Fish where the fish are. This phrase echoes through marketing boardrooms all over the world in response to the age-old question "Where best to spend our limited tourism marketing funds?"

Australians and New Zealanders love to travel! We are amongst the most travelled people in the world. With over four weeks annual leave each year and almost a dozen public holidays, we have both the time and the inclination to travel the globe far, wide and often.

But all too often Australia and New Zealand are overlooked as hot fishing spots. This is because the question "where are the fish?" is too simplistic. The following questions also need to be considered in order to maximise return on your investment, your ultimate goal.

1) How many people does each fish feed?

> Australians and New Zealanders have long annual leave and tend to stay at their vacation destination longer than many other nationals. This long length of stay means bigger spends. Each incremental traveller attracted from Australia and New Zealand is worth a lot.

> Australians and New Zealanders tend to be adventurous and spread the visitation throughout a region, not necessarily staying put in the key cities.

2) How big is the pond?

> The vast majority of Australian and New Zealand travel comes from citizens of 4-5 key cities. This makes tourism promotions here very targeted.

3) How many others are fishing this pond?

> Some of the traditionally key source markets are saturated. Everyone wants a piece of them. You need to spend your money to allow maximum return on investment. Perhaps you are trying in an overfished pond?

4) How much does the fishing rod cost?

> Advertising and promotional costs tend to be much lower in Australia and New Zealand than in other key source markets, due partly to exchange rates.

5) How scared are the fish of sharks?

> Relative to many markets, the Australian and New Zealand travel market is resilient in the face of adversity. After September 11, SARS, the Bali bombings and other tragic challenges faced by the tourism industry in recent years, the Australian market bounced back relatively quickly.