Generation Y and Tourism in Australia - Research Proposal Example

Running Header: Generation Y and Tourism Your name: Course name: Professors’ name: Date BU2010 Business Research Proposal Summary Student Name(s): e-mail ________________________________ ______________________________ Proposed Topic:  Gen Y and Marketing  Gen Y and Sports Marketing  Gen Y and Tourism  Gen Y and Management  Gen Y and Finance  Other 6-10 key journal articles (author name, year of publication, title of article, title of journal, volume #, issue #, page # - e.g. Boaden, R. (2006). Leadership development: Does it make a difference? Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 27(1/2), 5-27) 1. Solnet, D. (2008). Generation Y as Hospitality Employees: Framing a research Agenda. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 15 (2), 59-68). 2. Prentice, R. (2001). Experiential cultural tourism: museums and the marketing of the New Romanticism of evoked authenticity. Museum Management and Curatorship 19(1), pp. 5–26 3. Reisinger, Y., C. J. Steiner (2006) Conceptualizing object authenticity. Annals of Tourism Research 33(1), 65–86) 4. Prentice, R., V. Andersen (2003) Festival as creative destination. Annals of Tourism Research 30(1), 7-30) 5. Steiner, C. J., Y. Reisinger (2006) Understanding existential authenticity. Annals of Tourism Research 33(2), 299–318) 6. Walker, Marian (2010), Cities as Creative Spaces for Cultural Tourism: A Plea for the Consideration of History, PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 8(3) Special Issue. (p.17-26). 2010) 7. Batey, H. & Woodbridge, M. (2007). Networking the Generation Y way: A discussion paper on the interconnectivity between the traditional hospitality industry and the emerging Gen Y workforce. ORION Journal of International Hotel Management, 2(3), 29–35) 8. Baum, T. (2002). Skills training in the hospitality sector: a review of issues. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 54(3), 343–363). 9. Broadbridge, A.M., Maxwell, G. A., & Ogden, S.M. (2007). Students’ view of retail employment: Key findings from Generations Ys. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 35(12), 982–992). 10. Earle, H.A. (2003). Building a workplace of choice: Using the work environment to attract and retain top talent. Journal of Facilities Management, 2(3), 244–257). Three Key Research Questions/Study Aims: 1. ____to find out how often the Australian Generation Y takes spend time overseas _______________________________________________________________ 2. _______to find out how the percentage of the Australian Generation Y pursue travel and tourism as their career paths____________________________________________________________ 3. _________to find out the percentage of Australian Generation Y take a break of one year between the time after university and their careers__________________________________________________________ Data Collection Method to be used (choose 1 primary method) Qualitative:  Indepth one-on-one Interviews  Focus group Interviews  other______________________________________________________________ Quantitative:  Experimental design_________________________________________________  Survey research:  Telephone survey  Mail survey  Email/online survey  Face to face survey  Self-administered survey  Other___________________________________________________ Proposed Sample population (who will you collect data from) __individuals aged between 20-35 years old____________________ Proposed Sample size: _____20-100 people _____ Additional Comments: ethical issues will be considered in the research and evaluation methods Title Generation Y and Tourism in Australia Summary/ Literature Review Financial crisis and stiff competition has posed a great challenge to global businesses particularly those in the tourism and travel industry. In order to overcome this challenge, marketers have engaged themselves in market segmentation or selection of the market in order to find new market opportunities for their services and products by attracting consumers. In tourism and travel, market segmentation is one of the strongest and most effective tools that target the industry’s profitable market. In Australia, market segmentation comprises of the seniors, baby boomers, generation X, generation Y and the youngest; generation Z (Furr, Bonn, & Hausman, 2002, pp.139-174). In this case, the project investigates on the tourism and travel habits of generation Y. According to a study carried out by the Roy Morgan Research Center (RMRC) in 2006 and 2007 in Australia, generation Y individuals have similar percentages in relation to gender. Moreover, this study demonstrated that a majority of them complete HSC and join universities. It also indicates that 35% of the generation works full time, whereas 31 % works on part-time basis. It was also noted that the generation mostly comprises of students whose majority (35%) live in NSW. Additionally, the study showed that generation Y individuals are mostly aged between 18 and 29 years. Most of the individuals in this generation are studying, or have had important education studies (Batey & Woodbridge, 2007, pp. 29-35). More than 70% of the individuals are in the labor force, and consists of moderate to heavy internet users. Furthermore, over 50% of the generation also watches commercial TV on normal weekdays. In fact, this generation was found to have little