This research investigates the perceptions of residents of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) towards the state of Victoria, Australia as a destination and assesses their knowledge of Victoria's tourism attributes. Focus groups were undertaken with UAE nationals (referred to as Emiratis), expatriate residents and travel agents. In the case of the former group it was found that the previous travel experiences of most respondents involved travelling in family groups with the wife and mother making the key travel-related decisions. The responses appeared to be broadly representative of attitudes prevalent more widely within their relevant families. Of the expatriate respondents, all were experienced travellers who had previously visited Australia. Their tourism interests, in such things as outdoor activities and music, differed from those of the Emiratis. All but one of the respondents in the focus group of travel agents had previously visited Australia. The study fills a gap in researching immature markets. The use of the focus group method illustrates how investigating the perceptions of emerging target markets can provide a useful input to shape future industry development. © The Author(s) 2011.