Ecotourism of Taylor and Francis

Question: Describe about the Ecotourism of Taylor and Francis? Answer: Introduction: Development of marketing plan provides an organization with the opportunities for forecasting their ROI (Return on Investment) before investing on a product (Fennell, 2014). The current proposal deals with development of marketing plans for Reef HQ. Reef HQ is a part of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park authority (GBRMPA) and the organization conducts tours to Great Barrier Reef for visitors throughout the year (Reefhq.com.au, 2015). As the competition in Australian tourism sector is increasing rapidly, Reef HQ requires developing new marketing plans to increase their profitability. Relation between organization and industry: The nature of tourism industry in Australia and the impacts of change in market nature can be analyzed using micro-environmental analysis. Microenvironment analysis: Micro environmental analysis of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) tourism sector indicates that the influence of suppliers is high in this market. As high biodiversity is observed in GBR, Australian Government focuses on implementing Eco tourism policies here (Gbrmpa.gov.au, 2015).As the tour is mainly conducted by GBRMPA, other organizations get fewer chances for entering into this sector. However, the profitability of Reef HQ is affected of the visitors prefer to visit other tourist spots in Australia. (Refer to Appendix) Competitors: Although GBR is at the centre of attraction for tourists in Australia, large number of tourists is showing preference to visit other places such as Melbourne, Sydney, and Gold Coast etc. Change in the nature of tourists can impact on the tourism activities in GBR. Influences and issues for sustainability: Environmental degradation may reduce attraction of GBR. However the number of tourists is also impacted by weather condition (Gbrmpa.gov.au, 2015). Description of target market: International tourists account for a significant portion of the total number of visitors in GBR. In case of domestic tourists children and students account for a large section. It indicates that international visitors and students require being focused in new marketing plan for increasing profitability of tourism activities. As the number of international students is increasing in Australia, these students can be considered as potential customer group. Description of products: Apart from conducting commercial tours, other services of Reef HQ include internship opportunities, research opportunities and conducting excursion for school students. Both international and domestic students can be considered as potential customers for Reef HQ. Focusing on excursion and research opportunities in the marketing plan will be effective to attract both domestic and international students in GBR. Recommendations: Senior management of Reef HQ should analyze the trends of school and college excursions in Australia before developing marketing plans. Senior management of Reef HQ should modify their policies on research opportunities to attract both international and domestic students. Conclusion: Analysis made in the current proposal indicates that the number of visitors in Great Barrier Reef fluctuates due to presence of strict ecotourism policies, bad weather condition etc. Apart from focusing on attractive commercial tourism packages, management of Reef HQ also require focusing on increasing educational tours and research opportunities at GBR in new marketing plan. References: Fennell, D. (2014). Ecotourism. Taylor and Francis. Gbrmpa.gov.au, (2015). Great Barrier Reef tourist numbers - GBRMPA. [online] Available at: https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/visit-the-reef/visitor-contributions/gbr_visitation/numbers [Accessed 19 Mar. 2015]. Hewett, P. (2014). Cooper Creek Wilderness: perspectives on maintaining a successful ecotourism-driven private protected area in Australia. Journal of Ecotourism, 13(1), pp.64-70. Reefhq.com.au, (2015). About Us - Reef HQ Aquarium. [online] Available at: https://www.reefhq.com.au/plan-a-visit-to-reef-hq-aquarium/about-us [Accessed 19 Mar. 2015].