Designing the right research methodology has been a critical stage in the development of the DNCO research project. Three research stages were necessary to incorporate local and global travel trends, visitor sentiment analysis and an online traveller forum, to uncover a deeper, richer understanding of visitors to the whole Network Area – and each of the three network hubs.
In the first stage it was important to uncover practical insights to inform everything from marketing and visitor services through to experience development. The first step has been to establish primary facts about the trends of visitation to the sub-regions, their travel behaviours, and characteristics. We have used Tourism Research Australia (TRA) data to establish the Fast Facts for each hub, providing baseline statistics for future research stages.