Fiji Visitors Bureau Marketing Summit February 2006 Namale Resort

A look at weddings and MICE from the Australian marketplace

Topics for today  2004 International Visitor Survey  Key performance measures for Australia  2005 presentation by Tebbutt Research on Friday 10th February in Tanoa International  Fiji Visitors Bureau research projects  MICE  Weddings

Visitors  2004 was a 16.1% increase in visitors on 2003  A 15.2% increase in ‘person days’  Most improved countries are  New Zealand up 32.3%  Canada up 19.8%  Australia up 18.5%  USA up 14.2%  Australia and New Zealand make up 52.4% of all visitors

Travel group

How the booking was made

Reasons for visiting  Two questions  Main reason for your visit  Holiday  Business  Conference  Education/training  VFR  Other  When the answer is ‘holiday’, what type of holiday  Rest and relaxation  Honeymoon  Wedding  Wedding anniversary  Sports  Other

Expenditure by ‘main reason for visiting

Expenditure by ‘type of holiday’

MICE Meetings Incentives Conferences Exhibitions

A work in progress…  Previous research completed in 2001  2006 qualitative stage completed  A ‘first look’ at findings  Quantitative stage to complete  Issues will be quantified  The outcome of this research is to provide a ‘roadmap’ for further development of the Fijian MICE market.  Allows efficient, economical, relevant and on- target promotion of Fiji to PCOs  Definitions; PCO / DMC / BDM

Incentives  A reward for work  eg exceeding targets  Fun  Conference element  Sometimes for ‘compliance’  Sometimes taken very seriously  Creative  Lasting memory  Partners  “An incentive it is effectively a holiday that they have earned because they have worked their butts off to get to a certain stage”

Conferences  Much more complex and challenging than incentives  Tend to be larger  Serious business  All day  Tight timing  Delegates from everywhere  Equipment  Break-out spaces  Interesting food  Easy access to food  Quality wine list  Service, service, service, service

What must a destination/property offer?  Safety  High quality audio visual  Staging Connections critical to success  Service  Excitement  Business services  Data projector  Good sound  Sound proof rooms  Broadband internet  Photocopier  Airlines  Quality and schedule  Activities

Issues for PCOs  Safety  Paramount  Budgets  Everyone is pressured  Destinations  Flight schedules  Conference delegates come from many places

Issues for Fiji  Lack of PCO confidence  Little things not right in quotes  Lack of follow up on quotes  What will happen at the event?  “Sometimes I don't think they see the big picture and the importance of the group in the hotel”  Activities  “Twenty pages of the same things”  Limited shopping  Limited spas  Limited partner activities  Political stability  Recent cancellation of groups  Safety is paramount  Can’t lose key executives  Food & beverage  Not exciting  Never Indian food  PCOs wonder why?

Issues for Fiji  Service levels  Feel these are lower than they should be  Want ‘snappy service’  …but still like Fiji relaxation  Expensive destination  Perceived high cost of accommodation  PCOs hoped Denarau development would lead to lower costs  Island economy can’t be the same as Asia…but that is the competition

Opportunities for Fiji  Be hungry for business  Can’t follow up too often  Aggressive sales  Ask; why did we lose this event?  Promotional items  Small promo pieces for building excitement  These can be charged for  Lots of pictures  High quality / high resolution  Important for PCOs and their clients  Sell the experience  Activities that integrate into community  Be careful that events don’t feel ‘manufactured’  PCO famils  “Make sure you do your homework and abide by the ‘Golden Rule’ – never select a venue without having seen it in person!”  Main Event February 2006

Situation  Fiji not ‘on the map’ in 2001  In 2006 Fiji is a serious player  Asian safety issues have helped  Room to grow and prosper  …also room to lose business to Asia  FVB known and respected  Plant in place  Key deliverables in place

Weddings

Some statistics on marriage from Australia  In Australia in 2004 $4.5 billion was spent on weddings.  Average wedding spend is $36,234  This figure has grown by 19% since 2001  Source Cost of Love, Bride to Be  In 2003 there were 106,400 marriages in Australia  Source ABS

What does this have to do with Fiji Source: Cost of Love Survey Bride to Be Magazine Arrival Figures, Bureau of Statistics (Fiji)

What does this have to do with Fiji Source: Cost of Love Survey Bride to Be Magazine Arrival Figures, Bureau of Statistics (Fiji) Popular months for weddings in Australia are the less popular months for Fiji tourism

Why go overseas?  Avoid the hassles  Simple and easy  Organised for you  Organising a wedding is usually very time consuming  Lots of meetings  Avoid people  The extended family  Dubious friends  Hangers on  Its much cheaper  Average cost Bride to Be $36,000  Average cost respondents $16,000  No pressure  No compromises

Who comes / who pays?  Who comes  Close family  Real friends  The unvitation  Who pays  Bride and groom pay for close family  Friends and others pay for themselves

How a destination is chosen  Previous visit  Particularly if seen a wedding  Offered as a service by properties  Easy to understand package  Internet is critical  Las Vegas very successful  Many bypassing travel agents completely  An independent spirit  No one used Bridal Shows  No one used bridal magazines  Bridal Shows successful for Fiji,  Is there a huge untapped market  All research participants avoided travel agents  All booking done online  NB: Qualitative research is not representative

What can we learn from this?

Key findings  MICE and weddings require special services  Can’t be an afterthought  Are these markets for you?  Both need special attention and focus  Incentives the entry point to MICE  Conferences more demanding  Can you support a conference?  Unsuccessful MICE events can be damaging to your reputation

Contact details  Neil Stollznow  PO Box 16 Level 2/156 Military Rd Neutral Bay NSW 2089 T F M  