Low Australian dollar spells opportunity for tourism
I went to America earlier this year. I waited until the dollar was around 76 cents and I felt the pain of that ordinary exchange rate for three weeks – and beyond when we had to pay off the trip. And that includes paying all those 'bleeping' tips!
During our time in America we spent our hard earned cash in restaurants, cafés, hotels, hire cars, planes, trains, taxis, grocery stores, chemists, department stores, and tour companies.
I'm guessing it cost around $20k for the three of us for three weeks. Ouch. (I'm too scared to add it all up exactly.)
Why am I telling you this?
Because there is a good news story to the low Aussie dollar and it starts with "T" and ends with "ourism". And it doesn't really matter what business you are in.
We ALL benefit from tourism.
What does a lower Australian Dollar mean for local tourism?
Today the Aussie dollar buys you 69 US cents and the word is it is likely to go lower.
So it is a good time to stay home and holiday in your own country. But it's a GREAT time to market your business to the US (and the UK.)
Sound too hard? Well, for some enterprising Australian tourism operators it isn't …
Ben Neville, the owner and operator of Off Piste 4WD Tours in South Australia's McLaren Vale region, says he is experiencing strong bookings from the US market and steady demand from the UK as a result of the low dollar.
As a result, he has developed a new four day, three night tour package in collaboration with fellow operator Exceptional Kangaroo Island targeted at high-yielding tourists. The package is priced at $2,555 per person, all inclusive.
Or how about this company …
Let's Go Surfing, whose clients range from backpackers buying a $99 lesson to wealthy tourists willing to pay $649 per person for a luxury experience, now offers a "history of Bondi" tour for those wary of actually getting into the water.
"We're experiencing about a 40 per cent increase in our inbound markets of the US, UK, Europe and the China market that we are starting to get traction in," she said. "The lower Australian dollar is influencing people coming back to Australia."
Read more in this Sydney Morning Herald piece.
Where is the opportunity for your tourism business?
SO, what are you and/or your local tourism association going to do to bring more international and domestic tourists to your region?
- First you need to develop your value-packed, exciting and unique tourism product, and ideally package it up with like-minded businesses.
- Second you need to talk to us. We can help you market directly to your ideal customers.
How can you market to international visitors without breaking the bank?
Yes, marketing to an international audience can be expensive, but not when you harness the ubiquitous power of Facebook adverts.
It doesn't matter whether your potential customers are in Australia or overseas:
- Facebook allows you to target your advertisements like no other marketing medium.
- Facebook allows you to define your audience in terms of age, gender, likes, interests, location and more.
- Facebook advertising campaigns offer value for money advertising that can be monitored and tweaked for best results.
Best of all, you can try more than one advert to see which one works best. Beef up the exposure for the 'winning' advert and turn off the 'losing' ad.
Stop wasting money on marketing that doesn't connect with your audience
Why do I care? Because I know times are tough and the low Australian dollar is a golden opportunity for your tourism business.
I know you are doing it hard.
But I also know that marketing done well, works.
And I want you to succeed.