Workshop Rail Museum as a Tourist Destination - Term Paper Example

Table of Contents pg 1.0 Introduction………………………………………………………………………..2 2.0 The Workshop Rail Museum ……………………………………………………...3 2.1 Overview………………………………………………………………......3 3.0 Heritage and cultural offering of Workshop Rail Museum………………………..3 4.0 Specific segment of target…………………………………………………………3 4.1 Children…………………………………………………………………....3 4.2 Families……………………………………………………………………4 4.3 History Enthusiasts………………………………………………………..4 4.4 Connector motivational segment………………………………………….4 5.0 Free-Independent Traveler of New Zealand……………………………………...5 6.0 Breakdown Segment……………………………………………………………...5 7.0 Competitor Analysis……………………………………………………………...6 7.1 Anthropology Museum…………………………………………………...7 7.2 Tramway Museum Ferny Grove in Brisbane…………………………….7 7.3 Zoological Museum……………………………………………………....8 8.0 References………………………………………………………………………..8 Introduction Statistics have revealed that in 2010, Australia earned more than $2.160 billion from the New Zealand in terms of tourist earnings. However, the New Zealand market is estimated to be worth $4.157 billion which means that the New Zealand market has a big potential for growth. Australia’s tourism activities in Zealand are managed from Auckland which the official tourism office of Australia (Tourism Queensland, 2010). In 2011, statistics indicate that more than one and half million tourists visited Australia from New Zealand. This figure was up by 2.8 percent as compared to the number of visitors to Australia in 2010 (Tourism Queensland, 2011). The average length of stay per tourist in Australia was 11 days. The total expenditure per visitor per visit was approximately NZD1550. In total, it means that in 2011, the amount of tourism earnings from New Zealand tourists was y more than 2 billion (Tourism Queensland, 2011). The Workshop Rail Museum Overview The Workshop Rail Museum was opened in September 2002. It is regarded as a centre for innovation and excellence and due to this the Museum has continued to receive more than 100,000 annually (European Heritage Association, 2012). The exhibitions in the museum comprise of 16 interactive sections which offer the story of the culture and heritage of Queensland rail (European Heritage Association, 2012). The sections also provide a rich history of the positive and negative effects the rail has had on state visitors as well as Queenslanders. In addition to the many attractive sections inside the Workshop Rail Museum, operational QR workshops tours provides visitors with thrilling experience as visitors are guided by QR workers from one section to the other around The Workshops Rail Museum (European Heritage Association, 2012). In order to increase the number of audiences/visitors in The Workshop Rail Museum other than train or rail enthusiasts, different programs, exhibits and activities have been established (Eleanor, 2005). Heritage and cultural offering of The Workshops Rail Museum The Workshop Raul Museum offers a rich heritage and cultural experience through its programs such as, Day out with Thomas (Queensland Holidays, 2012). The key audience targeted by the museum include families and rail/train enthusiasts, history lovers to mention a few. Specific segment of target The specific target segments can be explained through the wide range of attractive events and programs offered by The Workshops Rail Museum. Children Programs such as Toyland express can provide children with thrilling experience because it is an event that encourages children to interact and explore with simple toys as well as the use of trains in children literature. Children as young as 2 years up to 10 years can have fascinating experience through the Toyland express program. Families The Family Open Day is another important program/event offered in The Workshops Rail Museum. The program is suitable for families because it is a significant event held annually and which brings together present and past workers as well as other rail workers and their families from other parts of the world. Hence, this program offers an opportunity for families to meet and bond. History enthusiasts Through the programs such as Build it! and the Great Train Robbery offered by The Workshop Rail Museum, history enthusiasts have a wide range of entertainment as they visit and listen to stories about people who worked in the workshop many years ago. The climax of this adventure is witnessing the final stages of steam locomotive construction when the frame and the boiler are placed on the set of the wheel. History enthusiasts can be professional historians, archeologists or students. Connector motivational segment This is by far the largest segment of visitors from New Zealand to Australia. Although, international connector segment is only 5% as compared to the domestic connector segment that make around 40% of the entire segment consumer, it is important to note that the international connector segment has the potential for further growth (Tourism Queensland, 2012). The ideal profile for connectors from New Zealand includes regions that create a fascinating holiday experience where people can appreciate the work of nature as they appreciate one another (Tourism Queensland, 2011). Hence, desired landscapes that provides relaxing, fun and unwinding of memories is a must. Towards this end, old sites that bring back fond memories of the past are some of the fascinating sites. The Workshop Rail Museum has the required programs and events required by the connector motivational segment. As stated earlier, programs such as Toyland express offers children with fascinating experiences of playing with different train and rail toys. This experience helps the children to closely feel what they observe in the real world (Tourism Queensland, 2010). It is therefore not only a thrilling experience but also a wonderful experience that enables children to relax as they engage in their interesting activities. The Workshop Rail Museum provides families with wonderful experiences of exploring old day trains and rails and to connect it to the modern trains. These experiences reminds particularly young couples and their families that relationships and friendships are built slowly until they mature without losing hope on one another. The Workshop Rail Museum is therefore an important tourist destination for visitors from New Zealand. Free-Independent-Traveler (FIT) of New Zealand Australia is the largest market for New Zealand’s inbound tourists. It accounts for more than 50% of all the visitors to