Exploring Chinese visitor demand for Australia's indigenous tourism experiences

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 24 (2015) 25e34

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Exploring Chinese visitor demand for Australia's indigenous tourism experiences Lisa Ruhanen a, *, Michelle Whitford b, Char-lee McLennan c a

Tourism Cluster, UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, QLD 4072, Australia Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management, Griffith Business School, Nathan campus, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia c Griffith Institute for Tourism, Gold Coast campus, Griffith University QLD 4222, Australia b

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 20 October 2014 Received in revised form 16 April 2015 Accepted 14 July 2015 Available online 13 August 2015

Responding to the rapid growth of outbound travel from China, Australia's national tourism body, Tourism Australia, is investing considerable efforts into strategically positioning the Australian tourism industry to be 'China-ready' through targeted marketing programs, formalized policy and planning, and industry education and training. Yet Australia's indigenous tourism sector, while declining across international markets generally, also appears to be missing the opportunities available from the growth in inbound Chinese tourists to the country. Therefore, this study sought to explore the intersection of Australia's indigenous tourism sector and the Chinese market through a multi-method and participant approach that examined: inbound Chinese tourists' relative demand, motivations and preferences, and opportunities and barriers. The findings of the study are examined in the context of understanding the Chinese inbound market, as well as Tourism Australia's marketing and promotion initiatives for the inbound Chinese market. © 2015 The Authors.

Keywords: Indigenous tourism Chinese visitor Australia

1. Introduction With the annual Chinese outbound travel market set to pass 100 million in 2014 (China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, 2013), many countries have been actively targeting this lucrative market. The burgeoning Chinese middle class, with its considerable spending power and desire to travel abroad, has led many countries to refocus their international marketing strategies on outbound Chinese travellers. In Australia, the national tourism organization (Tourism Australia) has realigned its marketing efforts towards China with the aim of capitalizing on the continued growth in this market. While Australia's marketing efforts have traditionally focused on Western markets such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States, Tourism Australia now devotes a quarter of its international marketing budget to promoting Australia in China (Chettle, 2013). At the policy level, the national ‘China 2020 Strategic Plan’ is focused on growing Australia's share of this market and enhancing supply side capabilities through focused training programs for the tourism industry, communication

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ61 07 3346 7095. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (L. Ruhanen), m.whitford@griffith.edu. au (M. Whitford), c.mclennan@griffith.edu.au (C.-l. McLennan). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2015.07.002 1447-6770/© 2015 The Authors.

guidelines and online language toolkits, cultural awareness programs and focused consumer research (Tourism Australia, 2011). Further objectives of the strategy are to develop relevant product for the inbound Chinese market. Australia has an extensive product mix ranging from natural landscapes, to city breaks, food and wine trails, and cultural heritage experiences. One of the key experiences promoted internationally, and one that is seen to offer a key point of difference in the competitive international market place, is Australia's indigenous tourism sector. Indigenous cultural imagery features strongly in the country's international marketing campaigns and destination brand (see http://www.tourism.australia.com/Image-and-Video. aspx) and indigenous tourism is one of the key Australian experiences that underpin Tourism Australia's global marketing activities. In fact, ‘Aboriginal Australia’ (note that in Australia the word Aboriginal is used interchangeably with indigenous) is marketed as one of the seven ‘unique Australian experiences’ alongside others including ‘Aussie Coastal Lifestyle’, ‘Australian Journeys’, and ‘Food and Wine’ (Tourism Australia, 2013b). Yet despite the cultural and political importance of indigenous tourism to Australia, this niche sector is small and in decline. While the sector contributed $3.8 billion annually and realized 689,000 visitors in 2010, representing some 13% of total international visitors, consecutive years of declining visitor demand have led many to question the long-term

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sustainability of this sector (Tourism Research Australia, 2011; Whitford & Ruhanen, 2010). The indigenous tourism sector in Australia faces challenges on many fronts. Not only is the product geographically dispersed, it is largely concentrated in remote and regional parts of Northern Australia, often considerable distances from the major eastern seaboard transport gateways where 76% of inbound traveller nights are spent and 79% of total tourist expenditure occurs (Tourism Research Australia, 2013). Compounding issues of visitor access to markets, indigenous tourism is not a viewed as a primary travel motivator for Australia, but rather it is seen as a minor component of an overall cultural or natural experience and is generally perceived as less attractive than other activities (e.g., see research that has been undertaken in this area by Ryan & Huyton 2000a, 2000b, 2002). Yet given the rapidly growing inbound Chinese market, it is timely to explore the potential of sustaining or indeed growing the indigenous tourism sector in Australia by tapping into the inbound Chinese market. This paper reports on an applied empirical study that was undertaken on behalf of Australia's peak tourism marketing authority. While there is a body of work focused on Chinese perceptions and motivations of Australia as a country this study offers the first empirical investigation of the Chinese markets' preferences and motivations for a particular product segment. In particular, this paper will discuss three areas of investigation: (1) the exploration of inbound Chinese tourists' relative demand for Australian indigenous tourism products and experiences; (2) the examination of the markets' motivations and preferences for a variety of Australian indigenous tourism products and experiences; and, (3) the investigation of opportunities and barriers to developing indigenous tourism for the inbound Chinese market. The findings of this study have important implications for Australia's marketing programs and product development. While this paper reports on an applied study in a particular context, the findings do provide insights for other destinations looking to capitalize on the growing Chinese market via their indigenous or cultural tourism products. In Howison and Higgins-Desbiolles (2014) report on the Cross-Cultural Tourism and Hospitality Symposium, they refer to Sir Tipene O'Regan's keynote address that noted, “no one knows for certain what the change in focus to new tourism source markets such as China will mean for demand for Indigenous experiences both globally and in New Zealand, as until recently market data collection has focused on the traditional sources of demand from North America and Europe” (p. 206). In addition to the market related insights, this paper further contributes to a growing body of literature focused on the Chinese visitor market. 2. Literature review The extraordinary growth in the outbound Chinese market has been the subject of a growing body of literature (e.g. Guo, Kim, & Timothy, 2007; Hume, 2012; Prideaux, Cave, Thompson, & Sibtain, 2012; Tourism Australia, 2012c; Wang & Davidson, 2010b; Xie & Li, 2009). Research has been conducted on Chinese travellers' demographic profiles and market segments (Du & Dai, 2005; Kim, Guo, & Agrusa, 2005; Tourism Review, 2012), travel behaviours (including spending patterns) (Chow & Murphy, 2008; Corigliano, 2011; Wang & Davidson, 2010a; Yap, 2012), and travel motivations and preferences (Du & Zhang, 2003; Huang & Hsu, 2005; Ma, 2009; Yang, Reeh, & Kreisel, 2011). In an Australian context, researchers have explored Chinese travel characteristics, behaviours and preferences (Chow & Murphy, 2011; Destination NSW, 2012; Pan & Laws, 2003; Tourism Australia, 2008, 2012a, 2012b, 2012c; Tourism Queensland, 2012; Wang & Davidson,

