Increase Overnight Tourism

NIGHT-TIME ENTERTAINMENT ATTRACTIONS
CAPTURE OVERNIGHT TOURISM SPEND

With an increasing number of Australian destination and tourism bodies struggling to increase visitor dwell time, overnight stay and inmarket spend, trends in night-time spectaculars are becoming wildly popular and more competitive. Night-time attractions are helping these bodies improve their bottom line and become leaders in a competitive market.

“Overnight Tourism Spend is set to grow to $151.4B”

With the continued and steady growth of tourism to Australia at 10%¹ over the last 5 years, the Australian Government has implemented grants and tourism initiatives to assist state and local councils in developing new and exciting entertainment and tourism attractions. Tourism Australia received $148.3 million in funding in 2017-18².

With 10-year projected tourism figures for Australia showing healthy growth, businesses and councils are exploring new ways to secure their share of the overnight visitation increases.

“Meaningful entertainment experiences that drive ROI . . .”

Meaningful entertainment experiences that drive ROI are becoming essential for destination and tourism bodies who want to leave a lasting impression with audiences. Events such as: Swan Hill, Pioneer Settlement’s ‘Heartbeat of the Murray’ and Vivid Sydney – The world’s largest festival of light, music and ideas—have gained worldwide attention and set an impeccable standard for such attractions.

LASERVISION’s Mega Media installations have become universally sought after. These installations combine amazing creative content with cutting-edge technologies, creating immersive experiences for audiences around the world. With highly efficient operational costs as well as being upgradeable, reprogrammable, and creatively adaptable for diverse environments, these attractions typically return more on investment than one-off events and festivals. They generate revenue on a long-term basis with the reprogrammable aspect encouraging revisitation from tourists and locals.

A study into tourism visitation and overnight spend for LASERVISION’s A Symphony of Lights in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Tourism Commission revealed that the attraction “increased the length of stay by tourists in Hong Kong by 1.4 days.” Similar results have been proven across LASERVISION’s other attractions with increased visitation numbers being as high as 40%. ³

After seeing the results of LASERVISION’s record-setting attraction’s in Hong Kong, Dubai, Macau, Sochi, and Singapore; the
Pioneer Settlement in Swan Hill, Victoria knew they wanted to diversify and develop a night-time spectacular of their own.

Pioneer Settlement, Australia’s first open-air museum, celebrates the life of the Australian pioneer with historical recreations and authentic restorations. The Pioneer Settlement opened in 1966 after a joint community and government effort to recognise the unique history of our Murray Mallee region. By the 1970s, the Pioneer Settlement was one of the most popular tourist destinations in Victoria.4 However, in recent years’, the Pioneer Settlement started experiencing waning tourism growth and wanted to diversify their night-time offerings to the region and spark overnight tourism growth for the Swan Hill region.

“Realistically, we didn’t have a lot to do at night,” says Grant Jones, Operations Manager for Pioneer Settlement. “We were looking at ways to keep people around for overnight stays. We needed a good night product, and LASERVISION offered a spectacular attraction development service and night-time product with proven results.”

Pioneer Settlement and Swan Hill Rural City Council were impressed and confident in the vision and creative talents of LASERVISION. After going through the unique Attraction Development Process, they were able to secure funding in partnership with Regional Development Victoria and Swan Hill Rural City council to the tune of $2.8M AUD.

17,000 Visitors in First Year
x Overnight Visitor Worth $145

2.4 Million Dollars Value to the Region in the First Year of Operation

As a result, LASERVISION’s unique and historically accurate sensory extravaganza, Heartbeat of the Murray opened in December of 2015 to great acclaim and began to bring in the night-time visitors to Swan Hill and Pioneer Settlement.

“We had approximately 17,000 visitors in our first year of ‘Heartbeat of the Murray” and given that it’s an evening show we’re almost guaranteed to have overnight visitation. The average overnight visitor to the region is worth approximately $145, so the economic benefit is significant,” Says Jessica Warburton, General Manager, Pioneer Settlement. “Telling the Murray River Story through “Heartbeat of the Murray” has meant the Murray Regional Tourism Board is extremely supportive of this project and we expect this to continue. It’s a key long-term development on the Swan Hill River Front Master Plan and Heartbeat is a must stop destination on the program for the Murray River Region. Our Local Government and Council are proud of the product and impressed with the technology. The council is really happy they put in the show. It’s the first place they take a visiting MP or Dignitary to; they always slot them in to witness “Heartbeat of the Murray.”

Sources: 1, 2; Call to boost tourism funding as sector prepares to leapfrog manufacturing jobs | Financial Review | April 7th, 2018 3; Dubai’s new night show is a Dream come true | Blooloop | June 23rd, 2018 4; Pioneer Settlement Website | http://www.pioneersettlement.com.au/about/ | 2018