Australia. For free-independent-traveler, the most appropriate channel of transportation can be self-driven vehicles because (FIT) of New Zealand prefer driving to their destinations. FIT of New Zealand consider the journey as part of the tourism experience (Tourism Queensland, 2011). In terms of accommodation, FIT of New Zealand prefers staying in standard hotel room in a holiday unit or apartment. The room must be comfortable, clean and endowed with cooking facilities. FIT of New Zealand value environmental protection. Hence, customers from New Zealand are attracted by comfortable environment in which they can stay. Breakdown segment The three most likely target segments at The Workshop Rail Museum include Connectors, Active explorers and Social fun seekers. The Workshop Rail Museum is both an interesting place for connectors and social fun seekers whose objective is to bond with friends and families (Tourism Australia, 2012). However, The Workshop Rail Museum consists of stories and old historical displays of rails and trains. This is therefore an important destination for Active Explorers segments whose objective is not only enjoy their holidays but explore new things they have never seen before (Peter, 2005). Hence, the Active Explorer segment is the most likely to visit The Workshop Rail Museum. Competitor Analysis Even though, The Workshop Rail Museum offers a wide range of competitive products for the visitors, other competitors may include; Anthropology museum The anthropology museum is one of the most attractive cultural heritage and offering sites in Queensland. The museum is managed by University of Queensland. The museum has more than 25,000 handcrafts impressive collections from different parts of the world (Brisbane Tourist Attractions, 2012). The museum has numerous collections of photographs, ethnography and other attractive items. Different collections in the museum reflect diverse human life styles and they are mainly drawn from South East Asia, New Zealand, Africa, China, Europe and the United States (Brisbane Tourist Attractions, 2012). History enthusiasts and active explorers such as professional historians, archeologists and history students may find this site more thrilling due to the rich historical collections found in the Museum (Statham-Drew, 2000). As stated above, the most likely segment to visit The Workshop Rail Museum is the Active Explorer segment. This means that the Active Explorer segment would also be interested to explore the wide collections of handcrafts, ethnography and photographs (Linacre and Geerts, 2004). Tramway Museum Ferny Grove in Brisbane This is another interesting tourist destination that might provide stiff competition to The Workshops Rail Museum. Tourists find this site to be interesting because it brings the old world charm of tram cars (Brisbane Tourist Attractions, 2012). Riding on tram cars is one of the most memorable experiences that tourists have. The excursions performed in Tramway museum leaves fond memories of transport experiences in the old days. Hence, families and children may opt to visit Tramway Museum Ferny Grove in order to ride on Tramway cars (Daniel and Tony, 2007). The Workshop Rail Museum also offers visitors an experience that leaves fond memories about rail transport in ancient days. Hence, the product offered by the two destinations is almost similar which means that Tramway Museum Ferny Grove is a stiff competitor of “The Workshop Rail Museum” (Statham-Drew, 2000). Zoological museum Although, the activities in zoological museum are not directly related to the activities in The Workshops Rail Museum, the most likely customers to visit the zoological museum are active explorers. The reason for this is that the site has more than 10,000 amazing collections of exotic invertebrates and vertebrates specimens found in Australia (Gunn, 2002). The museum can be regarded as a historical museum because both modern and ancient chronological occurrences of events in Australia are also provided in the museum (Gregory, 2007). Active explorers in the category historians, archaeologists and students may find zoological museum interesting due to the wide phenomena of collections that can not only be observed but learned. Hence, it is a competitor of “The Workshop Rail Museum” in terms of the being attractions sites for the same category of customers (Planetware, 2012). References Brisbane Tourist Attractions. (2012). Available from http://www.asiarooms.com/en/travel-guide/australia/brisbane/brisbane-overview/brisbane-tourist-attractions.html. Accessed on 22nd March 2012. Daniel, S., and Tony, M. (2007).” Brisbane: The best weather for tourism. The Brisbane Times. Eleanor, H. (2005). “Brisbane: Attractive city to bid for 2024 Olympics. The World Today. European Heritage Association. (2012). The Workshops Rail Museum. http://www.thebestinheritage.com/presentations/2011/workshops-rail-museum,173.html Gregory, H. (2007). Brisbane Then and Now. Wingfield, South Australia: Salamander Books. p. 60 Gunn, A. (2002). Habitat: Human Settlements in an Urban Age. Pergamon Press. p. 178 Linacre, E., & Geerts, B. (2004). Tourism in Queensland. London: Rutledge. p. 379 Peter, D. (2005). “Southeast Queensland: Cities of Attractions”. Brisbane Times Planetware (2012). Brisbane attractions. http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/brisbane-aus-qld-b.htm. Accessed on 22nd March 2012. Queensland Holidays (2012). Brisbane Region. http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au/destinations/brisbane/brisbane_home.cfm. Accessed on 22nd March 2012. Statham-Drew, P. (2000). The Origin of Australia's Capital Cities. Cambridge University Press. p. 257 Tourism Queensland (2012). Understanding the connector market. http://www.tq.com.au/fms/tq_corporate/research%20%28NEW%29/Connector%20market/FACTSHEET%20-%20Understanding%20the%20Connector%20market.pdf . Accessed on 22nd March 2012. Tourism Queensland (2010). Connectors. http://www.tq.com.au/marketing/understanding-our-consumer---tq-domestic-market-segmentation/connectors.cfm .Accessed on 22nd March 2012. Tourism Australia (2012). Available from http://www.tourism.australia.com/en-au/default.aspx. Accessed on 22nd March 2012. Tourism Queensland (2011). Available from http://www.tq.com.au/destinations/brisbane-and-south-east-qld-country-zone/south-east-qld-country/news/news_home.cfm?pageType=storyView&obj_uuid=CC343AE0-B9CB-703F-40AB-FF6FCADFC91F&appendPageTitle=Southern Downs and Granite Belt holiday giveaway. Accessed on 22nd March 2012. Read More