interest on the traditional media like radio, and hardly read newspapers as compared to the older generations (Furr, Bonn, & Hausman, 2002, pp.139-174). With respect to their preferred holidays, the study indicates that the generation mostly prefers short breaks than the long ones. This generation does not engage in active holidays whereby it could engage in physically challenging tasks as expected. Instead, these individuals prefer holidays in stylish and vibrant cosmopolitan destinations where they can reenergize themselves. Although the individuals seek relaxation and rest, they are more active on holidays. Unlike other generations, generation Y often employs internet in booking travel. In their traveling and holidaying, a majority of the generation goes shopping; visits friends, attend discos and cinemas, eats at restaurants, experiences night life, has beach holiday, and goes surfing (Batey & Woodbridge, 2007, pp. 29-35). It also has various destination preferences in relation to long trip holidays. For instance, most of them prefer visiting Asia, America, Europe and Australia to New Zealand. Other studies between 2000 and 2006 show that generation Y employ air transport in their traveling and tourism activities. In addition, the generation is known to take the shortest trips, and spends considerably little money in every trip it takes. In terms of social life, generation Y individuals are said to spend half of their nights with relative and friends, and it has the highest percentage as compared to the other generations. Furthermore, within this time, it is clear that the generation has a relatively high proportion that undertakes active outdoor and social activities (Solnet, 2008, pp. 59-68). Moreover, Batey & Woodbridge (2007, pp. 29-35) maintain that in terms of accommodation changes, generation Y is shown to share their nights of travel with relative or friends. Nevertheless, this habit is expected to reduce since there is a possibility of income rise that, in turn, facilitated their access to paid accommodation alternatives. Here, the generation will engage in less camping and Caravan accommodation than other generations. According to the Roy Morgan Research Single Source data, generation Y is mostly likely to have undertaken overseas leisure trips or holidays in the last one year as compared to other generations. As by march, 2010, about 25.4% of generation Y in Australia had engaged in a foreign trip or holiday as compared to the generation X (17.7%); baby boomers (22.6%), and generation Z (14.8%). Explicitly, Australia’s generation Y is likely to become the country’s largest tourism expenditure following the fact that they wealth increases with time. the main issue here is that generation chooses overseas holidays and leisure trips instead of the local one. What is more, generation Y has diverse cultural backgrounds, nonetheless, they are career minded and highly educated as a group (Solnet, 2008, pp. 59-68). Another type of tourism in which Australian generation Y is known to take part is wine tourism. In fact, the Australian tourism is presently experiencing important growth, with 11% of global tourists visiting winery during their holidays, and regular tourism and wine activities throughout the year (Batey & Woodbridge, 2007, pp. 29-35). Nevertheless, one of the industry’s target that has not been taken seriously is the country’s generation Y; youth market. Many scholars such as, Howard and Stonier (2001, p. 69-72) define generation Y as those individuals that were born between 1979 and 1994. Nonetheless, in terms of wine tourism and consumption in Australia, this definition restricts the target market to the ones aged between 18 and 24 years in the country. This age group accounts for 2.04% people in the country. Even though investigations into the overall features of this group are few, a majority of the results show the same characteristics for psychographics and purchase habit across studied industries (Bakewell &Mitchell, 2003, pp. 95-100). Most of the firms an industries have now realized the significance of attracting the group, since they just attained the life-stage of making own spending decisions. Moreover, this market is known to have the ability of creating long-lasting loyalties with products and services that meet their needs (Bakewell & Mitchell, 2003, pp. 95-100). In as much as the group is known to still undergo many experiences in life, there are some of the features that have been predetermined. Clearly, generation Y has grown through a time of relative global political, social, and economic stability. This, in combination with the independent wealth as compared with other generations, makes the group to spend their money instead of saving it for future use. Additionally, the rising rates of working parents and divorce are instrumental in the strengthening of peer groups in the generation (Furr, Bonn, & Hausman, 2002, pp.139-174). This generation widely employs peer group for opinion development, information collection, and the creation of image or right presence within the group. Together with generation X, generation Y has grown in a time in which technology and marketing play a main role in their lives, almost reaching the saturation level. This generation is treated as cynical of marketing messages, and depends heavily on their peer groups and their families for opinion development, instead of marketers (Solnet, 2008, pp. 59-68). Aims and objectives The main aim of the research project will to be to examine the tourism and travel habits of the Australian’s generation Y in comparison with other generations. Some of the proposed objectives will be: To find out the proportion of Australia’s generation Y that engages in tourism and travel in a given period, as compared to other generations. To establish the percentage of Australia’s generation Y individuals that takes part in overseas traveling and tourism as compared to other generations. To examine tourism and travel preferences of generation Y in Australian populations To establish the wine consumption rates and participation in wine tourism among Australia’s generation Y individuals. To find out the mode of transport that is mostly used by Australia’s generation Y in the course of traveling and touring. To study the types of accommodation that is mostly preferred and used by generation Y in Australia during holidays and leisure trips, both overseas and locally. To establish how decision making and opinion development takes place among Australian individuals within generation Y, in comparison with other generations in the country. To find out how generation Y, in comparison with other generations, in Australia perceives and treats marketing messages as compared to other opinion and decision making strategies. To examine the most preferred target market of Australian organizations and industries; generation Y’s perception to spending and holidays as compared to other generations. To examine the proportion of Australia’s generation Y that is involved in the workforce in comparison with other generations To find out the number of generation Y individuals in Australia who have undertaken tourism and travel as their career choices. To establish the percentage of the Australian generation Y that are likely to take long a year’s break between the completion of their universities and commencement of their careers. To find out the preferred tourism and travel destinations of the Australian generation Y as compared to other generations. to study the leisure activities that generation Y in Australia are mostly engaged in; Does it engage in going for shopping; visiting friends, attending discos and cinemas, eating at restaurants, experiencing night life, having beach holiday, and going surfing. Proposed methodology This research project has a number of proposed data collecting methods. The study will apply both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques so as to achieve its objectives. Moreover, both primary and secondary data collection methods will be employed in the study. To start with, some of the qualitative methods to use in this project include focus groups and in-depth one-on-one interviews. Focus groups interviews entail qualitative research method that involves groups of people giving their thoughts, views and opinions on an issue under study (Creswell & Miller, 2000, pp. 124-131). Here, these groups will interact together with other groups as they give their opinions and thoughts on the issues being study. This method will be used with some university students in Australia. The research will also employ in-depth interviews, which are also referred to as informal interviews or semi-structured interviews. This method is useful when one wants to collect detailed data from various respondents on a particular issue under investigation. This is mostly carried out via telephone in a pre-organized time; as people leave a certain place; or face-to-face at a respondent’s office, home or a central place. The appropriateness of this method in this research is that it will enable the research team to gather adequate, detailed, and first-hand information from specific respondents. It is also flexible because the interviewer can exhaust all the questions, though it is determined by the availability of the respondent (Creswell & Miller, 2000, pp. 124-131). The time limit is between 10 minutes and 30 minutes, a sufficient time to gather significant information on the topic of study. In this project, the research team will target university students and some office workers in Australian towns and cities. Additionally, the use of quantitative research method will be utmost significance in this study. One of the quantitative methods of collecting data in this research is survey. Survey method is categorized into mail survey, telephone survey, self-administered survey, online or email survey, and face-to-face survey. Survey is vital in the research as it will enable the research team an opportunity to collect a wide range of information from different individuals through asking questions. These questions can be asked on telephone, cell phones, email, or mails. Further, a researcher can conduct a face-to-face survey on individuals and gather first hand and detailed information on the research topic (Creswell & Miller, 2000, pp. 124-131). In this study, the team will conduct these surveys in some of the Australian universities and colleges, as well as work places. For instance, the group will target young employees in some companies in Australia cities. Still on quantitative research methods, interviews can be used. This method is appropriate because it will enable the team to collect reliable and detailed information from the selected respondents. However, this method is time-consuming because