2010a; Yu & Weiler, 2001), segmentation strategies (Li, Zhang, Mao, & Deng, 2011; Prideaux et al., 2012), destination attributes (Sparks & Pan, 2009; Wang & Davidson, 2010c), visitor satisfaction (Li & Carr, 2004; Wang & Davidson, 2010c; Weiler & Yu, 2006, 2008), Approved Destination Status (ADS) policy (Dwyer, King, & Prideaux, 2007), and the marketing of Australia to China (Kwek & Lee, 2008; Pan & Laws, 2001; Wang & Davidson, 2010b; Zhang & Murphy, 2009). The significance of the Chinese market to Australia is evidenced, not only by the growth in academic research being undertaken throughout the country but concomitantly, the development of policy, product development and marketing strategies by both national and state tourism authorities. Australia has witnessed a remarkable growth in the Chinese inbound market, a result of being the first country to be granted Approved Destination Status (ADS) by China in 1999. Since 2002, the Chinese inbound market has been growing at an average of 13% per annum. At the end of 2012, China became Australia's second largest inbound market in terms of visitor numbers (after New Zealand), reaching over 600,000 arrivals. China is also Australia's fastest growing inbound tourism market in terms of visitor value; it is now the highest yielding market ahead of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States (Loras, 2012). In the longer term, China is expected to be one of Australia's major inbound visitor markets with estimates of inbound arrivals continuing to increase at a compound annual rate of 11%, potentially reaching between A$7 and $9 billion in total expenditure by 2020 (Loras, 2012). A snapshot of the Chinese inbound market to Australia indicated that in 2012, 68% of total arrivals travelled to Australia for leisure (that is, either for a holiday or to visit friends or relatives); 47% were repeat visitors; and the largest demographic was the 45e59 year old age group (Tourism Australia, 2013a). Although not a homogenous market, Tourism Australia (2012c) has provided an overview of the ‘average’ Chinese long-haul leisure visitor travelling to Australia. This visitor is a relatively experienced traveller (almost 70% have travelled outside of Asia in the last 12 months) who has a strong desire to visit Australia's iconic attractions and the Sydney Opera House, the Great Barrier Reef, kangaroos and koalas are high on the traveller's list of ‘must sees’. Group travel is generally preferred, particularly when visiting a destination for the first time, however as experience is gained, flexibility in travel options becomes more important. This visitor is inspired and influenced by traditional travel advertising, travel media and word-of-mouth. Not surprisingly, social media is also becoming increasingly influential. Researchers have explored Chinese tourists' expectations of a long haul holiday and what they look for when choosing a holiday destination; overwhelmingly identifying high demand for sightseeing and dining/eating experiences (Chow & Murphy, 2008, 2011; Corigliano, 2011; Du & Dai, 2005; Tourism Australia, 2008, 2013a), or the opportunity to experience something ‘different’ to their home environment (Tourism Australia, 2012c; Yang et al., 2011). Research has revealed that while in Australia, the market is seeking ‘world class beauty and natural environments’ (i.e. sightseeing), ‘good food, wine, local cuisine and produce’, ‘friendly, open citizens with local hospitality’ and ‘cultural heritage/activities’ (Tourism Australia, 2013a). The research however, has not specifically investigated the significance (or not) of indigenous culture as a subset of the country's broader cultural heritage/activities. Internationally, studies have found that while Chinese tourists rate cultural experiences as important, they are not the main destination pull factor (Chow & Murphy, 2008; Yang et al., 2011; Corigliano, 2011). Several studies have drawn conclusions from their broader research objectives regarding Chinese demand for indigenous experiences. For instance, Fountain, Espiner, and Xie (2011) found that while culture and history was not an important

