Posted to Herald Sun (11/11/2011) on 11/11/201Posted to Herald Sun (11/11/2011) on 11/11/2011 at 12:15-12:17 PM
Commenting on "Australia's tourism brand image suffers big hit, new survey shows"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/travel/news/australias-tourism-brand-image-suffers-big-hit-new-survey-shows/story-fn32891l-1226192233651
It is most unfortunate that many recent sports arenas in Melbourne are tucked away in very congested and rather uninviting surrounds. These are fantastic show pieces, much more than what I can say for the patch-work-look architecture of the Federation Square. These stadiums look great from above as well as unblocked side-views, and yet they have not been used in tourism promotion. They are comparable to the Water Cube and Bird Nest of China, "Durian" of Singapore, "Gherkin" of London, etc. The Sydney Opera House is still a fantastic talking point for tourists, but the Sydney Harbour Bridge which resembles a big clothes hanger really needs to take the back seat. There are so many longest, biggest, most dangerous and architecturally excellent bridges in the world.
I enjoy playing with English words, and I "look" at them from a foreigner's perspective. Sunburnt country is definitely a frightening place to visit. Who in the world wants to get sunburnt and risks skin cancer? Furthermore, the word sunburnt may not be understood properly by potential foreign visitors who may think that this country is arid and black - just being charred by forest fires. Down Under is a term sounds cool for the younger and trendy, or those who have heard the song by "Men at Work"; but isn't "down under" synonymous to "hell"? I just can’t imagine how these terms are translated in foreign languages. The combined effect of these terms conjures up an image that Australia is like a place where one gets burnt in the "Hot Hell Hole".
Melbourne and the surrounding, including the suburbs, have a lot to offer to foreign tourists. In saying this, we must not market the way we think fit for us unless the promotion is for local consumption. As it is very expensive to travel around to various intrastate and interstate places in Australia because of the vast distances, therefore it is more appropriate to target market different regions or states in different campaigns, unless special package tours can be offered to bring down the cost.
What we must keep in mind is that beautiful coastline is only beautiful for the first few kilometre in the eyes of a tourist, after which the remaining kilometre are just plain monotonous and boring. Most tourists cannot afford to spend too much time and money at one location, and in order to make the initial visit memorable, the tourist attraction must have certain wow factor. Not only this will be captured in photos, but also forever remains in their brains and mouths.
I am always excited to talk about Melbourne with foreign visitors, and when I am on overseas trips. Most visitors or potential visitors like to know a little bit of the history but not too much. Surprisingly, they want know how this country is run, compared with theirs. They want assurance that this is not a racist country. They like my comparing Melbourne with their hometown and other places. They like to know more about what we eat, what we do, where we "live" and whether they can see kangaroo or koala in the streets. They want sincerity and honesty.
Being a Melbournian, I have to admit that I do not have in-depth knowledge of other interstate cities. I think I am a good promoter and ambassador of Melbourne and even have a blog showing the beautiful photos of Melbourne. The collection of photos is growing. Any tourism related organisation wants to offer me a marketing position? I am all-ears!
Commenting on "Australia's tourism brand image suffers big hit, new survey shows"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/travel/news/australias-tourism-brand-image-suffers-big-hit-new-survey-shows/story-fn32891l-1226192233651
It is most unfortunate that many recent sports arenas in Melbourne are tucked away in very congested and rather uninviting surrounds. These are fantastic show pieces, much more than what I can say for the patch-work-look architecture of the Federation Square. These stadiums look great from above as well as unblocked side-views, and yet they have not been used in tourism promotion. They are comparable to the Water Cube and Bird Nest of China, "Durian" of Singapore, "Gherkin" of London, etc. The Sydney Opera House is still a fantastic talking point for tourists, but the Sydney Harbour Bridge which resembles a big clothes hanger really needs to take the back seat. There are so many longest, biggest, most dangerous and architecturally excellent bridges in the world.
I enjoy playing with English words, and I "look" at them from a foreigner's perspective. Sunburnt country is definitely a frightening place to visit. Who in the world wants to get sunburnt and risks skin cancer? Furthermore, the word sunburnt may not be understood properly by potential foreign visitors who may think that this country is arid and black - just being charred by forest fires. Down Under is a term sounds cool for the younger and trendy, or those who have heard the song by "Men at Work"; but isn't "down under" synonymous to "hell"? I just can’t imagine how these terms are translated in foreign languages. The combined effect of these terms conjures up an image that Australia is like a place where one gets burnt in the "Hot Hell Hole".
Melbourne and the surrounding, including the suburbs, have a lot to offer to foreign tourists. In saying this, we must not market the way we think fit for us unless the promotion is for local consumption. As it is very expensive to travel around to various intrastate and interstate places in Australia because of the vast distances, therefore it is more appropriate to target market different regions or states in different campaigns, unless special package tours can be offered to bring down the cost.
What we must keep in mind is that beautiful coastline is only beautiful for the first few kilometre in the eyes of a tourist, after which the remaining kilometre are just plain monotonous and boring. Most tourists cannot afford to spend too much time and money at one location, and in order to make the initial visit memorable, the tourist attraction must have certain wow factor. Not only this will be captured in photos, but also forever remains in their brains and mouths.
I am always excited to talk about Melbourne with foreign visitors, and when I am on overseas trips. Most visitors or potential visitors like to know a little bit of the history but not too much. Surprisingly, they want know how this country is run, compared with theirs. They want assurance that this is not a racist country. They like my comparing Melbourne with their hometown and other places. They like to know more about what we eat, what we do, where we "live" and whether they can see kangaroo or koala in the streets. They want sincerity and honesty.
Being a Melbournian, I have to admit that I do not have in-depth knowledge of other interstate cities. I think I am a good promoter and ambassador of Melbourne and even have a blog showing the beautiful photos of Melbourne. The collection of photos is growing. Any tourism related organisation wants to offer me a marketing position? I am all-ears!
