CASE STUDY / CHRISTMAS ISLAND TOURISM ASSOCIATION
STRATEGIC TOURISM ACTION PLAN
CLIENT: Christmas Island Tourism Association (CITA)
DTM Service: Strategic Tourism Action Planning
Completed: August 2023
PROJECT SUMMARY
CLEAR GUIDANCE TO IMPLEMENT STRATEGIC REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
Christmas Island is a remote Australian Territory located in the Indian Ocean approximately 350kms south-west of Java and almost 1550km northwest of the closest point on the Australian mainland.
Over a number of years, multiple tourism strategic reports have been developed for Christmas Island, however implementation of recommendations has traditionally been challenging. The primary industry on the island is phosphate mining which supports the resident population. However, as the life of the mine draws to a close in 2034, tourism is considered a priority, emerging industry.
The Christmas Island Tourism Association (CITA) requested a Strategic Tourism Action Plan to be developed to provide practical and measurable tasks for the CITA team to implement which will improve capability of the organisation and Christmas Island’s tourism community, whilst achieving greater destination awareness.
2. THE CHALLENGE
HOW TO IMPLEMENT PRACTICAL TOURISM PROJECTS
Christmas Island faces unique tourism challenges. Its isolation and tropical climate are amongst its most desirable tourism qualities, however, these same factors also present logistical challenges in access, services and amenities for tourists to enjoy. Prior to and during the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of reports were delivered to identify challenges whilst providing a strategic overview to potential logistics solutions. However, the challenge on Christmas Island is that there are multiple governing bodies with responsibility for administration of the island and gaps in a coordinated approach to resolving issues for the betterment of the local community.
In addition, Christmas Island is known for the annual Red Crab Migration and diving, which funnels tourism arrivals into a short peak season at a time of year when the weather is the least optimal. Accommodation inventory is limited for leisure tourism and operators are not connected to the wider tourism industry.
Many of the macro issues identified in the strategic reports were deemed to be beyond the direct responsibility of CITA to influence. However, CITA understood that taking a clearly visible and measurable approach to leadership of the tourism community, with step by step guidance in developing capability would provide robust foundations to tackle larger issues.
3. OUR APPROACH
identifying a tourism development pathway that is industry-lead
We use a 9-tier tourism assessment model to review tourism capability in destinations. During this project we visited Christmas Island for 5 days and worked collaboratively with CITA to engage with the tourism community, CITA Committee members and to assess the tourism experience on the island as first-time visitors. We specifically looked at governance, communication and collaboration to identify roles for CITA to enable leadership opportunities beyond destination marketing.
RESEARCH
Our background assessment included a thorough review of previous strategic reports to identify consistencies in recommendations and practicalities to implement the recommendations. We challenged recommended concepts that required additional substance or that required complex logistical plans that were beyond the remit of CITA to achieve.
CONSULT
During the consultation process, we met with a broad range of stakeholders who contribute to the visitor economy on the island. We sought opinions on macro issues for tourism as well as the community’s views on leadership opportunities for CITA. Through consultation, we identified gaps in service delivery, amenities and communication, together with opportunities for product development and potential for capability building.
COLLABORATION
Our priority task was to identify collaboration opportunities for CITA to leverage funding for recommended projects. We identified synergies between funding stakeholder strategies to arrive at a set of actions that had the best chance of implementation support.
4. THE OUTCOME
TOURISM ACTION PLAN ACCEPTED AND READY TO IMPLEMENT
Based on our tourism assessment model, we developed strategic action pillars for CITA, identifying pathways to implementation over a 3 year period. The actions directly aligned to previous report recommendations to demonstrate a unified approach to working with strategic partners.
A 12 month implementation plan was developed to align with existing budgets and priority projects were identified that could be immediately self-funded. Development projects were identified, aligned to funding partner plans, supported by detailed tasks to enable CITA to demonstrate industry leadership in establishing foundations for tourism growth.
CITA’s committee have endorsed the 3 year strategic action plan and 12 month implementation plan providing their marketing and visitor services team with autonomy to commence priority projects.
testimonial
DTM Tourism's collaborative approach in delivering the Christmas Island Tourism Association's Strategic Tourism Action Plan fostered alignment among our members, tourism industry, stakeholders and the Christmas Island community. DTM Tourism demonstrated a highly experienced ability to see the big picture goals of our destination, while ensuring the quality in the foundations at every level. They tailored the deliverables accordingly, resulting in a highly valuable document that serves as a practical bridge between where are and where our industry strives to be.