Consumer Insights and the Importance of Competitiveness Factors for Mature and Developing Destinations

ABSTRACT

This article aims to understand the importance of various destination attributes to the competitiveness of tourism destinations from a consumer perspective, while at the same time contrasting these in a mature versus developing destination. A sample of Australian-based domestic tourists were surveyed to assess the relative importance of tourism destination competitiveness (TDC) attributes in the context of developing and mature destinations. This research firstly appears to verify that the importance of many TDC elements, highlighted by consumers, is not dissimilar from other stakeholder-based TDC studies. Furthermore, this research effort established that in terms of attribute performance, relative destination immaturity may well constrain a developing destination’s ability to satisfy the needs of consumers.

KEYWORDS:

• Attribute importance
• consumer views
• exploratory factor analysis
• regional Australia
• tourism destination competitiveness

Acknowledgments

This article is an extension of one presented and published at the 16th Annual Asia Pacific Tourism Association (APTA) Conference, Macau S.A.R (China). The authors would like to thank conference participants for their feedback on the original article and concepts.

Funding

The Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre, established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Programme, funded this research through a joint PhD scholarship.

Notes

1. A full set of findings from focus group discussions with industry stakeholders can be found in Wilde and Cox (2008) and Wilde and Wray (2012).

2. The second case destination (the Great Lakes) did not maintain a similar mailing list, limiting the researchers’ ability to widen the sample. Further, no follow-up questionnaire or e-mail requesting survey completion could be issued as part of an agreement entered into with Coffs Coast Marketing.

Additional information

Funding

The Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre, established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Programme, funded this research through a joint PhD scholarship.