Trip Advisor UK advertises itself as the largest tourist site in the world and it encourages its members to put photos online. Australia is naturally well featured by UK tourists and there are nearly 120 photos of the Queen Victoria Market.
Trip Advisor is worth visiting by all traders, not just because of the photographs but also because of the comments by tourists. There are some170 reviews with over 140 of them rating the market Very Good or Excellent. Their views reveal some home truths and even complimentary reviews include criticism of things like stall duplication and low quality goods in the top end.
We think a few pointers can be drawn from Trip Advisor –
1. If you object to customers taking photos of your stall, think again. The Trip Advisor website is proof that any photo can become valuable free advertising.
2. QVM management need to seriously examine their selection criteria. Too much duplication can be attributed to trader selection.
3. If your category is considered over-represented, you may need to examine what changes you can make to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
4. If there isn't a photo of your stall on this website, perhaps there should be.
Tourist Advisor can be found at http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g255100-d256569-Reviews-Queen_Victoria_Market-Melbourne_Victoria.html