one has to interview a number of respondents; compare and contrast their responses; and eventually compile their responses. What is more, questionnaires can be suitably used in this investigation. This is one of the most effective methods of collecting data, especially in terms of number of responses. Questionnaires can be sent to university and college students as well as young employees in some companies in Australia. Creswell & Miller (2000, pp. 124-131) say that it allows the research team an opportunity to collect a wide variety of information from a large population at a shortest time possible; hence, the method is reliable and time saving. Furthermore, the research team can also employ the secondary method of collecting data. This involves the use of the already collected information about the topic under study by other researchers. This information could be found in journal articles, books, websites, government records, and company databases. The suitability of this method is determined by the fact that they are readily available and saves one a lot of time and expenses that could have otherwise been incurred if primary method was to be used (Creswell & Miller, 2000, pp. 124-131). However, this research method can, sometimes, be unsuitable because of the changes that take place in the world. Impliedly, between the time of the present research and the past studies, there are many possible changes surrounding the issue under investigation. Consequently, the research findings are likely to differ from the past studies; hence a possibility of drawing inappropriate conclusions. In this research, some of the chosen data collection methodologies to use include in-depth interviews and focus groups; telephone, email, and face-to-face surveys. Questionnaires and case studies can also be used in the study in order to effectively achieve the set objectives. In terms of the sample populations to use in the study, the team will select samples of university and college students in various Australian institutions. Besides, young employees in some of the companies in Australia will be included in the study. In order to acquire reliable and adequate information with which to make comparisons and conclusions, the team will study a range of respondents from 20-100 students and employers per institution and company respectively. However, this range is largely determined by the time and availability of the respondents. The team will also ensure that the samples are randomly selected so as to collect reliable information (Creswell & Miller, 2000, pp. 124-131). Additionally, the team will ensure that the samples are gender balanced so as to avoid clinging to one-sided information. The team will consider ethnic balance and sensitivity by including both indigenous Australians and the white Australians in the research. Potential data presentation methods analyzing and presenting the collected data in this study include graphs and tables. Ethical issues Just like any other research, this study will highly consider ethical issues in order to achieve all the set aims and objectives. This implies that respondents who will be used in the study should not be forced to participate, but volunteer. Additionally, the responses of the participants will be kept confidential so as to avoid some of the insecurity issues that they could likely face. Moreover, the research team must keep all the respondents anonymous for security reasons (Pink, 2003, pp. 179-192). Therefore, the respondents will be assured of adequate security and confidentiality before they take part in the study. Possible challenges The research team is likely to face some challenges that include inadequate time to study all the samples, internet breakdown, lack of corporation from the respondents, and insufficient funds. These challenges will overcome by allocating every task adequate time, looking for substitutes to internet, informing the respondents and relevant authorities beforehand, and seeking for sufficient funds to cater for the project from various sponsors. Action plan/Gantt Chart Activity Duration Remarks Proposal writing Week 1 Submission to lecturer/ making consultations Week 1 Data collection Week 2, 3 and 4 Data analysis Week 5 Data presentation Week 6 Drawing conclusions Week 7 References Bakewell, C. and Mitchell, V. (2003). Generation Y female consumer decision-making styles. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management. 31(2), 95-100. Batey, H. & Woodbridge, M. (2007). Networking the Generation Y way: A discussion paper on the interconnectivity between the traditional hospitality industry and the emerging Gen Y workforce. ORION Journal of International Hotel Management, 2(3), 29–35. Creswell, J. W. & Miller, D. L. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into Practice, 39(3), 124-131. Furr, H., Bonn, M. & Hausman, A. (2002). A generational and geographical analysis of internet travel service usage. Tourism Analysis, 6(2), 139-174. Howard, R. and Stonier, J. (2001). Marketing wine to Generation X: the way ahead. Australian and New Zealand Grape and Wine. 455(3), 69-72. Pink, S. (2003) Interdisciplinary agendas in visual research: re-situating visual anthropology. Visual Studies, 18(2), 179-192. Solnet, D. (2008). Generation Y as Hospitality Employees: Framing a research Agenda. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 15 (2), 59-68. Read More