INTRODUCTION

Esperance is, without a doubt, home to one of the most visually alluring stretches of coastline in Australia, if not the world. The pristine natural environment and enviable beachside locale provides Esperance with a unique opportunity to attract visitors and new residents to the seaside town. Esperance delivers a diverse annual event calendar that fosters community relationships, celebrates the regional identity and promotes the town’s attractions, however it is recognised that there are opportunities to bolster the event program and introduce new experiences that amplify the benefits for the town and its community. Events form an important part of any tourism strategy as they give people a time-critical reason to visit a destination, as well as encouraging locals to travel around their State. They also add vibrancy, in particular to regional areas, attract valuable media coverage, and provide a significant boost to the local economy.

The Esperance Events Discussion Paper outlines a path forward for the Shire of Esperance, its community and key stakeholders to utilise events as a driver of visitation, a means for economic development and building of capability for the region over the next 5-10 years. The Discussion Paper has been developed by AHOY Management, with input from Australia’s Golden Outback (AGO), the Shire of Esperance and multiple members of the tourism, arts, hospitality and entertainment sectors from Esperance. This document incorporates feedback from industry, a situational analysis around the current state of the events sector, with key action steps and goals for the region over the next decade. AHOY Management would like to thank those who have contributed to the report and wish the region success in the rollout of the strategy in the years to come.

WHY NOW?

Prior to the arrival of COVID-19 in February 2020, Esperance was already experiencing consistent year-on-year overnight visitor number growth at a rate of approximately 10% per annum in the three years up to the end of December 2019. Like most areas of Western Australia, this growth has swelled since 2020 due to intrastate visitor movement. The Shire, AGO and local tourism industry are eager to harness and maximise the growth potential, while preserving the natural environment and ensuring a strategic, collaborative approach in shaping the future of tourism in Esperance.

In 2020 the Shire of Esperance undertook work to develop a tourism strategy for Esperance. The strategy aims to solidify tourism as a key economic driver for the Shire through a sustainable, whole-of-community approach. The plan outlined eight strategic priorities, one of them being the development of products, attractions and events.

The plan stated that ‘a regional event strategy aligned to this tourism strategy should be completed and aimed at creating smaller niched events and potentially one signature event that showcases Esperance’s strengths. The showcase event would ideally be held in a shoulder season to help utilise existing accommodation and infrastructure. Current events including Edge of the Bay should continue to operate while there is community support for them.’ The event strategy was considered very high priority, to be completed within 1-2 years.

WHY EVENTS?

Events are used across the world as a critical element in the destination marketing tool kit. If positioned and produced correctly, they provide participants with an authentic, positive experience of the host destination, and encourage positive word of mouth and repeat visitation. They also provide a time-sensitive hook for converting consumers from the ‘dreaming’ phase of travel to ‘booking’ their visit.

Tourism Research Australia found that after a satisfactory experience participating in regional events, 65% of all attendees reported that they intended to visit the destination again in the next 12 months, and 42% recommended the destination to other travellers.

AHOY’s own research has uncovered similar results, with 73% of survey respondents from the Fine Vines Post Event Survey stating the event was their main reason for travelling to the Margaret River region, and 90% planned to return in the following year to experience the event again (52% of all festival attendees were from outside the region). And when asked on a scale of 1-10 how likely were they to recommend the festival to friends and family, the weighted average answer was 9/10.

When authentically positioned to represent the host region, events promote attractions and offerings of the area, giving consumers an understanding of the region, and encouraging extended length of stay and increased spend on attractions and offerings. 70% of survey respondents in AHOY’s Fine Vines post event report stated the event encouraged them to explore new attractions and experiences in the region, with 46% of respondents spending upwards of $200 on ancillary products and experiences while in the region.

For locals, a considered, sustainable and well-executed annual calendar of events adds to the vibrancy of the community. Happy residents and increased liveability result in many flow-on benefits, like increased appeal, population retention (and growth), increased health and wellbeing of locals, engaged workforce and deepened community pride.

“Tourism Research Australia found that after a satisfactory experience participating in regional events, 65% of all attendees reported that they intended to visit the destination again in the next 12 months, and 42% recommended the destination to other travellers.”

Methodology

AHOY Management has been contracted to research and develop an events strategy and events feasibility study for Esperance. AHOY has extensive experience in the conceptualisation and delivery of large-scale ‘hero’ festivals and events across regional Western Australia with the aim of driving visitation and expanding the reach of a town’s destination brand story. AHOY has worked with multiple local governments across WA in the development of event feasibility studies and large-scale event plans. This strategy has been developed using the following approach:

• Gain an understanding of the tourism landscape and visitor economy through interviews with Australia’s Golden Outback, Shire of Esperance and local tourism industry

• Desktop research on the current event landscape in Esperance and situational analysis of event calendar and tourism offering

• Site visit to Esperance to experience the landscape and attractions first-hand

• Face to face community consultation with key stakeholders from across hospitality, tourism, government and the arts sectors to ascertain sentiment around events in the region, proposed time of year for new events and any obstacles to currently running events in the region

• Follow up phone meetings with key stakeholders to round out information collection

• Compilation and delivery of the Esperance Events Strategy