Students from the Bachelor of Business course with Hospitality Management major, enrolled in the HOS301 Hospitality Marketing unit at Southern Cross Institute (SCI), recently participated in an educational site visit to Elizabeth Farm, Australia’s oldest surviving homestead, located in Rosehill on Dharug Country. Dr Feras Orekat, Lecturer for the HOS301 Hospitality Marketing unit, led the site visit, which provided students with an opportunity to move beyond the classroom and apply hospitality marketing concepts to a real-world heritage and tourism attraction.

During the visit, students explored how Elizabeth Farm develops and communicates its value proposition, identifies and engages different visitor segments, and creates an authentic visitor experience through storytelling, heritage interpretation and place-based branding.

The site provided a particularly valuable case study because of its complex historical context, including the dispossession of Dharug people, colonial and convict histories, and the history of the Macarthur family. Students considered how heritage, culture, authenticity, accessibility, and ethical considerations influence how a visitor attraction is positioned and marketed.

Students were encouraged to examine the attraction through the 7Ps of hospitality marketing, considering product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence. They also analysed the visitor journey across digital and on-site touchpoints, from pre-visit information and marketing communications through to arrival, interpretation, storytelling and the overall visitor experience. The visit enabled students to identify potential visitor segments across local, domestic and international markets and consider how different visitor motivations, needs and behaviours could influence marketing strategies.

The experience concluded with students reflecting on practical opportunities to increase awareness, strengthen visitor engagement and enhance the overall visitor experience at heritage attractions. The Elizabeth Farm site visit demonstrates SCI’s commitment to industry-connected learning, giving students opportunities to connect theoretical knowledge with real-world industry environments and develop practical skills relevant to careers in hospitality, tourism and visitor experience management.

SCI sincerely thanks Dr Feras Orekat and Dr Song EE Hahn for their respective contributions to coordinating and facilitating the site visit and providing students with this valuable industry-connected learning opportunity.