South West for Asia

As a critical growth market for the tourism industry in Australia’s South West (ASW), a stronger focus on emerging Asian markets has become a strategic priority for the region. The project “South West for Asia” is aligned with these broader strategic directions and initiatives of the Australia’s South West tourism region and aimed to address the existing knowledge gap on the tourism behaviour of Asian visitors in ASW and deriving implications for future development in terms of the region’s Asia readiness and attractiveness.

Extensive qualitative interviews with Asia-experienced tourism providers (including tour operators, visitor centres, attraction points, wineries, restaurants etc.) and with Asian visitors provided a strong evidence base. It was further enriched by a social media analysis, an online survey administered to tourism providers in ASW and an analysis of good practices. Based on this comprehensive data collection, the study produced a number of recommendations on how to further improve the attractiveness of ASW for Asian visitors.