Byron Bay – A unique destination

Introduction in the tourism profession

Destination analysis

Tutor: Jorg Wenzel

Team: Hanno Schnabel

Anna Ortloff-Kittredge

Lianne Jimenez

Simona Banu

Group ITP1 E

Date: 28.10.2012

“The thing that makes Byron Bay unique is that it still has the 1960s’ feel, and you feel like you’re in Australia. So many places in Australia are losing their uniquely Australian feel.” (Nancy Buncher, Gulliver’s Travels )

Table of Contents

1. Historical Development…………………………………………………………………5

2. Types of tourism developed in Byron Bay………………………………..7

3. What types of tourists visit the country?...... 9

4. How the region promote itself…………………………………………….10

5. Who are the stakeholders and what is their role in tourism industry?...... 13

6. The role of government……………………………………………………20

7. What are the external factors influencing

the tourism sector at Byron Bay?...... 22

8. How does Byron Bay differ from other tourist destinations?...... 25

9. Which factors keep the tourism in Byron Bay away from improving?...... 27

10. References………………………………………………………………...30

11. Appendix………………………………………………………………….31

  1. Historical development

Byron Bay’s history has dated since 1770 when it served as a safe anchorage for Captain James Cook and it was named Cape Byron, after John Byron. Beginning with 1880s Europeans settled more permanently and the streets from the location were given names of English writers and philosophers.

First industry developed in Byron Bay was the industry of red cedar, from Australia. Byron had also primary industries, such as dairy products, abattoirs, whaling – until 1963 – and fishing.During 1886-1930 period the first jetty was built ( 1886 ), the railway was connected ( 1894 ), was formed Norco Co-operative ( 1895 ), in order to manage dairy industry, the region exported butter all over the world, the lighthouse was built ( 1901 ) and the first meat works opened ( 1930 ). Along with the World Wars all these industries from Byron Bay declined.

The beginning of Byron Bay as a tourist destination was in the 1960s , when long-board surfers arrived and used the natural breaks and by 1973 the destination gained the reputation of a hippy, happy, alternative town.

Tourists’ trips were budget-orientated. Until 1980s caravan,parks, cheap motels, holiday flats and hostel styles were playing an important role in their vacations.

After developers were attracted the number of buildings application increased with over 300%. It resulted in diversification of accommodation stocks. Beach houses were replaced by luxury guest houses and apartments. Byron Bay was entitled as a “party town” due to its entertainment venues and night clubs which appealed to international bands and artists.

Byron Bay was considered a destination from where “you can get anything you want”.

According to Page & Connell (2011), the most important for international tourists is the air travel (43%). The second position is occupied by road transport (42%), followed by rail travel (7%) and sea transport (8%).

As far as transport infrastructure and services are concerned,The Gold Coast Airport is the seventh busiest airport from Australia, after its privatization. Also, Byron Bay is one hour away from the South-East Queensland, due to the highway’s improvements.

  1. Types of tourism developed in Byron Bay

In Byron Bay were developed both domestic and international tourism. Weather they are locals or foreigners, tourists are visiting Byron’s gold beaches, craving for adventure and sport travel. They are given the opportunity to experience sea-based activity such as scuba-diving, surfing, paddling kayaks, air-based sports like sky diving, ballooning and land based activities- mountain bike tours, horse riding, golf and many others.

Beginning with the 1960s, Byron Bay represented an attraction to surfers due to its location and it was perceived as a break-away from the traditional societal norms and a nature-based life style.

As different therapies developed people were more interested in new employment opportunities thus they decided to live there while on welfare payments. Women who took courses in alternative therapies helped in the establishment of a network of practitioners. Aquarius Festival, held in 1973, was also considered to be the reason for which settlers and alternative lifestylers had been attracted. A significant role was owned by the establishment of tropical fruits, macadonia and tea tree plantations that lead to alternative and complementary medicine in the area.

SWOT analysis for Byron Bay’s type of tourism

Strenghts / Weaknesses
Well developed stage of market, steady pace growth
Distinctive direction for further development-strategy for spa tourism / Lack of definition
Not set definition ( regarding tourism orientated )
Opportunities / Threats
Distinctive direction for further development-strategy for spa tourism
The country has potential to become a leading spa destination at global scale. / Lack of standards in terms of accreditation an rating
Products are similar to north American spa/wellness products
  1. What types of tourists visit the country?

Byron Bay is considered as 'alternative' or 'lifestyle' region, thusit attracts more overseas visitors than any other non-metropolitan area.

