Area: Australia & Pacific

Adaptive reuse of the North Head Quarantine Station

Q Station, in Australia, is a large cultural site within the Sydney Harbour National Park, and a major heritage tourism business. The system we built and operated is on. It covers four sustainability dimensions: economic; social; environmental; and cultural. The model is recognised as having some of the most comprehensive cultural indicators in the World, … Read more

Agritourism Strategy for the Riverina Murray Region of NSW

SMA Tourism produced the 2023-2030 Destination Management Plan for the NSW Riverina Murray region. This document set a priority to develop and implement an Agritourism, Produce, Food and Drink Product & Experience Development Strategy. SMA Tourism were again engaged to develop this Agritourism Strategy to provide the directions needed to grow a differentiated and competitive … Read more

Benchmarking of Aboriginal Cultural Centres

We researched 12 Aboriginal Interpretation Centres across Australia to explore what they offered, and what their competitive strengths and apparent limitations were. The research found a chequered history of success – not attracting many visitors, being expected to cover their own costs and struggling to do so. Many Centres have demonstrated poor historic performance in … Read more

Business Case for Luxury Lodges in Northern Territory

The Northern Territory Department of Trade, Business and Innovation (DTBI) sought an informed assessment of the market opportunity, commercial feasibility and expected economic benefits of expanding the luxury lodge offering in the Northern Territory. Working with GHD Advisory, we were appointed by the Northern Territory government to Prepare a Situation Analysis, featuring a full analysis … Read more

Business Case to develop ADAPT

We developed the concept of an interactive and immersive museum experience that happens inside a building, and outside in the landscape. The proposal would explore adaptation and tell the region’s key stories through a mix of experiences designed to maximise appeal to a range of potential visitor markets. The centrepiece will be a museum / … Read more

Business Case, prospectus and investor video for expanding five Indigenous tourism businesses in New England Northwest NSW

We proposed a new way to grow Aboriginal tourism. Top-down approaches to foster Aboriginal tourism have largely failed to lift Aboriginal tourism performance in Australia. Aboriginal tourism in NSW remains an infant industry trapped in a cycle of dedicated small-scale Aboriginal entrepreneurs struggling against long odds. Consequently, strong demand for Aboriginal tourism experiences by international … Read more

Business Cases for three art galleries and cultural centres in Northern Territory

The Northern Territory Government (NTG) committed $20M to upgrade / extend three Aboriginal art galleries: Godinymayin Yijard Arts and Culture Centre, in Katherine; Mimi Aboriginal Art and Craft, in Katherine; and The Nyinkka Nyunyi Arts and Culture Centre, Tennant Creek. Working with GHD Advisory, we were appointed by the Northern Territory government to prepare detailed … Read more

Business Plan for Monkey Mia Reserve, Shark Bay World Heritage Area

Monkey Mia, within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, Western Australia, is an ecotourism attraction where each morning a pod of dolphins swim into shore, to mix with wading visitors and gently take fish on offer. This project undertook visitor research identify unmet needs and experiential gaps in the attraction. We also identified target markets … Read more

Conservation, adaptive reuse and product development for Q Station

The North Head Quarantine Station is a nationally significant heritage site within Sydney Harbour National Park. The site was leased to the private sector to access private capital that could conserve the site, provide greater access and more powerful experiences than government was capable of. We prepared the winning tender and worked with the developer … Read more

Cultural Tourism Plan for Wollongong

Cultural tourism allows travellers to be immersed in local rituals and routines, taking away not only pretty photos but also shared memories of unique experiences. Cultural tourism encourages local communities to embrace their culture and boosts economic growth.  Developing culturally geared tourism programs encourages destinations to celebrate and promote what distinguishes their communities, and in … Read more

Destination Management Plan for Albury

The planning process for this Destination Management Plan integrated both demand (the visitor or consumer needs) and supply (the product or experience). While the geographic area that this Plan focuses on is the Local Government Area of Albury, it also proposed a number of cooperative initiatives with the City of Wodonga, given its close proximity … Read more

Destination Management Plan for Docklands, Melbourne

Our process started with a review of the Docklands visitor economy operating environment, documented as a Situation Analysis Report. This revealed major inconsistencies in branding. and strategic issues with the current visitor product / experience offer: Not enough to drive Docklands as a destination, and less than most consumers expect Insufficient capitalising on the waterfront … Read more

