Glaciers in New Zealand
Maori children
Northland, New Zealand
Queen Charlotte Sound
Routeburn Track
Boating in Taupo
Tongariro, New Zealand
Wellington, New Zealand

Newsletter : May 2005

brought to you by New Zealand Tourism Online www.tourism.net.nz

In this May Newsletter:

NZTO Comment

by Garry Bond, General Manager, New Zealand Tourism Online

How do you think visitors to New Zealand view our culture? Do they have an expectation that the experience will be mainly western influenced or do they expect quite a bit of Māori culture to be prevalent?

In 2004, Tourism New Zealand's visitor satisfaction research showed not only that interest in Māori tourism experiences was high, but that these experiences could have a major impact on a visitor's overall satisfaction with a holiday in New Zealand. And that interest is high with just over 306,000 international visitors attended a Māori performance in the year ending September 2004.

So how are these expectations driven to the market? Much of it is a direct consequence of international marketing and the images of New Zealand such as the All Blacks Haka, Māori greetings etc.

While this is a part of who we are, we do have to ensure that visitor expectations are met and we must also ensure that the quality of the experiences is high. It would be too easy to manufacture a quick fix cultural experience based purely on getting numbers through the door.

We have already got many excellent Māori tourism operations that have been in the market for some time. As the Māori tourism industry matures and expands, it is up to those people involved to ensure the visitor takes away an experience that is authentic and satisfying so they can fully appreciate New Zealand's culture as a whole.

Web Site Sales Tool

by Avatar Web Promotions

Have you reviewed your site's content from a sales perspective? If your site is about generating sales then the AIDAS sales tool may give you some ideas for enhancement.

The acronym AIDAS stands for Attention, Interest, Decision, Action and Satisfaction. Here's a quick summary of how AIDAS can be used to sharpen up your Web site.

  • Does your site grab your viewer's attention? Within about eight seconds is optimal. Will viewers perceive that you'll solve their problem and meet their needs?
  • Does your site stimulate interest? Does it suggest your solution is among the most relevant and useful? Do you give them a reason to stay?
  • Does your site inspire the desire to take the action of clicking deeper towards a purchase? Does it explicitly engage the imagination of your viewers and make them feel they will get value from your solution? Does it promote benefits more than features?
  • Is it obvious and easy for viewers to take action? Do you ask viewers to take action? Do you give them relevant information at the point of action so they feel more confident in taking that action?
  • After they've clicked, does the next page satisfy your viewers by providing exactly what they wanted, exactly how they wanted it?

The AIDAS tool was created by Future Now. Check out their site: they have a bunch of great sales tools and ideas for your Web site.

Māori Tourism

New Zealand Tourism Online has recently expanded its Māori Culture and Tourism sections on its Web site.

Māori Culture

With increased awareness and expectations from international visitors, New Zealand Tourism Online has added additional material to its cultural section. This includes legends and stories. This section will be expanded even further as the Web site develops.

Māori Tourism

In combination with the Web site increasing its cultural content, a Māori Tourism section has been added. This section lists operators who provide a genuine Māori experience and it is important that those listed meet the expectations of the international visitor.

These sections are gaining a very good profile in search engines:

  • new zealand maori tourism (#1 in google, #1 in yahoo)
  • new zealand maori cultural experience (#4 in google , #2 in yahoo)
  • new zealand maori traditions (#5 in google, #3 in yahoo)

If you'd like more information about this section and how to list, please contact your tourism consultant directly or email us for more information.

Multiple Domain Names

by Avatar Web Promotions

There are various reasons for operating multiple sites with numerous domains: a multi-lingual audience, a vast product offering and branding considerations are just a few. However given the size of the average New Zealand organisation, these reasons are not applicable for most Web sites. Many New Zealand site operators have purchased multiple domains because they have heard that the technique is beneficial for search engine marketing. Other people purchase additional domains simply so their online competition can't use them.

What Not To Do

Where possible we recommend that you don't point multiple domains at the same content and then promote each domain. Search engines have evolved a great deal over the years and most recognise duplicate content. They will usually ignore additional copies of the site and at worst there is a risk of potentially lowering the rankings of all the domains involved.

A Better Strategy

If you need to keep marketing additional domains, we recommend you create a site with unique content for each domain and links back to your main site. Given you have a finite amount of resources, you are far better off investing in designing and promoting the singular best site that you possibly can.

Link, Links, Linking?

Providing a link on your Web site to New Zealand Tourism Online not only looks good but provides an extra service for visitors to your site. Additionally and perhaps more importantly it can also aid your search engine status by connecting your Web site with a major New Zealand tourism network.

Do You Have A Listing with Us?

If you have a Bronze, Silver or Gold listing with New Zealand Tourism Online then you are entitled to use one of our exclusive member shields.

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.

It's a simple matter to add one of these shields to your Web site. Just visit our Member Shield Web page for more information.

No Listing With Us?

If you don't have a Bronze, Silver or Gold listing then drop us a line to find out more about these high profile options. Email us or calling toll free on 0800 14 65 48 now.

No Listing But Just Want To Link To Us?

If you have a Web site and simply want to link to us to get the benefit of linking to a major Web site then we have 8 options for you to choose from. Click here for more information.

We welcome any feedback or contributions for our next newsletter - just email our team web@tourism.net.nz

Regards,

The Team
Ph. 0800 14 65 47
https://www.tourism.net.nz
New Zealand Tourism Online Limited
Head Office: 208 Cashel Street, Christchurch

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