This assessment task requires you to analyse raw tourism data (Excel spreadsheet provided on Moodle) to develop a tourism barometer based on visitors to the Tropical North Queensland (TNQ) region. Barometers are documents aimed at monitoring the short-term visitor trends in certain regions and are frequently updated to provide tourism stakeholders with relevant and timely information. There is no defined word limitation set for this assessment task, however the tourism barometer should not exceed 3 pages in lengths (not including the title page). You are required to use MS Excel for data analysis. Tuition on how to use and apply MS Excel for research purposes will be provided in class.

The barometer should include the following sections:

Title page: The title page will include the title of your assessment, your name, student ID, lecturer/tutor name, and unit name and code.

Introduction: The introduction should present a brief outline of the region and the aim(s) and structure of the barometer should be presented. The introduction should also introduce the type of data used and the sample size.

Visitor profile: The focus here will be on presenting socio-demographic information about the sample. A profile then needs to be outlined in such a way to give readers of the barometer a better understanding as to who is visiting the TNQ region. Focus on demographic information such as gender, age, education, occupation, and origin by key domestic and international market segments.

Visitor behaviour: Information about visitors' behaviour while travelling in the region. Provide information on repeat vs first-time visitation, where visitors spend most of their time in the TNQ region, what accommodation they used, their travel composition (i.e. couples, family, alone), their average length of stay, and the main sources of information.

Travel motivations: Outline the top 10 motivational factors for visiting the TNQ region.

Satisfaction rating: Provide a statement on how visitors to the TNQ region rated their stay.

Presentation: The barometer needs to be clear, concise and well-structured with appropriate use of figures and tables using the data to justify any of your explanations. Professional structure, guiding the reader through a logical analysis, i.e. use of headings and sub-headings. Language used, sentence construction, grammar and spelling are very professional with no easily discernible errors.

Please upload the assessment through the appropriate TOUR13003 Moodle submission link. Each assessment must be uploaded as a .doc or .docx file (word file). Any assessment with a ‘Turnitin’ similarity score of more than 25% will be checked by the marker for plagiarism although it may not necessarily mean that you have plagiarised. If there is a substantial similarity score in the ‘Turnitin’ report, your assessment could be forwarded to an appropriate office/authority for review.

Penalties apply for late submission (5% mark will be deducted from the total mark for the assessment per day unless an approved extension has been granted).

Below is a brief assessment criteria. A more detailed marking rubric is provided on Moodle.

• Introduction 
• Visitor profile 
• Visitor behaviour 
• Travel motivations
• Satisfaction rating 
• Presentation of barometer

This assessment task requires you to investigate market demand for a current tourism trend. The report will develop your ability to source, summarise, and integrate relevant information sources for better destination marketing and management decisions. There are three options to choose from:

Option 1: people “holidaying” overseas for (more affordable) cosmetic surgery;

Option 2: the “experiential travel trend”, i.e. experience seekers who venture beyond the beaten tourist path looking for authentic local experiences;

Option 3 provides the flexibility of developing a tourism market research report on a current tourism trend that interests you, i.e. culinary tourism, citizen science in marine tourism, etc. If you choose option 3 then you must gain approval from your local lecturer/tutor (on-campus students) or from the unit coordinator (distance students).

This is an individual assessment with a maximum length of 2,000 words. Your assessment should be an application of relevant tourism concepts learnt in the unit. The tourism market research report should include the following sections:

Title page: The title page will include the title of your assessment, your name, student ID, lecturer/tutor name, and unit name and code.

Executive summary: The executive summary should not read like an essay. You need to highlight only critical aspects from your tourism market research report. You should provide a brief outline of your chosen trend, particulars about your chosen key target market segment and identification of future product development opportunities and threats. Use of sub-headings, dot or bullet points is recommended to better present the required information.

Table of contents: The table of contents will present each section of the report, including sub-headings, with their appropriate page number(s). Sections should be numbered with page number (e.g. 1.0 Introduction on page 1). Pages prior to the introduction should use lower case Roman numerals such as i, ii, iii, iv.

Introduction: The introduction should present a brief outline of the chosen trend. This includes a discussion on what market dynamics drive this particular trend (i.e. advances in technology) and the potential size of the market. In addition, the structure of the report should be presented.

Background and target audience analysis: This section focuses on presenting information about your chosen trend. What market segments are attracted to this type of trend? If you chose option 1 or 2, then it is expected you research the tourism literature to better understand who is likely to have an interest in such a product/experience. A profile then needs to be outlined that gives the reader of your tourism market research report a better understanding as to who will be attracted to such an experience. Market segmentation involves using market research to identify the business's ideal target market and customer. Consider market segmentation according to demographic, psychographic, socioeconomic and geographic customer characteristics (see page 115 of the textbook). Use of additional sources of information to help support the discussion is expected.

Travel behaviour: This section focuses on the travel behaviour of your identified target market segment. You are required to research the current tourism literature on your segment’s motivations to travel, their potential travel expenditure, and their preferred travel information sources.

Identification of future product development opportunities: Based on the information reported in the previous sections, identify three to five opportunities and/or threats for future product developments based on your chosen tourism trend. This section can include a discussion on primary and secondary activity participation of your target market segment, and information on required tourism facilities, marketing, advertising and product promotion.

Conclusion: In your opinion, why do you think your chosen option will be a successful tourism product/experience in the future? Briefly outline the target audience, key points about their travel behaviour and any identified future product development opportunities (or threats) to explain your answer.

Evidence of research: The quality and integration of research in the write-up to support key points. A minimum of 10 references should be used in the Tourism Market Research Report. This should include theoretical and empirical research findings from a combination of academic journals and textbooks. Any website which is used to find statistical information is also considered as part of evidence of research. Useful websites include Australian Bureau of Statistics, Tourism Research Australia, Tourism Australia and any state or commonwealth authority website.

Referencing: APA referencing conventions.

Presentation: Professional structure, guiding the reader through a logical analysis, i.e. use of headings and sub-headings. Language used, sentence construction, grammar and spelling are very professional with no easily discernible errors.

Please note that the word count (2,000 words) will be taken from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It will not include the title page, executive summary, table of contents, reference list and any tables or appendices (if you have any).

The assessment should be submitted online through the TOUR13003 Moodle site. All reports will be checked by ‘Turnitin’ to compare the report to other sources and will provide students and lecturers with a similarity score for the report. Reports with a similarity score index of more than 25% will be checked for plagiarism by the marker (although it may not necessarily mean that the student has plagiarised).

Below is a brief assessment criteria. A more detailed marking rubric is provided on Moodle.

• Executive summary 
• Introduction 
• Background and target audience analysis 
• Travel behaviour 
• Future product development opportunities
• Conclusion 
• Evidence of research and referencing
• Presentation