This month I’m going to spend some ‘blog time’ on two perspectives of a subject that should be your first order priority, your guests.
I’ll explain in detail how and why you should consider ‘who is my most valuable travelling customer, and the way in which they navigate searching and then booking a stay or activity/experience with super practical suggestions on how you can influence the outcome. That is, generate more bookings.
Australia’s tourism landscape is hyper competitive, with all types and sizes of businesses offering unique accommodation or experiences. You have an opportunity, more so an imperative, to stand out. But you will only stand out if you are ‘different’ and to effectively differentiate, you need to truly understand your customers.
There are two essential insights that will give you the capability to be visible and distinctive in a cluttered competitive tourism market. Your most customer’s ‘persona’ and their journey to booking. Together, they provide a roadmap to attracting the right guests, motivating booking, and delivering better experiences, leading to referrals and positive reviews.
A customer persona is a detailed profile of your ideal guest. It includes demographics (age, income, family status), behaviours (how they search and book), and values (sustainability, authenticity, local culture). It might be a profile as simple as, for example, a 35-year-old professional couple from Melbourne, Sarah and Joe, who love boutique regional escapes, search, and book online, and value eco-friendly stays.
Developing an insight into your customer ‘persona’ will help you create experiences, messaging, and marketing that speaks directly to them helping you make smarter decisions across operations, from pricing and packaging to website content and social media strategy. Rather than trying to appeal to everyone, focusing on clearly defined personas allows tourism operators to allocate limited resources more effectively and build deeper connections with the right audience. In regional and rural areas especially, where tourism is inherently seasonal or niche, understanding your customer can be the difference between a quiet season or year and a solidly booked calendar.
Instead of blindly guessing what to offer or how to advertise, if makes sense to hone everything, from your Instagram captions to your booking process, to what matters most to your post receptive audience.
Small/medium sized Australian tourism businesses are thriving on the back of a growing demand for local, authentic, and meaningful travel experiences. Whether it’s boutique accommodation in Margaret River, a guided bushwalk in the Grampians, or a hands-on farm stay in the outback, travellers are increasingly seeking out smaller, locally owned businesses. But who exactly are these customers?
To explain the value of this approach, let’s label Sarah and Joe ‘Conscious Explorers.’
The Conscious Explorer values authenticity and connection. They aren’t looking for a cookie-cutter hotel room or a mass-market tour. They want to stay somewhere that tells a story to them and about them. Maybe a renovated shearing shed, a minimalist eco-cabin, a quirky coastal retreat. They’re drawn to hosts who are passionate about place and culture, and love hearing local tips and backstories. They’re interested in small-group or private experiences that offer insight, hands-on interaction, and genuine connection with locals.
Sarah and Joe have heard that Lake Eyre/Kati Thanda is flooding and want to experience it!
At 35yro, Sarah and Joe fit within the typical age of the Conscious Explorer persona, from late 20s to mid-50s, which covers both independent professionals and young families. Sarah is a lawyer and Joe is a builder. But this persona could be DINKs, FIFO workers blending leisure with work, or mid-life travellers with disposable income. They’re tech-savvy, socially conscious, and well-educated and adventurous.
Their primary motivation to travel is to experience something meaningful to them that aligns with their values. They actively seek out sustainable tourism operators, businesses that support the local economy and culture, and experiences that help them “travel like a local.” This means avoiding overcrowded tourist traps and prioritising businesses that are small, ethical, and rooted in community. Sarah and Joe explore different ways to see Kati Thanda/ Lake Eyre.
Sarah typically does all their searching and booking online. She uses Instagram and Facebook, local regional websites and Google, Airbnb or Booking.com in her search. But Sarah goes out of the way to book directly on the Maree Hotel website because she and Joe know it supports the business more. Sarah looks at reviews and recommendations on TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and Instagram. This is a critical step which is highly influential in their final decision-making.
Sarah and Joe tend to book long weekends or at least 5-day getaways, often planned around school holidays, long weekends, or shoulder seasons to avoid crowds and snag better deals (they’re thrifty because they have a mortgage!). Because of Joe’s work, flexibility is important, so they appreciate transparent cancellation policies and clear communication.
Conscious Explorers like Sarah and Joe expect personalised service, local insight, and quality without pretence. They’ll happily forgo a concierge for a handwritten note and a recommendation for the best bakery or café in town. They appreciate eco-conscious touches like refillable amenities, recycling options, and thoughtful design. They notice when a business genuinely walks its talk.
Sarah and Joe are experience-led. They will book their accommodation because it is different in that it offers access to an indigenous bush tucker and wildflower experience or tour of Kati Thanda/ Lake Eyre. The quality of the total experience matters just as much as the bed they sleep in.
The message here is that the deeper you understand your customer personas the better your chance of attracting high-value guests, garnering positive reviews, and building your brand. In my example, Sarah and Joe, our Conscious Explorers are not just booking a place to stay, they’re booking a story to tell. When you align your offerings (including images and descriptions of your products) with their values and motivations, provide a sense of place, and tell your story in your marketing and communications with authenticity, and make it easy to book online, they’ll not only book, they’ll positively review and tell their exciting and authentic stories to their friends.