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reason to visit New Zealand, the opportunity to experience and ori and European culture grew in importance learn about both Ma for Chinese tourists during their trip. Similarly, in examining perceptions of Chinese package holiday makers to Australia, Wang and Davidson (2010b) found that Australia's indigenous culture was not considered one of the country's key attributes. They concluded that Chinese tourists may have little knowledge about indigenous culture in Australia before visiting. Despite findings suggesting that the Chinese market has little prior knowledge of Australia's indigenous peoples, data from Australia's International Visitor Survey has shown that Chinese visitors arriving on a travel package were the highest number to experience some form of indigenous tourism (where an indigenous tourism experience is defined by Tourism Australia as: visiting an Aboriginal site or community; experiencing Aboriginal art/craft or cultural display; and/or attending an Aboriginal performance). It was also found that Chinese tourists in general were the third largest consumers of indigenous tourism products, behind visitors from the United Kingdom and the United States (Tourism Research Australia, 2011). Indeed Tourism Western Australia have claimed that the “majority of Chinese visitors are interested in the history and culture of Australia, including our indigenous heritage” (Tourism Western Australia, 2013, p.1). Additionally, Tourism Western Australia noted the need to “consider opportunities to promote WA [Western Australia] indigenous products in China and integrate into promotional opportunities” (Tourism Western Australia, 2013, p.32). Interestingly however, neither Australia's national China tourism strategy, nor any of the individual state China tourism strategies refer to indigenous tourism per se. Paradoxically indigenous tourism features strongly in Australia's outbound marketing campaigns generally; however, it is not a theme that is promoted to the Chinese market. Therefore, while there is documented evidence that the burgeoning and lucrative outbound Chinese market is providing an array of opportunities for destinations around the globe, including Australia, it is questionable as to the extent to which these opportunities will translate to increased participation by Chinese visitors in the indigenous tourism experiences on offer in Australia. It is against this background that this study was undertaken, the first of its kind in Australia and internationally, to specifically explore Chinese tourists' demand, perceptions and expectations of indigenous tourism products and experiences. 3. Research methods To explore the aims and objectives of this study, a mixed methodology was employed that utilised both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques with Chinese visitors to Australia, Chinese inbound tour operators and Australian indigenous tourism operators. In stage one data was collected from two samples of Chinese visitors to Australia. Firstly, face-to-face surveys were undertaken with 115 Chinese tourists in four tourist precincts around Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns and Darwin. This survey was designed for independent Chinese tourists to Australia and generally took 15e20 min to complete with a 74% participation rate. The visitor survey instrument was piloted, translated into simple Chinese and iPads with access to Survey Monkey (an online survey tool) were utilized to facilitate the data collection. Data collectors were fluent in both English and Mandarin although only 8% of the surveys were conducted in Chinese. The survey included a series of questions designed to explore the relative importance of Indigenous tourism experiences vis- a-vis other Australian products and experiences. Additional questions focused on interest and motivation to participate in Indigenous tourism. Barriers and challenges to participation were also elicited.

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A delimitation of this first sample is that only tourists in the four collection regions were included in the visitor survey sample via convenience sampling in common and acknowledged ‘tourist’ areas of the cities. These four locations were selected to obtain a mix of respondents. Two of the locations, Cairns and Darwin have prominent indigenous products and experiences. Cairns is home to Tjapukai, one of Australia's most successful indigenous tourism enterprises and Darwin, in the Northern Territory, is closely associated with indigenous tourism because of the proportionally higher population of indigenous Australians living in the Territory (approximately 30% of the total Northern Territory population) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011). Sydney and Melbourne are two gateway cities in Australia and the two most visited cities for all markets but also for inbound Chinese tourists. However, neither of these cities has a particular indigenous tourism presence. While product is available it is not strongly promoted, relative to other experiences, and would be unlikely to register to respondents as ‘indigenous’ tourism destinations. The second visitor sample surveyed were 275 Chinese tourists travelling in tour groups. This sample was considered important given the prevalence of Chinese tourists to travel in tour groups (in 2012 51% of first time visitors to Australia and 28% of repeat visitors travelled as part of a tour group), and the importance of the tour group market in terms of participating in indigenous tourism in Australia (Tourism Research Australia, 2011). Although acknowledging that tour group participants will generally have little influence over their itineraries, tours may be chosen by tourists because of particular attributes and inclusions. Alternatively, tour group participants may have a desire for certain experiences that are not being met. Due to limitations in accessing the tour groups, and the considerable time constraints in any one location due to tightly scheduled itineraries, this survey instrument was considerably shorter than the survey designed for the independent travellers as discussed above. Instead, the surveys for the tour groups were in Chinese and designed to be self-completed in approximately five minutes. Key questions directly mirrored that of the previous survey to allow the samples to be combined for analysis. Analysis of the Chinese tourist survey results for both the independent traveller and tour group samples were undertaken using data analysis software SPSS v.21 and STATA v.12. Analysis included descriptive statistics and tests for significance (e.g. chisquare tests, t-tests and ANOVA). Key sample statistics revealed that the gender distribution of the Chinese tourist respondents was relatively even at 45% female and 55% male. Generally, the Chinese respondents were aged 25e34 years (31%), followed by 45e54 years (21%) and 35e44 years (20%). The respondents were found to have an average length of stay of 18 nights. The majority of the respondents were in Australia for a holiday (62%), followed by other purposes such as education and business. The visitor survey data was triangulated with the inclusion of Chinese inbound tour operators as well as indigenous tourism operators. Surveys were undertaken with 51 Chinese tour operators (Approved Destination Status [ADS] inbound and other tour operators servicing the Chinese market in Australia). Given the high proportion of visitors travelling in tour groups, understanding the perceptions, expectations and decision-making process and choices of the inbound tour operators is arguably crucial in investigating the Chinese market's perception of Australia's indigenous tourism product. Finally, in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were undertaken with a sample of 34 indigenous tourism operators from across Australia to gain their perspectives on the Chinese market and the opportunities and barriers to growing Chinese demand for indigenous tourism experiences. Questions relating to the Chinese market were incorporated into a broader interview schedule

