CASE STUDY / OPTUS STADIUM
PERTH AS WA’s ‘AFL TOURISM DESTINATION’
CLIENT: Optus Stadium
DTM Service: Tourism Strategy
Completed: March 2019
PROJECT SUMMARY
growing visitors to your destination starts with great planning.
In 2018 DTM Tourism was engaged to work with the Stadium’s management team VenuesLive, the Tourism Council WA (TCWA) and Tourism WA (TWA). Our brief was to facilitate distribution of the State Government’s commitment of 1,000 tickets to every AFL match for the purpose of tourism packaging.
Desired outcomes were engagement of the retail tourism industry nationally and recognition for Perth as an AFL tourism destination.
To take the Stadium’s ticket allocation from concept to reality, we worked on establishing supply foundations by:
pitching.
Pitching the opportunity to potential tourism partners nationally.
facilitating.
Facilitating contracting.
coordinating.
Coordinating stakeholder communications.
One year on and the vast majority of marketing partnerships initiated by DTM were renewed for the 2019 season. Key stakeholder feedback has been taken on board and DTM’s strategy recommendations have been embraced.
Heading into the 2019 AFL season, Optus Stadium was in a strong position for VenuesLive and TWA to deliver on the Government’s commitment to WA’s tourism industry.
2. THE CHALLENGE
Why AFL ‘tourism packaging’ makes sense.
Visitor arrival statistics quoted by TWA and VenuesLive for the Stadium’s first year of operation are impressive!
Market demand for an AFL tourism experience in WA has been well and truly demonstrated. Outstanding success has been achieved by TWA and VenuesLive in generating awareness of the Stadium’s ‘fan-first’ experience.
And of course, the West Coast Eagles’ Premiership has created a dream start for visitation. It could not have been scripted better!
The ability to purchase tickets through a general allocation (ie non-membership tickets) has provided greater supply and an easier opportunity for AFL fans to commit to a Perth visit. As a result, the value of the 1,000 tickets for tourism packaging has been questioned. Will there be a demand for tickets through distribution partners if general tickets are more readily available?
Importantly, the real value of the 1,000 tickets is the opportunity to engage the tourism industry at large, with all partners contributing to destination-building.
A fantastic start has been made through TWA’s partnership with AFL Travel.
Through the supply of ticket inventory and engaging of wholesalers, TWA now has the ability to market consistently during the AFL season via multiple partners who all have retail distribution networks to leverage.
For wholesale partners, they have the ability to bundle additional tour product, presenting an attractive destination experience to market. The longer average length of stay of AFL tourists, provides great opportunity for packaging and educating consumers about how to plan their WA visit, ultimately resulting in demand for additional product.
For retail agents on the East Coast, it presents an opportunity to earn decent revenue through promotion of a domestic package. And if there’s one thing that will switch on the retail network to recommend a destination, it’s the ability to earn.
Engaging WA’s tourism industry in AFL tourism.
For 2018, the terms of the State’s AFL tourism allocation meant the opportunity to secure tickets for promotion purposes resided with the accommodation sector. The majority of Perth’s hotels rely on regional visitors to sustain occupancy and it is no coincidence that a high proportion of visitors to the Stadium in 2018 were from outside of Perth and Peel areas.
Encouraging regional visitors to consider an accommodated stay as an alternative to staying with friends or relatives, is all about value and ticket access.
In 2019, the terms of supply for accommodation partners have been reviewed and refined. Ticket access will now be made available through a simplified online purchase process, enabling partners to match ‘need’ periods with blockbuster games, and to bundle onsite experiences to increase length of stay and spend.
4. THE OUTCOME
The ultimate result for WA is to build engaged and sustainable industry relationships.
Such engagement takes time though.
An example of this is the Australian Open – widely reported by all stakeholders to embrace the value of agents more than any other event. It has taken more than 10 years to refine their processes, but the industry at large now sells Australian Open packages in great volume.
In our opinion, a benchmark outcome for WA’s AFL tourism, would be to see East Coast travel agent networks engaged with booking AFL product through their preferred wholesaler.
Numbers aren’t the only priority here. Building foundations for long-term distribution are the end game.
The message for the industry is a simple one … roll out the welcome mat! No other state has the opportunity as a tourism community to access AFL ticket inventory – WA is leading the way and it’s now up to us.
Game fixtures in 2019 for both West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers proved far more visitor-friendly, with the reduction of Sunday twilight fixtures.
So, now is the time to do some research and plan ahead. Think about aligning a 21-day advance purchase, minimum stay rate with a match ticket included and get to market early. Inform your guests about access to the Stadium from your property. Treat your guests to complimentary pre-game bar snacks. And share your fan images far and wide!
These are some simple thought-starters. When followed through by our collective industry, there’s the potential to create a powerful destination message for Western Australia.