Destination Image at Hurstbridge Victoria as a Tourists Destination
Introduction
The significance of the aesthetic characteristics of a tourist’s destination is established and developed in the tourism literature as natural beauty is ranked among the major motivational factors that promote tourism. The aesthetic qualities of a place affect tourism, and a destination experience critical in determining the tourist’s level of satisfaction revisits intention and loyalty. The ability of tourism to identify beauty is an essential concept of human capacity, and subjective exposure can lead to an elevated condition that is unique that is a psychologically desirable state of an individual. The nature of beauty is associated with a wholeness feeling, pleasure lessening of anxiety, relaxation, contentment, and joy (Kol, Zigern, Lange & Korablev, 2019).
Covid 19 pandemic has significantly altered social, economic activities across industries. The epidemic has changed the healthy way of people’s way of carrying out operations across the world. However, Covid 19 pandemic has provided an opportunity for the development of future tourism and hospitality industry. The epidemic has offered a chance to develop and enhance the further connection between places and people. Differentiation of the services and experiences availed within different destination centers are critical towards the establishment of competitive tourism destinations. This report extensively explores Hurstbridge as a Tourist destination and makes an applicable recommendation to enhance its competitiveness as a capable tourist’s destination place.
Hurstbridge and Major Challenges as a Tourist Destination
According to MacCannell (1999), tourism destinations are developed and arranged around a staged authenticity concept. Tourist destinations can be primarily divided into two major stages that entail the backstage and front. The front step involves the performance stage and place of encounter. Backstage, on the other hand, is a tourist destination developed to protect the most venerable parts of heritage and culture. Geographically, Hurstbridge is one of the sub-towns within Victoria found approximately 28km North-East of Melbourne, Australia. The region is found within the Shire of Nillumbik local area with an approximated population of around 3500 people. It lies between the Panton Hill on the Eastern side, Arthur’s Creek to the north, and the Wattle Glen region on the southern side. Hurstbridge placed on the heart of a rural setting due to its surrounding natural environment. The area is small in size and has a rural setting based on its logical environmental configuration and surrounding (Kol, Zigern, Lange & Korablev, 2019).
The Hurstbridge calendar is made of Hurstbridge Farmers Market and the annual Wattle Festival that happens on each first Sunday of the month and August, respectively. The traditional aspect of the village and natural beauty of Hurstbridge ranked among the region’s competitive tourist destinations. The region’s proximity to Melbourne and the availability of public transport that connects the area make it’s a potential tourist destination. The natural bush provided a unique travel experience making it a competitive destination for visitors, especially from CDB. However, the region is faced with the following key challenges;
- Lack of adequate and competitive accommodation facilities
- Inadequate awareness
- Smalls enterprises
- A limited number of opened businesses on weekends
- Limited attraction sites within the region
- Small population that makes it hard to offer supportive services to the many tourists
Recommended Target Market
Through a critical analysis of the geographic position of Hurstbridge, Melbourne is a potential market. The Hurstbridge emerges through indigenous trees and ends at the commercial center of the rural area. The region is characterized by nurseries ad orchards and a railway line that was exerted in 1912. The railway line offers the transportation network of fruits to Melbourne town. The settlement is around the Railway Bridge, with a sparse population with farming as the main economic activity. Transport and communication are crucial elements in the development of the tourism destination. Significantly, their existence of a well-developed road network facilitates the movement of people across the town critical in the development of the region as a tourism destination center (Lu, Narsilio, Aditya & Johnston, 2017).
Melbourne is classified among the most densely populated regions in Australia. It is the highest populated city in the Australian city of Oceania and Australia. The population is a critical determinant in the level of success of a tourism region. Proximity to a great community offers a fair chance that will promote tourism to the Hurstbridge region. Melbourne is found within the coastline of the Port Phillip and spreads into the hinterland inwards towards Macedon and Dandenong ranges. The area has a population of more than5 million Melbournians comprising close of 20% of the entire Australia population. Based on the 2018 economic analysis, the city was at a relative wealth of $100.316 billion. The nature of the economy promotes tourism, and developing Hurstbridge will be a critical market that will tap the population in teh city.
Based on the analysis of Melbourne’s demographic composition, the country has a more substantial proportion of youths compared to the elderly. According to tourism statistics, youths form the largest market for adventurous destinations compared to other age groups. The composition of the youths in Melbourne is a ready and potential market that will enhance the competitiveness of Hurstbridge as a tourism destination center. Hurstbridge provides natural bush experience with undeveloped regions that will offer suitable tourism destination for the youths from Melbourne city. Melbourne provides an ample and youthful population that provides and a market for the Hurstbridge tourism sector. However, improvement of the infrastructure and accommodation facilities will enable the region to the more competitive as a destination center (Algieri, Aquino & Succurro, 2018).
Recommended Visitor Experiences
The overall tourism destination competitiveness is defined based on five critical components that entail; accessibility based on the destination based on transport infrastructures; attraction of the targets; destination facilities that include accommodation services; price to the visitor; perceptions and price (Kol, Zigern, Lange & Korablev, 2019).
Lack of public awareness of Hurstbridge as a tourist destination
Like other industries, tourism is a competitive industry that entails the development of effective and efficient approaches. The approach used should be highly adaptable and acceptable and tested to promote competitiveness. Marketing is one of the most significant departments in the development of a tourist destination. The market encourages and makes a tourism destination to be known across geographical regions. Strategies are more necessary in addressing a competitive environment. There should be enhanced campaigned by local authority through modern marketing approaches to promote the competitiveness of the businesses in the region.
