Farm holiday in Australia

Introduction:
With foreign exchange earnings of more than € 14.5 billion in 2000, tourism is unquestionably one of the cornerstones of the Austrian economy. There are 15.500 farmers involve in farm tourism, which represent 1/5 of all tourist enterprises and 1/7 of the total Austrian supply of tourist beds (Derek, R. H. Lesley, R & Morag, M.,2003). Farm holidays become an important economic segment in agriculture and tourism and predominantly in the economy of rural regions.

Market segment:
International tourist (German, France, Span, China, Japan)
Internal tourist (family, school students in urban centres, company meetings)

Marketing strategy:

• Branding (logotype " Holiday on the farm ")

• Special offers for target groups(UNWTO,2004)
  Holidays on the organic farm

Holidays on a health farm Holidays on a baby and children's farm Holidays on a farm for wheelchair users and the physically handicapped Holidays on a horseback riding farm Holidays on a cyclist's farm Holidays on a wine farm

• Quality categorization (UNWTO,2004)
  Farms are awarded 2,3 or 4 flowers according to their rating. Eg: farmstead quality, facility quality, service quality
• Internet/ New media
  Worldwide webs:
  http://www.blogger.com/www.farmholidays.com
  http://www.australianfarmtourism.com.au/
• Cooperation with travel agencies, tourist information centres (TICs),
  Trade and travel magazines/journals (Lesley, R. & Derek, H., 2001)
• Cooperation to reduce the weakness of the small scale enterprises on the market
  Tourist farms some 3.400 (with 44.800 tourist beds) are members of the Austrian farm holidays organization (Clarke,J. 1996)
  

References:
1.Clarke,J. 1996. Reports: Farm accommodation and the communication mix. Tourism Management, 17: 611-620
2.Derek, R. H. Lesley, R & Morag, M., 2003. New Directions in Rural Tourism: local impacts, global trends. USA: Ashgate P137-144
3.Lesley, R. & Derek, H., 2001. Rural Tourism and Recreation: Principles to Practice. CABI
4.UNWTO, (World Tourism Organization) 2004. Rural tourism in Europe: experiences, development and perspectives. World Tourism Organization