Destination Management Plan for Moorabool Shire

Despite being just an hour’s drive west of Melbourne, Moorabool had low market awareness and was an immature destination. We conducted a brand compatibility match to the events, to determine which ones were helping build brand strength, and an event calendar that contrasted industry demand for stimulus with the supply of events, and colour coded … Read more

Destination Management Plan for Riverina Murray region, NSW

The Riverina Murray visitor economy region in NSW encompasses 149,000 square kilometres, the third longest navigable river in the world, 16 National Parks, two RAMSAR listed wetlands, one World Heritage Listed area 22 local government areas and is home to over 275,000 people. The purpose of preparing this DMP was to ensure the visitor economy … Read more

Destination Management Plan for Wellington Shire, NSW

We prepared a Destination Management Plan for the Wellington Shire, NSW. This included: An analysis of the regional visitor market. An analysis of the regional tourism product. An analysis of regional events. An analysis of regional tourism brand and marketing. The brand analysis involved a competitor analysis that included Parkes, Dubbo, Mudgee and Wellington, then … Read more

East Gippsland Hinterland Drive Trail

We were engaged by the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment to develop a hinterland trail for all wheel drives, in order to stimulate the tourism and related businesses within the Gippsland economy, via: increasing overnight visitation and length of stay within the region; increasing the viability of the region’s tourism sector; and generating additional … Read more

Environmental Management System for IBIS & Novotel Hotels Homebush Bay

The Novotel and Ibis Sydney Olympic Park is located 25 minutes drive from the centre of Sydney Australia, within the heart of Sydney Olympic Park precinct, where the 2000 Olympics were held. The hotel’s target markets are business travelers, conferences and events. The hotel is managed by ACCOR. The property offers 144 4 star guest … Read more

Feasibility Assessment and Development Plan for Coal Creek Attraction

Coal Creek is a heritage attraction three hours east of Melbourne, Australia. Our task was to determine how to get the business back to cost neutrality. Following extensive research and consultation, we concepted a range of cost saving measures and revenue generating experiences, including a son et lumiere to create profile, an interactive mobile platform … Read more

Feasibility assessment for visitor centre

Over many years, there have been many operational issues and constraints with the Tidbinbilla Visitor Centre in the Australian Capital Territory. Some of the issues include poor accessibility, poor building performance and outdated interpretation. The first aim of this project was to prepare an over-arching functional review of the Tidbinbilla Visitor Centre, integrating the findings … Read more

Feasibility Assessment for Warrnambool Art Gallery

The Warrnambool Art Gallery in Victoria was identified as having outgrown its building and consequently being unable to deliver its objectives to the standard of a typical regional gallery in Victoria. The project subsequently involved: identification of lead trends affecting galleries and museums; analysis of relevant local documents, targeted then wider stakeholder consultation, Functional Brief … Read more

Feasibility Study and Business Case for a Cultural Centre for the Kimberley

Following extensive market analysis, product benchmarking and consultation, SMA is currently developing concepts for a cultural centre, based in Broome, servicing the whole of the Kimberley region. The concepts are proposed to include Australia’s first multi-cultural, including Aboriginal interpretation, of Aboriginal AND non-Aboriginal culture. We market tested the options and price points, then prepared a … Read more

Feasibility Study and Business Case for a new art museum, Shepparton Victoria

The Shepparton Art Museum in Victoria (Australia) is significantly constrained by its location, small building and management by local government. SMA were engaged to develop and test the feasibility of options for a new SAM, which included alternative art museum experiences, alternative locations and alternative governance models. As part of the consultation, we developed an … Read more

Feasibility Study and Business Case for new Aboriginal Centre and tourism experiences

Shellharbour City Council asked us to prepare a feasibility study for a Coastal Aboriginal Interpretive Centre. The objectives of this project were to: Identify options for a Keeping Place, leading Aboriginal interpretation experiences, Interpretation Centre, and governance model to service them Choose the most superior option(s) for the core Aboriginal interpretation experience(s), location of a … Read more

Feasibility Study for Canopy Walk in Otway Ranges

The Otway Hinterland is a vast tract of cool temperate rainforest and very tall eucalypt forest. This Plan sought to divert some of the huge tourism activity on the adjacent Great Ocean Road into the Hinterland, to stimulate investment and employment. The project started with a site analysis to determine the best place for an … Read more