It is also an unique site of backpacker subcultures. Ecofriendly practices by hostel operators influence backpackers choice of accommodation (offer water conservation, energy efficiency, transportation, ecofriendly shopping, recycling, environmental philosophy).

Self-proclaimed 'green' members of the local government adopted policies and planned instruments which affected tourism: placed severe and irrational restrictions on development of residential holidy accommodation. This led to opportunities decreasing for holiday letting , increased rates / costs for businesses that provide services to tourists and less higher yield family tourists.

A sub-culture of international backpackers is the so called „drifter-style“ tourism (a sanitized/ institutuionalised tourism alternative).Travellers who are drifter-style follow trails of their own.

  1. How is the region promoting itself?

Byron Bay is widely known for its gold beaches. For this, the local authorities ensure that the beaches are not overcrowded with high-rises or buildings of any sort.

They create a certain unique image of Byron Bay by the way of presenting the destination in travel brochures:

Surfers paradise

The region of Byron Bay promotes itself mainly by advertising the destinations beautiful nature, beaches, environment.
The promotion of beaches stresses the fact that these beaches are compared to some others still very clean, not over-crowded or filled with buildings.
Another very important aspect of its promotion is the lighthouse which is getting more and more famous by mentioning it in brochures, media, etc.
The promotion focuses on trying to stay unique, and not like any other destination. Supporting this aspect are the unique factors like the rainforest which is a rather unexpected image next to the beaches.
Our destination also uses the several seasons and the locations animals to support their promotion, as in vantage points for whale-watching, dolphins or sea turtles.

Of course Byron Bay is becoming more and more present within media advertising. Not only the internet which offers a lot of several websites which offer any kindof information but also the TV and any Tourism information centre contains all the information about the destination. Due to recommendation the place is spread around all over the world.
The brochures and any 'official' information about the country usually contain next to the general information also a map in order to support orientation beforehand but also in order to show the varieties within the country. The beaches are presented but also regional markets, nightlifes and events, the hinterland, the national parks, several towns and villages, and usually also additional information about the international vistors.
All in all due to the promotion any kind of target group could be attracted.

5. Who are the stakeholders and what is their role in the tourism industry?

Stakeholders in Byron Bay are those facilities, persons or organisations who have interests in the tourism sector.

This means that there are companies which directly profits from this economic branch.

There are hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, bars and nightclubs. All of them share the same interest to benefit from tourism. Stakeholders can also play a negative role for the tourism destination. Referring to Kozak & Baloglu (2011) stakeholders can be tourists, businesses or residents who are interested in the development of a certain destination. Each single party has needs which should be covered by decision making. That is why all of them should be involved in the decision making process for example when there will be stated new policies.

The needs and wants of the stakeholder can contain economic gains as well as socio-cultural and environmental objectives which will serve to achieve a sustainable development in this area. Of course there are not only needs of tourists which can be satisfied but that case arises when covering requirements of the residents and the other stakeholders.

In my opinion this occurs by policy making when for example the demand of tourist for hotel rooms is increases highly but there are not enough hotels which means that there is no capacity for more tourists as in the present. That brings the question with it to build new hotels. Looking on the economic aspect it would make sense to build a new hotel and the tourists wants would also be covered by placing new hotels. But the conflict appears by asking the residents. What is if the want of the local people is to preserve their natural environment? And this is something what really can happen in ByronBay as I found while doing research is a relevant example of how important their role is regarding to their influence in the tourism industry at ByronBay.

The community of Byron does not agree that its town develop as a typical tourist destination. They appreciate the natural environment with its tropical amenities and the reputation as a surfer destination. So Byron’s image is known and also loved as being a sleepy town with a general relaxed lifestyle. A huge development as a mass tourism destination would disturb the charm of it. This is why stakeholders from the resident partydo not agree with taking the way of mass tourism in their town. The best example I could find is the fight against the plans to construct a big resort in the bounds of Byron. It is the case of the planned Club Med Resort in ByronBay. This resort was proposed to consist a capacity of 641 beds, four restaurants and additional conference and wellness facilities in 1996. The whole resort should be built in a bungalow park. But the proposals did not refer to the objectives of the locals and that is why they started up a big wave of protest against the planned facilities. They collected more than 7000 signatures against the plans what comes close to one third of its nearly 30,000 people population. In order to fight these plans the developed a great anti development campaign with printing “No Club Med-” T Shirts, stickers and banners as well as TV spots which underlined their position.