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designed to address a range of issues pertaining to the development of indigenous tourism in Australia. Potential interview respondents were identified by existing listings such as the Indigenous Tourism Champions and business databases previously compiled by the research team. Interviews were recoded and transcribed verbatim before content analysis was applied to this data set. The content analysis procedures used in this study followed the principles of Neuman's (1997) manifest and latent coding approach. Latent codes identified in the literature review as being the most discernable during the study period were selected and relevant literature allowed the nomination of key distinguishing criteria for each code which were used as a reference throughout the ensuing latent coding of the interview transcripts. Secondly, single or multiple words and or phrases deemed important to the interview were selected and allocated manifest codes. The importance of words and or phrases was determined by knowledge gained from issues raised in the review of literature and a critical colleague validated their importance. 4. Results 4.1. The Chinese market's relative demand for indigenous tourism Chinese tourist survey participants were asked what activities and experiences they were aware of that could be undertaken in Australia. The purpose of this question was to identify respondents' spontaneous or ‘top-of-mind’ awareness about key Australian experiences and thus the relative importance of indigenous tourism vis- a-vis other destination experiences. Outdoor and nature experiences had the highest awareness (77%), followed by local attractions (52%), active outdoor/sport experiences (28%), social experiences (29%), and arts or heritage experiences (19%). Indigenous experiences were identified by 14% of respondents. The survey included a list of predetermined key Australian activities and experiences and respondents were asked to indicate, on a scale of 1e5 (where 1 is not at all important and 5 is extremely important) the importance of these experiences (Table 1). They were then asked to identify whether they have and/or will participate in these experiences while in Australia. This question was designed to understand the relative importance of certain activities as well as respondents' propensity to actually participate in these activities while in Australia. In terms of perceived importance and intention to participate, Table 1 demonstrates that Chinese tourists rated ‘sightseeing/looking around’ as the most important activity

while in Australia, followed by visiting ‘national parks/state parks/ World Heritage sites/botanical gardens’. Interestingly, activities such as ‘visit the outback’ were considered important Australian experiences but only 10% of respondents intended to participate in these experiences. Concomitantly, visiting ‘amusement/theme parks’ ranked the lowest in perceived importance, yet over a third of respondents noted they had/would participate in this activity during their trip. This is likely attributable to the proportion of tour group participants who may not personally see it as an important activity but it is included on their tour itinerary. Table 1 clearly shows the indigenous tourism experiences generally ranked around the mid to lower end of the listed activities and experiences. For instance, ‘see an Indigenous performance’ and ‘visit an Indigenous cultural centre/gallery’ both ranked at 3.10 while ‘go on a tour with an Indigenous guide’ and ‘visit an Indigenous site or community’ were ranked 3.05 on a 5 point scale of importance. These rankings indicate a neutral level of interest however when the intention to participate in the experience was examined, the proportion of respondents participating in (or planning to participate) was just 14%, 13% and 14% respectively. 4.2. The Chinese market's motivations and preferences for indigenous tourism products and experiences For those respondents that had participated in an indigenous tourism experience in Australia, an interest in indigenous history, culture and traditions were the main motivating factors (54%) and some respondents (21%) noted value for money. For other respondents there was little motivation; the indigenous experience was simply a part of their tour itinerary (37%) or it was an unplanned event/spur of the moment decision (19%). To further explore preferences and more specifically, what types of indigenous activities or experiences were appealing to the Chinese market, all respondents were provided with eight hypothetical indigenous tourism experience scenarios (Table 2) and asked to rate the appeal of the scenarios on a scale of 1e5 (where 1 is not at all appealing and 5 is very appealing). Respondents were provided with eight different Indigenous tourism activity and experience scenarios containing a series of questions to elicit the appeal, intentions, willingness to pay, and any barriers to participating. The scenarios were hypothetical and designed to represent a range of options from tours, accommodation or static displays, to varying lengths of time to participate, to activities and experiences in urban and remote locations. It was not possible to include every type or

Table 1 Chinese visitors' perceived importance and participation in key Australian experiences. Experience (in order of ranked importance)

Perceived importance of experience (mean)

Intention to participate in experience (% of respondents)

Sightseeing/looking around National parks/state parks/World Heritage sites/botanical gardens Wildlife parks/zoos/aquariums Museums, art galleries, history/heritage buildings, sites or monuments Shopping Events, festivals, fairs and markets Visit the outback See an Indigenous performance Visit an Indigenous cultural center/gallery Go on a tour with an Indigenous guide Visit an Indigenous site or community Attend theatre, concerts or performing arts Sports/Adventure activities Stay with an Indigenous host Health spa or wellbeing center Pubs, clubs, discos, casinos and restaurants Amusement/theme parks

3.95 3.85

55.8% 59.0%

3.75 3.65

52.5% 50.9%

3.30 3.30 3.20 3.10 3.10 3.05 3.05 3.00 2.95 2.75 2.65 2.55 2.55

37.4% 35.8% 10.0% 14.0% 13.0% 14.0% 8.0% 28.0% 17.0% 4.0% 7.0% 18.7% 35.0%

The indigenous activities are shaded in the table to differentiate (highlight) them from the range of other activities that can be undertaken in Australia.

