Families as a nature tourism market segment in North Queensland

Abstract

Tropical North Queensland (TNQ) offers a large number of nature tourism experiences for visitors, based around reef, rainforest and wildlife attractions. Families comprise a significant and little studied market segment of visitors in Cairns. To address this gap, 211 family groups were surveyed at Cairns domestic airport. This paper provides a demographic and holiday profile of families as a nature tourism market segment in TNQ. Activities considered important were swimming pools, water sports and family friendly accommodation. The main reasons for visiting Cairns were the reef and rainforest, and also spending time with the family. Many respondents considered environmental aspects in choosing a holiday destination such as Cairns and were concerned with the impacts of climate change. The study found TNQ needs to better target marketing and services for the family nature tourism segment.