However in the first instance Club Med was allowed to build the resort after making minor designs and amendments for it proposals. But this did not comply with plans of the society because they were against the construction at all.

The supporters of the proposals estimated wins of round about $16 million a year which flows directly in the local economy. Another argument of them was that there can be provided more than 200 jobs just through the Club Med Resort. But in contrast to that residents apprehend that the worse impacts of tourism would exceed the economic benefits. Furthermore they so a harassment that if one resort will get the permission to establish in Byron Bay other resort companies will get it as well. If this would have been the case Byron Bay hadn’t been the sleepy and relaxed town with its tropical environment anymore as it is at this time.

While constructions has been delayed the next group of stakeholder intervened. The local government called The Byron Shire Council wanted to conciliate between both parties by arranging public meetings and group discussions. Also the developer group was ready to negotiate with the community and showed up intention to enter a contract which should include any compromises to solve the disagreements. So at this time it seemed that there can be find an approach between both parties. (Murphy, P.E. & Murphy, A.E., 2004)

But this short peaceful situation got new cracks when Club Med used an external company for running these negotiations. In addition to that not every stakeholder was invited to the meetings as promised before. It was another disappointing point for the residents and they gained the feeling that Club Med is not interested in the opinions of others but its own. So a new resistance came up again. The community were missing the fairness and that why they restart their offense against Club Med again furthermore they took legal action and in the end the Land and environment court examines the council’s approval from 1996. That is why Club Med left the region without building his resort in 1999. (Stopping paradise from being lost, 2003)

In conclusion this is the perfect example to explain how powerful a community can be in order to protect their interest. You definitely must see the residents of ByronBay as a strong stakeholder. They seem to be aware that the tourism industry is important for their town but they are not willing to benefit for any price from it. A big part of the society loves their town as it is and they are not willing to sell its soul for increasing the tourism economy. That is why they gave a hard resistance on the proposals of the locals.People are aware of the value of tourism in their town and they know as well that the aspect which makes Byron Bay unique is it’s atypical appearance as its neighbour town Surfer’s Paradise at the Gold Coast (north from Byron Bay). People who come here are seeking for the sleepy charm of the city and residents are proud enough to say that visitors which are looking for higher develop destination with resorts and so on should go for another destination. Byron Bay should stay a destination for surfers and nature lovers.

So the government acts like an ambassador between business and residents stakeholders. As you can see the Council provides services and answers in the name of:

  • Community Services
  • Emergency Services
  • Parking in Byron Shire
  • Planning, Development and Building
  • Public health and safety
  • Rangers
  • Recycling and garbage (waste)
  • Roads and Traffic
  • Sewer
  • Stormwater
  • Tyagarah Airfield
  • Water

To be more detailed the Byron Shire Council (BSC) published the Tourism Management Plan 2008 – 2018 which was adopted in 2009. This plan was created in order to protect the sensitive nature of ByronBay as well as improving the social and economical development of ByronBay. The aim is to build a sustainable future for the destination. The plan is considered as one of the main commitment of the local government in order to guide the tourism industry development in the next ten years for ensuring that it takes a sustainable development. BSC developed this plan in co production with the a regional tourism expert panel and a range of stakeholder organisations which represents interests of the government, businesses and the residents.

The plan contains following plans excerpt from the original document:

  • recognise the importance of Byron Shire as a destination
  • recognise ByronBay as an iconic destination within the Shire
  • consider the destinations of Bangalow, Brunswick Heads,

Mullumbimby, Ocean Shores/South Golden Beach, Byron Hinterland

and the surrounding Shire, and the Shire’s connection to the Northern

Rivers region

  • consider and respond to the key areas of sustainability (economic,

environmental, social)

  • recognise the role of Byron Shire Council as a manager of the physical

assets and infrastructure of the Shire

  • establish a shared vision for the future of tourism in Byron Shire with

government, business and community stakeholders

  • reflect current best practice and innovation
  • adapt to changing conditions, local needs and issues, e.g. increased

pressure from low cost carriers and fuel prices, natural impacts from

prolonged drought and flood, and shifting consumer travel behaviour

and preferences.

  • integrate with existing Council policies, plans and strategies
  • outline short, medium and long-term actions for implementation
  • incorporate an annual evaluation process.

To summarize the main goals of this publication can be divided in five sub points. Each of them are considered to profit from this paper in there are written certain points about how they will consider from it. So the subgroups are: Governance, Economic, Social, Ecology and Human Habitat.