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Table 2 Appeal of indigenous tourism activities and experiences to Chinese tourists. Indigenous experience scenarios

Tourists

Full day tour with an Aboriginal guide to iconic attractions (in a regional location) Half day adventure activity with an Aboriginal guide (e.g. 4WDing, fishing or kayaking) Stay overnight in a luxury cabin with private facilities on Aboriginal land (in a remote location) Experience an Aboriginal cultural show or performance as part of a larger tourist attraction (e.g. at a theme park) Experience an Aboriginal museum display Two hour walking tour with an Aboriginal guide (within walking distance of a capital city) Visiting a remote outback location to see Aboriginal rock paintings or carvings Stay overnight in a remote Aboriginal community or on Aboriginal land in shared facilities

combination of experiences available. The use of scenarios in the study was in response to anecdotal concerns that a reason why indigenous tourism might be seen to be a relatively popular activity (according to statistical collections) is that tourists have incidental Indigenous experiences such as visiting a museum display or seeing a street performer playing an indigenous instrument and feel that they do not need to do a further indigenous experience while in Australia (D. Brudenall, personal communication, 9 December 2011). The respondents generally displayed little interest in the indigenous tourism experience scenarios. While a ‘full day tour with an Aboriginal guide to key Australian attractions’ had the highest appeal ratings, it still scored around the mid-point of the scale, again showing that these activities had a reasonably neutral appeal across the sample. Indeed, when questioned about why they would not participate in these particular activities and experiences, 65% of the respondents stated a lack of interest as the primary reason. 4.3. Opportunities and barriers for indigenous tourism and the Chinese market Chinese tourist respondents were asked to identify some of the factors they felt were barriers to their participation in an indigenous tourism experience whilst in Australia. Time limitations, cost, and distance to travel were all noted by respondents (Fig. 1). Openended responses at the conclusion of the tourist survey gave further insights into barriers and two key themes emerged. Firstly, respondents felt there was a lack of information/advertising/promotion for indigenous tourism experiences and so claimed they had little knowledge about the available options, nor did they know

Operators/Experts

Mean

SD

Mean

SD

3.51 3.47 3.32 3.27 3.16 3.15 3.08 2.85

1.22 1.36 1.32 1.17 1.16 1.18 1.23 1.33

3.58 3.65 3.46 3.44 3.22 3.22 3.21 3.09

1.18 1.27 1.24 1.07 1.10 1.14 1.20 1.25

how to access such experiences. Secondly, a number of the tourist respondents raised safety concerns and a feeling of discomfort in the presence of indigenous people as well as language barriers. The Chinese inbound tour operator respondents also noted several reasons why Chinese tourists would not want to engage in an indigenous tourism experience. Firstly, it was widely agreed by these respondents (91%) that the Chinese market has little prior knowledge about Australia's indigenous people, thus affecting awareness and demand for indigenous tourism experiences. Compounding this, the tour operator respondents identified a lack of promotion and information about indigenous experiences in Australia, a finding that concurs with comments made by many of the tourist respondents. Amongst the operator respondents, the market's lack of interest and/or dislike for this type of experience was a key theme. In an open-ended question, some respondents noted that indigenous experiences are only suitable for special interest groups and are not a high priority for the market generally. For instance, one respondent noted, “they [Chinese tourists] are here for a very short time in each location and their time is taken up by seeing the major tourist attractions”. Another respondent said, “with the current ADS visa approval, groups that travel to Oz are mainly shopping groups”. Some respondents did note however, that an indigenous experience might be of interest to this market if it was integrated into the itinerary. For instance, one respondent agreed, “… .Aboriginal culture wouldn't top the list of things they'd like to do, but most of them probably wouldn't mind having a taste of Aboriginal culture if it doesn't require much effort”. Finally, Chinese inbound tour operator respondents were asked to make recommendations to indigenous tourism operators regarding opportunities for the sector in attracting the Chinese inbound market. Building on some of the issues noted above,

Fig. 1. Barriers to participating in indigenous tourism for Chinese visitors.

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respondents reported that there was a need to overcome language and cultural barriers. For instance, it was noted there was a need to provide brochures and interpretation services and engage experienced Mandarin speaking staff to translate the stories. Furthermore, a lack of product awareness was raised again, including the need to ensure product information is more readily available. Some respondents suggested there is a need to work with agents in China to promote available indigenous product. Product standards have long been a concern for this sector in Australia (Jones Donald Strategy Partners, 2009) and this was also a focus of the China tourism operator respondents who noted the need for improvements including: consistency in service delivery; staff training (e.g. presentation skills); and facilities should be clean, well maintained and of a good quality. The respondents also discussed a raft of logistical barriers including the location and access of many indigenous tourism experiences. Indeed, developing supply in close proximity to major cities or in urban areas was seen as important by the respondents who claimed that most Chinese tourists will not travel to the outback or regional parts of the country for a tourism experience. Timing was also mentioned in terms of designing experiences that are well organized and short enough in duration so that they can be accommodated into tour -vis other itineraries. Pricing and the need to be competitive vis-a experiences was also noted as was the need to provide well-priced souvenir and shopping opportunities. Interviews were also undertaken with a sample of indigenous tourism operators to explore their perceptions of the Chinese market and its potential for contributing towards the development of Australia's indigenous tourism sector. Of the 34 indigenous tourism operators interviewed for this study, few (7) were interested in the emerging Chinese market (“it's important, but we would probably do a lot better if we could get some, but I don't see them”) and even less operators (4) reported any dealings with Chinese visitors. While a number of the operators recognised the importance of the market over the next 10 years (“I think they're going to be important to everyone in the next 10 years … ”) and the opportunities the market can provide (“I'm sure it's going to be beneficial for the country and a lot of tour operators”), most operators were not interested in pursuing the Chinese market (“we've looked at the China market, we've been to … China awareness workshops … I've certainly got great knowledge of the expectations and needs of that market and it doesn't make me want to run and chase it, and, I've seen them in the region; it doesn't want to make me have them as my tourists”). A number of operators (8) also maintained that the Chinese market has little interest in indigenous tourism experiences (“Chinese people aren't interested in Aboriginal culture”), while a further six participants claimed that they did not want to pursue or engage with the Chinese market. 5. Discussion The indigenous tourism sector has the potential to provide truly unique experiences to visitors travelling throughout Australia; however, this niche sector is in need of new initiatives to address declining demand. Arguably, the expanding Chinese market has the potential to offset the declining demand for indigenous tourism experiences. Organizations such as Tourism Australia are devoting considerable effort in growing the Chinese market in recognition of the opportunities this market provides the Australian tourism sector. This inaugural study which was commissioned to explore the intersection between indigenous tourism and the Chinese market, was focused around three research objectives: (1) To explore the relative demand for Australian indigenous tourism products and experiences; (2) To investigate the motivations and preferences of the market for Australian indigenous tourism

