NZTO Comment

by Garry Bond, General Manager, New Zealand Tourism Guide

Who out there is worried about the exchange rate? And what about another world crisis? Or the fact we have missed out on the stopover for the Volvo Ocean Race. We would be naive to put our heads in the sand and dismiss the fact that these factors can cause fluctuations in our tourism business. I guess that's the pessimist in me but in this game I believe you have to be more of an optimist. We have to look at what we have, how we can grow and try not to rely on "one offs" such as the Lord of the Rings. While this has undoubtedly put New Zealand in front of millions of people, we never planned for it and in ten years time it may all be just a fairytale. Beneficial events and situations like this land on our doorstep from time to time and we certainly want to make the most of them but at the end of the day our country has to stand on its own two feet.

As a destination we must continue to work on our core image of being fresh and unique. We need to ensure the visitor takes away an experience in the form of memories, photo's and feelings.

New Zealand has already proven that as a destination we stack up very well against other countries. We are also lucky in that we appeal to two market segments - the summer traveler and the winter snow goers. At the end of the day however it will be our people, our natural beauty and its assets and to a certain extent our remoteness that will take us the distance.

July Member Shield Winner

Congratulations to Gwen King from Airport Skyway Lodge www.skywaylodge.co.nz in Auckland. Gwen placed a Gold Member Shield on their Web site, entered our free draw and has won an extra 6 months membership on www.tourism.net.nz

You too can be a winner. Each month we draw a new name from the hat so if you haven't entered yet it's not too late. You just need to be a current paid member with us, place the applicable member shield on your Web site and register. The sooner you inform us that you have placed the shield on your site, the sooner we can place you in the monthly draw.

Next draw Monday August 11th July 2003.

For more details just visit our exclusive member only business centre www.tourism.net.nz/business-centre

Here's what the two shields look like.

They are exclusive for our members and they not only look great on your Web site but help aid your search engine status by connecting with a major NZ tourism portal. To check your member status with us, visit our site and pull up your listing. If you have a gold star by your name the you can use the gold member shield. If you have a silver or bronze star by your name then use the official member shield.

Web Site Credibility

by Mark Rocket and Nick Butler, Avatar Web Promotions

Your Web site won't work if it doesn't inspire trust. So how do you build a Web site that creates incredible credibility?

The Internet is impersonal. You can't look an email in the eye, or shake a Web page by the hand. Without face-to-face contact, Web users rely on different cues to decide which sites they can trust.

Here are some things that build credibility:

• Testimonials. Satisfied customers are your best salespeople.



• Case Studies. These are a great way to tell a story that shows how your product or services helps your customers, and showing is way better than telling.



• About Us pages. A company profile that includes your physical address shows you're not fly-by-nighters and people are reassured by the thought that they can send the heavies round if there's any grief.



• Photos. An easy way of putting a face on a faceless medium. Professional-but-not-posey pics of you and your staff work well, as do shots that show what you sell in action. Don't just show your product; show it making someone's day.



• Interesting, relevant and useful links out to other sites. These show that you know what you are talking about, and that you are confident that people will come back to you after they have left your site. Confidence inspires confidence.

Here are some things that will blow your credibility:

• Broken stuff. Lost images, random changes in font, and links, tools and multimedia toys that don't work don't do you any favours.



• Dodgy navigation. A site needs a logical, intuitive structure that is easy to explore. Site maps are great.



• Typos. Im sure u all now what i meen.



• Out of date content. It looks like nobody is home anymore.



• Fine print, hidden charges etc. You'll only fool 'em once.



• Unsolicited emails. That's spam and it's not in a can.

Domain Names

by Mark Rocket and Nick Butler, Avatar Web Promotions

Imagine if everyone had both a property name (Tourism Lodge) and a street address (208 Cashel Street). On the Internet they do. They're called the Domain Name and the IP Address respectively. Domain Names are strings of letters and numbers (for example www.tourismlodge.co.nz) that correspond to an IP Address (which might look like 186.61.31.82). The good thing about Domain Names is that they are easier to remember than a long string of numbers and they don't change even if the IP Address does. It's a bit like being able to take the name of your house with you when you move.

The list of who has which Domain Name is called the Register and the outfit you pay to maintain your Domain Name on the Register is called a Registrar, which until December 2002 meant Domainz.

Changes for Domain Names

As you may know, Domainz is no longer the sole registrar of .nz domain names. Here's a more in-depth look at what's happening.

InternetNZ, the non-profit body in charge of the .nz domain space, has decided that a bunch of competing registrars would bring better services and prices.

To be fair to the new registrars, everyone who used to deal with Domainz is now being encouraged to make a choice of registrar. If, as of March 1, Domainz was your registrar then you should get an email from the Domain Name Commissioner (InternetNZ's Domain Name watchdog) giving you the lowdown on the situation. There's even a prize draw for an overseas trip for two to encourage people to make the decision (even if you choose to stick with Domainz).