undertaking the tourist service
of the Off-roads Ecstasy will also look for the opportunity of cherishing the natural environment
of the forests, its greenery and interacting with the Aboriginal people of the region. Hence, a
mixture of a robust adventure and delightful journey needs to be expressed through the logo.
Accordingly, the logo chosen for the company is as follows:
As seen from the above image, the logo image is clearly suggesting refreshment and
relaxation derived through experiencing a beautiful natural scenario, while also suggesting thhe

10TOURISM
beautiful opportunity of a rocky, daring adventures to be enjoyed by the tourists at the very same
time as well. It is important here that the company will promote its sustainable approach to
tourism, while marketing its service and the use of green colour in the logo will help in
reinforcing the same. It should be remembered that brand image creation is an integral aspect of
the brand promotion of any company (Lim et al., 20 e brand image that can help in rendering a
sense of uniqueness to the product. Since the core 14). Accordingly, it is important to create a
strong, favourable and most importantly a unique brand values of the company, as promoted
through its logo, suggests the opportunity for relaxation as well as adventure, the non-athletic
consumer base will get attracted to this company only, and this in turn will reduce the
substitutability of the company.
The selection of an effective and interesting slogan is equally important as it helps in
reinforcing the sense of brand. According to academic literature, the destination marketers often
use slogans related directly to the geographical position of the destination that the consumer is
anyway aware of. Hence, conveying more inspirational and concrete message about the brand is
important. The Asian people are still unaware of the existence of the forests across the Northern
Territory, and hence the use of geographical names of the tourist destinations will fail to allure
the consumers. The slogan chosen for this tourist company is “Live it, Feel it, Believe it”. Since
most of the travellers are coming from Asia, the slogan will create an urge of travelling and
exploring the unexplored region of the Northern Territory forests, and the word “believe” clearly
will rouse enthusiasm to see the unseen and to explore the unexplored (Aaker, 2013). While one
will be motivated to live through the forest adventures, the idea of feeling refreshed at the sight
of the delicate beauty of nature will also arouse love amongst the tourists.

11TOURISM
Chosen Market Segment: Identification of Needs, Wants and Willingness to Pay for
Service:
The market segmentation is highly important as it helps the tourist company determine
who the expected consumer base is, how to target them, and how to promote the products before
the relevant customer base as well. As far as the market segment of Off-roads Ecstasy is
concerned, the company intends to attract the attention of the tourists of Asia engaged in
recreational activities and enjoying active lifestyles. Since the service offered is adventure
tourism, the company intends to focus primarily on the male tourists as they tend to wander for
adventure as well. The age group of the adventure tourists will be between 18 years to 40 years,
and the marital status of the consumer base will be mostly unmarried, though a few married
couples may also admire the idea of undertaking adventures. The target consumer base will
comprise of the travellers from Asia- China and India. Although offering tourist service at a
highly competitive price is one of the most attractive features of the company, yet adventure
tourist activities will require sufficient expenditure on part of the company, and hence the
consumers belonging to the upper middle class to upper class of the society will be only targeted.
The household income of the tourists must be above $50,000 (Horner & Swarbrooke, 2016). As
far as the psychographic segmentation of the consumers is concerned, it should be noted that the
adventurous, passionate, energetic and yet nature-loving tourists have only been targeted (Gunter
& Furnham, 2014). The tourist consumers are fitness freaks, as only then will they be attracted to
the natural beauty of the forests and would invest money on the outdoor activities in the forest
areas. However, since these forest tourist adventure activities are less physically demanding, and
the Asian people do not prefer hard adventure activities, the soft adventure lovers, non-athletic
people have been targeted.