Page 2878 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 17 September 2014
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Regarding the summary:
The perception of Canberra as a food and wine destination is still lacking. Some recent visitors to Canberra had positive experiences but the feeling was that local knowledge was required to find the best (often suburban) venues. The perception remains of a quiet place, lacking vibrancy, energy and nightlife.
And one could hark back to Mr Coe’s motion earlier today about improving City Walk and Garema Place—vibrancy, energy and nightlife.
The third pillar was family fun, and unfortunately the summary is:
There is relatively narrow appeal for family experiences in Canberra.
Again, I would question that, but this is how people saw us. Again we ranked fifth. It is hard to compete with the Gold Coast for family fun, but I guess it is about putting the offering together. Gold Coast came first, tropical north Queensland came second, Sydney third, Melbourne fourth and Canberra fifth. The final paragraph in the summary is:
In general, however, awareness of Canberra’s family experiences was low among those who have not visited. Canberra’s family experiences rate markedly higher for those who have previously visited, suggesting if people know more about what’s on offer they may be more likely to visit. Furthermore, satisfaction was generally high with families who did visit, though a visit was likely to be viewed as a ‘one-off’ trip.
Again, one of the particular requirements is that you have got to go to Questacon. We need to get past the notion that the only family thing to do in Canberra is Questacon.
On outdoor and adventure, we see ourselves as, the old adage, the bush capital. We certainly see ourselves as a city very close to its environment. Yet again, on outdoor and adventure we ranked fifth. Tropical north Queensland was first, Tasmania second, Great Ocean Road third, Sydney and surrounds fourth, Canberra and surrounds came fifth. The summary was:
Outdoor and adventure has the least potential for Canberra. Canberra ranked lowest overall, with Tropical North Queensland and Tasmania the dominant destinations in this competitive set.
Canberra was more competitive with the Great Ocean Road and Sydney and surrounds among recent visitors to the ACT.
For many, outdoor adventure usually only forms a small part of a well-rounded holiday experience. However, Canberra was not perceived as a competitor for genuine ‘adventure’ experiences, particularly among younger age groups.
So there is clearly some work to be done there as well.
Then the report goes on to look at some of the barriers to Canberra visitation:
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