Meetings
The first week in Melbourne was devoted to meetings with different (tourism) organizations. This way, before conducting research we could get a feel about the current trends and developments within the city. During this week we visited the DMO 'Destination Melbourne', the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), the Eureka Skydeck, the Windsor Hotel, Wyndham hotel, Batman's Hill hotel and got a presentation from the Metro Rail Authority Melbourne Manager. After each presentation we got the possibility to ask questions and this gave us a good impression about tourism (development) in Melbourne. Below, I will describe the most remarkable insights that were given this first week in my opinion.
Windsor hotel meeting Wyndham hotel meeting
China ready?
Are you China Ready? This term was mentioned a lot by the different organizations. As we learned, the biggest inbond visitor market in Melbourne is China and this market is growing rapidly. China represents about 33% of all incoming tourism, which is more than the next six markets combined. You might realise the importance and magnitude of this market and why it is important for tourism organizations in Melbourne to adapt to their wants and needs. Therefore the term "China Ready" was created. As the manager of the Windsor hotel explained, being China Ready means having mandarin speaking staff, different apps to communicate and a breakfast designed to suit this market. Also other businesses adapt to this market by translating signs or menu's into Chinese and accepting the main chinese payment cards. How it will develop in the future is uncertain, but one thing is sure: China is definitely ready to come to Melbourne!
Visitor experience Melbourne
Destination Management is the DMO of Melbourne and has grown from being a publishing house and campaign committee to a regional tourist organisation. One of the main goals and focus points of this organisation is to "encourage Melbourne's visitor industry to deliver targeted experiences that are in step with visitor expectations and needs." During the presentation it was explained that Melbourne focuses on a "visitor experience" rather than a focus on tourists. This, as the term visitor generally sounds better and Melbourne welcomes all visitors from close and far to come and enjoy the city. As the main focus is to develop visitor experiences and adopt the 'Think Like a Visitor' mindset across al Destination Melbourne products and campaigns to match visitors' needs, one of the developments is the access of free wifi throughout the whole centre of the city. This, as the digital world nowadays demands access to internet in order to provide a positive visitor experience. Especially as the primary market is Chinese, and they are well known for their digital focus, it's of high importance for Melbourne to adapt to this trend.
Managing the Population growth
According to statistics, the population of Melbourne keeps growing and will eventually double from 4 million to 8 million residents. The immense population growth in Melbourne asks for improvement when it comes to the public transport sector in Melbourne. In order for the trams not to overflow, a metro tunnel will be constructed, which will connect the West part of Melbourne with the South-East part, directly crossing the CBD (central business district). The metro line will consist of two nine-kilometre tunnels and will transform the way people move around Melbourne and improve the access to key landmarks. The total project costs $10,9 billion. Although the construction of the metro line will come along with some downsides, as businesses temporarily need to close and construction sites cannot be prevented, the Metro Rail Authority Melbourne Manager made it clear that this project is highly necessary and inevitable if Melbourne wants to keep up with the rapid population growth and wants to keep calling itself a "liveable city".