products and experiences; and, (3) To identify the opportunities and barriers for indigenous tourism with the Chinese tourist market to Australia. The results of this study have confirmed that Chinese tourists' have low levels of demand for indigenous tourism experiences in Australia. Not only are indigenous experiences in Australia generating low levels of demand across the Chinese market, but a range of barriers (not the least of which is the indigenous tourism operators' general disinterest in pursuing this lucrative market), are constraining what little demand the Chinese tourist market is producing. The following discussion explores the findings of this study around three emergent themes: understanding the market; overcoming barriers; and, marketing and promotion. 5.1. Understanding the market The results of this study suggest there is a somewhat ‘scrambled’ understanding of the Chinese market in relation to indigenous tourism. Overall, relative knowledge of the market is limited, in some instances inaccurate and in too many instances there is a misalliance between supply and demand. Although indigenous tourism experiences are not exclusively in the cultural domain, previous research conducted on the market has shown that generally, Chinese tourists have an interest in cultural heritage activities while on holidays (Chow & Murphy, 2008; Corigliano, 2011; Fountain et al., 2011; Yang et al., 2011). More specifically, Tourism Australia (2013a) found Chinese visitors to Australia have an interest in cultural heritage activities and according to Chow and Murphy (2008), rank cultural heritage as the third most important activity to undertake in Australia. Yet the results of this study indicate that interest in cultural heritage in Australia apparently does not extend to indigenous products generally, or indigenous cultural products more specifically. For instance, across a range of indigenous experience opportunities, the sample reported neutral levels of interest with less than 15% of the tourists indicating an intention to participate in these types of activities. Those who had participated in an indigenous experience generally did so because the activities were included in a tour itinerary. This may explain the results of the national statistical collection, which found that Chinese package tourists are the highest number to experience indigenous tourism in Australia (Tourism Australia, 2011). Overall however, the results of this study reflect the results of Wang and Davidson's (2010b) work, which claimed that the Chinese market had low awareness of indigenous tourism as an Australian experience. Thus in light of the results of this study, which clearly revealed a lack of awareness of indigenous tourism activities among the Chinese tourism market, it would seem to fair to suggest there is a pressing need to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of Australian tourism marketing campaigns that feature indigenous tourism. This argument is strengthened by the results of previous studies which have found that although Chinese tourists often have little knowledge about the indigenous cultures of the country they are visiting (Fountain et al., 2011; Moshin, 2008; Wang & Davidson, 2010b), once their awareness about the indigenous experiences within a country increases, the importance of learning about and experiencing indigenous culture also increases (Wang & Davidson, 2010b; Xie & Li, 2009). Moreover, while the Chinese tourist respondents in this study recorded low preferences for, and engagement in indigenous tourism, other experiences such as visiting cultural heritage assets, including museums, galleries and heritage sites ranked much higher in terms of perceived importance (preferences) and visitation. Arguably then, this presents an opportunity to use other cultural heritage experiences as a conduit to introduce indigenous tourism to the Chinese market.