Feasibility Study for new accommodation and interpretive experience

We developed three new accommodation experiences to increase the competitiveness and profitability of the Western Plains Zoo. Our product development and feasibility work triggered: a $2M investment to add more glamping tents in front of the savannah area and move the famous Roar and Snore tented accommodation to a larger site; and a $4M investment … Read more

Feasibility Study for New Crowne Plaza, Newcastle

As part of the redevelopment of Newcastle’s port, we worked helped develop a feasibility study and provided development advice for the Crowne Plaza. The feasibility included a market assessment and gap analysis for the business and leisure market, concepts for alternative room types and conference facilities, and total number of rooms and subsequent footprint versus … Read more

Feasibility Study for reuse of Former Wellington Gaol and Police Station (NSW)

The former Wellington Police Station and Gaol is owned and managed by Dubbo Regional Council. The small building is made up of six offices, several bathrooms, a roofed exercise yard and six cells. The building needs substantial conservation works to address decaying brickwork, rising damp and drainage, as well as fire and alarm detection systems … Read more

Feasibility, Business Case, Prospectus and Investor Video for Nanjet site near Wilsons Promontory, Vic

The Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) purchased the Gunya Yanakie Nanjet Brataualung site near Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria (herewith referred to as Nanjet). We identified four problems were identified that justified a case for change: Our approach to developing this business case was based on four phases: Stakeholder engagement was a strong … Read more

Iconic Product Development Strategy for Shipwreck Coast

The Shipwreck Coast, located three hours drove from Melbourne, is one of Australia’s coastal tourism icons. It is one of the top visited destinations in Australia, receiving 2M visitors per annum; mostly from China and Asia. However, key sites like the 12 Apostles have outdated visitor infrastructure and are becoming over crowded. There is also … Read more

Investment Strategy and Prospectus for Albury Wodonga

The Destination Management Plan for Albury Wodonga proposed many product development initiatives that require funding to proceed. Some of these initiatives are naturally positioned for the public sector to fund, some for the private sector, and a small number could be funded as partnerships. This project has been conceived by AlburyCity and the City of … Read more

Marketing Plan for hotel – Noah’s on the Beach

Noah’s on the Beach is a successful 91 room hotel on the edge of Newcastle Beach. The property has a strong conference business, and is a popular function and restaurant venue for locals. We consulted widely with staff, then undertook a detailed analysis of the product strength, current corporate market, third party website profiling of … Read more

Master Plan for Peak Hill Historic Mining Site, NSW

Peak Hill is the northern gateway to the Parkes Shire and the second largest town in the municipality, situated on the Newell Highway approximately 48km north of Parkes. Peak Hill is a historic village, first settled in the 1840s as a grazing area, and in the 1890s growing rapidly with the discovery of gold, with … Read more

Master Plan for Western MacDonnell Ranges and Hermannsburg, Northern Territory

Working with the Tourism Northern Territory, Tourism Central Australia, Northern Territory Heritage Commission, Office of Aboriginal Affairs and Central Land Council, we: undertook extensive consultation with local Aboriginal people; conducted product audits and determined product gaps; developed draft product development strategies and concepts for major product proposals; developed a Masterplan for the region; priced the … Read more

Nature Tourism Strategy for Canberra Region

We developed a nature tourism strategy for the Canberra region. The process to developing this strategy included: analysis of market data (qualitative and quantitative) to determine growth segment opportunities for product development / reinvigoration and marketing stimulus; stakeholder consultation, including an online survey testing the potential to stimulate the VFR sector; an extensive product audit … Read more

Night Skies Tourism Product Development Strategy

Destination Network Country & Outback NSW asked us to develop Australia’s first Product Development Strategy for ‘Night Skies’ experiences within the region. We first developed a Gap Analysis Report on Night Skies Tourism, which summarised the results of a literature review, product audit, stakeholder consultation and benchmarking initiatives from outside the region. We then developed … Read more

Pre-Feasibility Assessment for multi day Sea to Summit Walk, Gippsland, Victoria

Over many years, significant effort by various stakeholders has been undertaken to develop a high-level concept for a long-distance walking trail in far Victoria’s east Gippsland reaching from coastline to Mount Ellery, colloquially known as Sea to Summit. This concept was for a 10–12-day walk with campsites along the route. A demand analysis identified that … Read more