Creating brand awareness through Virtual Reality to the Melbourne population of the existence of Hurstbridge will be critical in promoting its activities. Fabricated reality will enhance the marketing of the destination. The local authority should develop marketing incentives that are critical and ideal in the region’s general performance as a tourist destination (Elkins et al., 2017).
Lack of adequate and competitive accommodation facilities
Accommodation is one of the major determinants in the level of success of a tourist destination area. One of the significant challenges of Hurstbridge is the lack of accommodation facilities in the region. The region has a low population, and the attraction of many tourists will entail the advancement and development of accommodative facilities. Construction of the cheap accommodation facilities will promote a large number of nature tourists who will collectively support the activities of the region. The competitiveness of the sector as a tourism destination zone will largely depend on the strategic approach to be employed to attract the youths in the area. Based on psychographic, youths are more interested in adventures and natural settings, and the region provides a natural aesthetic environment critical for the youths Algieri, Aquino & Succurro, 2018).
The competitiveness of a tourist destination largely depends on the nature of supportive services available and the level of competitiveness of the destination in the long run. Lack of awareness and quality accommodation services are two major hindrances to the development of the Hurstbridge as a preferred tourism destination center for the Melbourne population in Australia. Publicity enables a region to be known by many and promotes its competitiveness in the industry in the long run. Tourisms destinations largely depend on publications to advertise their approaches and people’s understanding of their role and implications in society. Accommodation services are critical components in the tourism sector, and they determine the success of a destination in the long run (Bowden & Doughney, 2010).
Conclusion
In conclusion, tourism destinations are viewed from different perspectives from each and every tourist. The lenses of individual observations are based on social norms, identity, and perceptions. In order to value the tourist destination, we should incorporate interpretations of a tourist destination based on different perspectives on different people’s understandings. Social, economic changes can alter perceptions of a tourist destination. The tourism offering across destinations is described as a series of experiences achieved through a combination of different services and products offered. Based on the visitors, the total experience is the product in the tourism organization. As a product, tourism is developed on expectations, the experience offered, and the attitude of the individual towards a destination. Promotion is a critical component that promotes awareness of the existence of the products offered in the short run and the long-term competitiveness of tourism destinations. Competition of ta destiny largely depends on the ability of an individual to develop a comprehensive plan that will offer tourism offers to the optimal.
The success of Hurstbridge in the tourism sector after the Covid 19 will depend on;
- Improvement of the accommodative services
- Public awareness creating through brand creation
References
Algieri, B., Aquino, A., & Succurro, M. (2018). International competitive advantages in tourism: An eclectic view. Tourism management perspectives, 25, 41-52.
Bowden, M. P., & Doughney, J. (2010). Socio-economic status, cultural diversity and the aspirations of secondary students in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Higher education, 59(1), 115.
Elkins, M., Coate, B., De Silva, A., Boymal, J., & Ozmen, M. (2017). The Economic Impact of the City of Melbourne’s Investment in the Arts: Analysis of Artists, Audiences and the General Public Survey Responses.
Kol, O., Zigern-Korn, N., Lange, A. K., & Korablev, V. (2019, September). Integrated Logistics as a Competitive Advantage in Tourism Industry of Country. In International Conference on Digital Technologies in Logistics and Infrastructure (ICDTLI 2019). Atlantis Press.
Lu, Q., Narsilio, G. A., Aditya, G. R., & Johnston, I. W. (2017). Economic analysis of vertical ground source heat pump systems in Melbourne. Energy, 125, 107-117.
The tourism offering is a “series of experiences” achieved through the combination of a
diverse array of products and services. For visitors, the product is the total experience,
covering the entire amalgam of all aspects and components of the product, including
attitudes and expectations. According to Middleton and Clarke (2001), the overall
tourism offering might be defined in terms of five main components, namely: destination
attractions; destination facilities and services; accessibility of the destination (including
transport); images, brands and perceptions; price to the visitor. Hence, destination is
a provider of experiences. Destinations can increasingly be seen as “clusters” or
aggregations of businesses, consisting of mainly SMTEs. Moreover, from a supply
perspective, a tourism destination is a spatial unit encompassing a complex system of
initiatives, plans and actions; and a diversity of actors, roles, and environmental factors
that interact to determine its performance (Lazzeretti and Petrillo, 2006). The quality of
this system is of vital importance to destination’s performance. According to Poon (2002)
tourists generally perceive and evaluate their visit as an experience, even though the
various services are offered by different operators. In fact, their visit consists of
a structured series of services and producers, which operate separately. The value-chain
of a destination illustrates the number of various actors involved in offering all
tourism-related services and products; and it is a structured series of businesses,
interactions, resources and knowledge streams involved in the creation and delivery
of value to the end-consumer. This creates the need for integration of supply chain
activities, from determination of consumer needs through product development,
production and distribution. It is exactly because of this fragmentation that all actors
taking part in the value-chain should deal with issues such as integration, collaboration,
networking of their activities (Poon, 2002). Nowadays tourists desire and expect a series
of services that allow multiple options and experiences involving many interrelated
actors in a destination. These enterprises offer a series of services: transportation,
accommodation, shopping, catering, entertainment, etc. The destination’s value-chain i