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Other opportunities to increase demand for indigenous tourism exist in terms of changing travel behaviour patterns as the market matures. Chinese tourists' to Australia generally stay in major cities, apparently due to limited knowledge that many Chinese travel agents have about destinations outside of the major cities (i.e., remote locations where a range indigenous tourism experiences are offered) (Zhang & Murphy, 2009). Yet in Australia, there are reports that Chinese visitors are starting to travel further afield and the market now ranks as Australia's third largest for dispersed nights (Destination NSW, 2012). According to one industry commentator, “as (Chinese tourists) become more experienced travellers they will become more interested in this these types of experiences” (Chettle, 2013). Similarly, Sparks and Pan (2009) point towards the opportunities associated with the new generation of Chinese travellers that will become the main Chinese travel market; the young singles (under age 35) market that is more ‘showy’, more adventurous than mature travellers (age 35 plus), and more willing to explore new things. As many indigenous experiences have novel and adventure-type elements, this market is potentially one that indigenous tourism operators (and marketers) designing indigenous tourism marketing campaigns need to investigate and pursue. There are of course a range of urban based indigenous experiences that can be better targeted at the Chinese market. During the development and design of marketing campaigns however, operators and marketers need to ensure they are on the ‘same page’ in relation to indigenous tourism in Australia. The results of this study strongly suggest there is a disconnect between tourist respondents and operator respondents, but also between operators and their market. This disconnect is possibly due to a lack of knowledge and/or understanding of the Chinese market in relation to Australian indigenous tourism. For instance, the results of the study suggest an element of uncertainty in relation to operators' position pertaining to the Chinese market. On the one hand, most operators believed that the Chinese market has an interest in indigenous experiences and 80% of operators reported offering it on their tours. Yet, on the other hand, when operators were asked to consider the range of indigenous scenario options, they ranked the experiences relatively neutral to low on the Likert scales. When asked to elaborate the reasons for this, the majority of operator respondents claimed that the market has a lack of interest in indigenous experiences and/or a dislike of this type of experience. Overall most indigenous tourism operators believe Chinese visitors to Australia are generally seeking a shallow experience; that is, they are not looking for either a deep cultural experience or opportunities to learn about others cultures but rather they are looking for opportunities where they can shop, play and relax. Indeed, one operator maintained Chinese tourists are looking for “a three day, non-indigenous tour, that's what they come over for e it's wham bam, and, they just want to throw the boomerang and want to see the dance performers. So Asians want this very shallow experience”. The operators felt that if the Chinese visitors participate in an indigenous tourism experience, their main priority will be to see and/or experience a stereotypical indigenous experience (i.e., throw a boomerang or watch a dance performance) (“they do want gimmicky … they love it. Yeah, just working at xxx they love all the gimmicky stuff up there and they're not interested in anything else. So they'll want bush tucker, dances … ”), nature experiences (“it's more the nature, nature based experience for that sort of market and that international market”) and shopping (“I think they'd rather go to a major capital city or shopping or casino”). Yet, while indigenous tourism operators feel Chinese tourists do not prioritise participation in their product while in Australia, industry bodies such as the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Committee (WAITOC) (2013) make claims that there is growing demand for indigenous tourism experiences in Australia.

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The results of this study and others (see Ruhanen, Whitford, & McLennan, 2015), suggest that such claims are certainly overstated. It would appear fair to suggest then, that until indigenous tourism operators and marketers seize the opportunity to ensure they are all on the same page as their market in order to develop effective and appropriate marketing campaigns and product that will attract and meet the needs the burgeoning Chinese tourism market. Thus although there are numerous opportunities for indigenous tourism, the knowledge gap between supply and demand and the resultant confusion about market preferences arguably underpins the sometimes languid development and consumption of indigenous tourism product in Australia. Until there is a clearer, more nuanced, comprehensive, coordinated and collaborative understanding about the Chinese market, indigenous tourism will not be ‘China-ready’ (a term widely used in the Australian tourism sector to refer to the efforts of government and industry to grow the Chinese market) and may lose the window of opportunity this lucrative market is presenting. 5.2. Overcoming the barriers In addition to low demand for the indigenous tourism product, the results of this study confirm that there are some considerable barriers to overcome if the inbound Chinese market is to sustain or indeed grow the indigenous tourism sector in Australia. Over and above a knowledge gap between supply and demand, respondents commented on the demand side barriers of time, cost and distance. To address these barriers, realistic assessments of products gaps vis- a-vis tourist flows and demand patterns are crucial. Arguably, these assessment will likely show that an effective strategy might include indigenous tourism development moving away from adopting supply led, ‘build it and they will come’ approaches to demand driven product development to adopting a cluster approach with existing products in the region. For instance, given that the vast majority of tourists to Australia generally, and Chinese tourists specifically, spend their visit on the eastern seaboard of the country, arguably, there are an array of ‘cluster’ opportunities for indigenous tourism operators to develop product in key tourist regions which are more easily accessible by tourists and thus mitigate barriers pertaining to time, cost and distance. Other barriers that were identified through the open-ended questions included tourists' concerns over language barriers, safety and feeling uncomfortable. Suggestions from the operator respondents to overcome language barriers included employing Mandarin speaking guides and more China relevant training for staff. However, overcoming issues pertaining to tourist feeling ‘safe’ and ‘comfortable’ in a foreign environment are not so easy to address effectively. The safety concerns of the respondents in this study are indicative of concerns raised in previous studies which identified Chinese tourists as highly safety conscious and not willing to take risks in travelling to places perceived to be dangerous (Arlt, 2006; Sparks & Pan, 2009; Tourism Australia, 2013a; Yang et al., 2011). Thus, there is a need to educate, via promotion at the very least, the Chinese market about Australia's indigenous peoples in order to allay fears, which are likely stemming from a lack of awareness or lack of familiarity with indigenous peoples and/or from negative media coverage about Australia's indigenous population. Indeed, it is imperative that safety and security assurances are included in promotional material targeting Chinese travellers to build confidence in the market that indigenous tourism experiences in Australia are not dangerous and/or high-risk adventures. The aforementioned barriers present challenges for the development and growth of the product, however, if the Chinese market

