Cairns has strong mountain biking credentials. It was the first place in Australia to host the Mountain Bike World Cup and hosted the 2017 World Championships. But mountain biking product for visitors was still in its infancy.
Subcontracted by TRC Tourism to lead this work, episteme analysed the potential of the mountain bike market for Tourism Tropical North Queensland. Drawing on national participation data, Tourism Research Australia figures and Deloitte forecasting, we estimated the size, value and preferences of two markets. Holiday riders want to add a ride to their trip. Destination riders travel specifically to ride.
We recommended a two-pronged approach. The first prong is building holiday riders’ participation through new product. The second is strengthening the region’s credentials with dedicated riders through events such as Crankworx. Positioning Tropical North Queensland as Australasia’s winter riding destination could grow mountain bike spending to around $95 million by 2030.
The six recommendations cover:
better data on riders
marketing for the southern winter
product suited to holiday riders, such as pairing rides with local breweries and distilleries
targeting riders from New South Wales, Victoria and New Zealand
a strong local operator network
connected, real-time trail information
Having raised my children overlooking the Cairns World Championship Mountain Bike Course in Smithfield, I enjoyed the opportunity to delve deep into the industry and look at the prospects for growing the market for the region. This was off the back of a job I worked on with World Trail and Planz Town Planning in 2015 to develop the TNQ MTB Strategy.
Did you know that more than 40% of European Mountain Bike Riders take their bike on their family holiday? (IMBA 2018) or that the MTB market is heavily overrepresented by men by about 4:1? Or that US and European retailers reported 80% - 140% increases in e-bike sales after lockdowns started?
Dr. Rick Buning also provided insight into MTB markets, backed up by a solid catalogue of research papers in the US and Australia gave me plenty to build on in my analysis.