Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ad number
Theme
Message
7
Visitor
testimonial
'. . . If you want a peaceful country or coastal break at one of our
most precious destinations, now is the time to go . . .'
'My family and I visited Gippsland immediately after the fires. While
it is right that there has been some fire damage in Gippsland, this
has only affected a very small part of the region and most of the
areas and attractions that we love remain untouched. We were able
to go swimming, boating, hiking and participate in all the things we
love. Basically, it was like nothing ever happened and the local
tourism operators were so happy to see us.'
Darrell Jones, Bayswater
8
Celebrity
endorsement
Denise Drysdale . . . one of our biggest fans
'I'm a great fan of Gippsland and I was so saddened by the news
of the bushfires in the region. However, having just spent a number
of weeks travelling throughout Gippsland I was surprised to see
that many of Gippsland's fascinating landscapes remain relatively
untouched and it's pretty much business as usual as far as the
tourism industry goes. I strongly urge the Victorian people to come
and see for themselves just how resilient Gippsland's wondrous
natural landscape is . . .'
Denise Drysdale
9
Product
diversification -
Festivals and
Events
Look what's happening in Gippsland in February.
Our events calendar is full of fantastic reasons why you should let
yourself be inspired by Gippsland this February. Whether you're a
racegoer, a music lover or a fan of fiery foods we have it all going on
in Gippsland this summer (events calendar included).
region so potential tourists can see a clear relationship between the region and the celebrity.
An advertisement communicating community readiness also proved effective in evoking an
emotional response among tourists, which, according to previous research, can often lead to a
travel decision (Walters, Sparks and Herington 2010).
In contrast to the existing literature, the study found that messages appealing to curiosity, as
used for example in the case of the Victorian bushfi res in 2006 (Sanders et al . 2008), were not
well received by respondents. In addition, one of the most commonly used messages - 'open for
business' also performed relatively badly in this study, with responses indicating that the messages
lacked credibility. The study also found that price discounting is unlikely to capture the tourist's
attention and consequently generate interest in the destination.
The timeframe within which tourists will return to a disaster-struck destination is often one
of the biggest concerns for DMOs and operators alike. This study revealed that in the case of a
bushfi re event, tourists generally are likely to return within 12-24 months following a disaster,
and it would therefore be diffi cult for this particular destination to encourage new visitors
within 12 months. Nevertheless, the study did suggest that regular visitors (who have visited fi ve
or more times in the past) are more likely to return within six months of the disaster than
irregular visitors (i.e. those who have visited only once).
Finally, the study addressed the question raised by Beirman (2006), that is, whether it is in fact
appropriate for a destination to continue promotional activities during and immediately
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