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is to contribute towards sustaining or growing the indigenous tourism sector in Australia, the greatest barrier to overcome is indigenous tourism operators' perceptions of the Chinese market. Only 20% of the tourism operator respondents in this study were currently targeting the market and about the same proportion stated that they had no interest in targeting the market now or in the future. Many of the operators recognized the importance of the Chinese market, particularly for the future, but many were unwilling to target this market. It was felt that the expectations of the market were too high and many operators were highly sceptical of the market's interest in indigenous culture. These sentiments appear to be in direct contrast to both government strategies that are espousing the virtues of seizing opportunities brought about by the emerging Chinese market and also to promotional strategies that utilize indigenous imagery to entice the Chinese traveller to visit Australia. Yet, with the exception of Western Australia, none of the Australian government tourism strategies (national or state) developed specifically for capitalising on the opportunities presented by the Chinese tourism market mention the indigenous tourism sector. Thus a more coordinated and collaborative approach between government and indigenous operators is imperative in order to facilitate more effective strategies that in turn, will assist in the development of a China ready Indigenous tourism product. 5.3. Marketing and promotion A ‘China ready’ indigenous tourism product requires an effective marketing campaign however the effectiveness of current marketing strategies and associated promotional campaigns across Australia is questionable. Indeed, marketing, promotion and the Chinese markets' lack of awareness about indigenous tourism was a recurring theme in this study's results. The tourist survey findings clearly showed the Chinese market's low levels of awareness for Australia's indigenous experiences. Indeed the operators confirmed that the Chinese market has little awareness or knowledge of Australia's indigenous populations. Not surprisingly, low levels of awareness directly correlate with the low levels of intended participation in an indigenous experience. Arguably then, in order to successfully increase the engagement of Chinese travellers in indigenous tourism experiences in the future, there is a need to focus on developing appropriate marketing strategies that increase Chinese travellers' overall awareness of indigenous experiences in Australia. These strategies should also focus on providing subtle education about indigenous culture in order to allay the range of fears and misconceptions apparently held by the Chinese market in relation to indigenous tourism in Australia. Concomitantly, product promotion should capture and communicate the range of opportunities available to visitors once they are in Australia. Yet, the results of this study suggest there is room for developing more effective methods of communication so visitors can easily access information when in country; not only about experiences that are available, but also where and how these experiences can be accessed. Importantly however, responsibility for increasing participation in indigenous experiences should not lay solely with marketers. Both operators of indigenous tourism businesses and government need to have a more comprehensive understanding of the Chinese market in order to improve and/or develop their products accordingly if they wish to be China-ready and grow their market. Certainly, at both the national and state government levels, much effort is being exerted into achieving Australia's targets to grow the Chinese market. For instance, Tourism Australia has recently launched a new Chinese consumer website (www.Australia.cn) with content specifically tailored to highlight Chinese consumers'

most preferred Australian travel experiences. It is also integrated with China's most popular social media platforms. This is a significant development for Tourism Australia. It is the first consumer website that the national tourism authority has developed exclusively for a particular international market (Tourism Australia, 2013c). Additionally, the presence of dedicated strategies, at both the national and state level is further evidence of the importance placed on this market by governments and tourism bodies. Moreover, as noted previously, only one of the national or state China tourism strategies mentions the indigenous tourism sector. This is despite the fact that these same national and state tourism bodies also do much to develop and grow indigenous tourism within their state; indeed most of the Australian states and territories have dedicated indigenous tourism strategies. The one exception is Tourism Western Australia who, in a ‘China marketing toolkit’, claims that the “majority of Chinese visitors are interested in the history and culture of Australia, including our indigenous heritage” (Tourism Western Australia, 2013, p.1). How such a conclusion was reached by this organization is worthy of further investigation to better understand the extent to which Australia's indigenous tourism sector can capitalize on the growing Chinese market. 6. Conclusion Targeting the inbound Chinese market is a key focus of Australia's national tourism body. While some believe that casinos, restaurants and shopping are the key attractions for the inbound Chinese market, others are optimistic that there is scope within the market for cultural, outback, and one day, indigenous experiences (Tourism Australia, 2013c), particularly as the market matures. Yet this research has shown that there is still considerable work to be done if the growing Chinese market, which is seen as such a promising opportunity for Australia's tourism industry generally, can positively boost the niche sector of indigenous tourism, which is in need of some form of stimulus if it is to be a sustainable socioeconomic development option for Australia's indigenous population. Low levels of awareness, coupled with low rates of participation, relatively neutral levels of interest in a range of indigenous product options, and a perceived range of barriers, some more difficult to address than others, all point to considerable demand side challenges. Concurrently however, the disinterest towards the Chinese market of a number of the indigenous tourism operators interviewed in this study will undoubtedly curtail the extent to which the indigenous tourism sector in Australia becomes China ready. The aim of this research was to provide some of the first insights into inbound Chinese visitor demand for indigenous tourism in Australia. Although China is regarded as one of Australia's key growth tourism markets, there has been no empirical research in this area with the exception of the national statistical collections. From a general tourism perspective, this study has contributed to the research into Chinese outbound tourist preferences through the exploration into the perceived importance and intentions to participate in Australian tourism experiences. Academically the findings of this study have corroborated some of the assumptions and conclusions drawn from studies of the Chinese market more generally (Corigliano, 2011; Chow & Murphy, 2008; Fountain et al., 2011; Wang & Davidson, 2010b; Yang et al., 2011). There were limitations of this research including access to Chinese visitors, particularly those travelling in a group tour context. Despite a variety of different strategies that were employed during the data collection phase the sample was not as extensive as originally hoped for. Similarly the depth of the surveys was limited due to the considerable time constraints involved in sampling those travelling in tour groups.

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From the limited awareness of, and interest for participating in indigenous tourism experiences evident in this study, targeted marketing efforts will be necessary to play a role in the development of this niche sector in the future. As such, future research needs to focus on how to best market indigenous experiences to Chinese travellers. Such research could explore the role of the internet, the use of a consistent and recognizable logo associated with quality indigenous tourism products, pricing strategies and product development options. Underpinning all future research should be the quest to bridge the evident gap between the supply and demand of indigenous product with the goals of facilitating the development of a sustainable indigenous tourism sector in Australia.

Acknowledgements This study was funded by Indigenous Business Australia and the Commonwealth Department of Resources Energy and Tourism.

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