Newsletter : December 2006

NZTO Comment

by Garry Bond, General Manager, New Zealand Tourism Online

Well it's nearly the end of yet another year for tourism in New Zealand. While growth has slowed it's still been a solid year.

New Zealand is continuing to gain international attention in one form or another such as the renowned travel guide Lonely Planet once again ranking New Zealand in the top ten travel destinations in the world. The country has also been ranked second as a destination with activities suited to families and second as the most "authentic" brand, in terms of distinctive, genuine and unique cultures. Fancy a honeymoon? New Zealand ranks at the top for the romantics and more recent news includes the TV series Castaway to be filmed on Great Barrier Island.

Overall the signs look good for 2007 and here at New Zealand Tourism Online, we'll be continuing to develop our Web site together with a range of new products in the coming year.

With the close of 2006 approaching I wish to thank all of the people who work with, and at, New Zealand Tourism Online. We have a professional hard working team and their efforts certainly make a difference. Finally a really big thank you to all of our clients for the support we have had and we look forward to continuing the promotion of your business in 2007.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous (heavily booked) New Year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Ho Ho Ho. Have you wondered what we all look like at New Zealand Tourism Online? Well just have a go at our Xmas card game and "Meet the Team".

Give the NZTO team a bit of stick! Play our online Christmas game (you might even win some cash!).

Office Hours

The office of New Zealand Tourism Online will be closed for Christmas from Saturday, 23rd December 2006. We will be back on Monday, 8th January 2007.

REGIONAL SPOTS - UPDATE

You'll have to be quick! We have completely sold Auckland and Christchurch already but we have just added several new regions and good spots are still available in the following areas:

• Rotorua
• Taupo (ready on Wed 20th Dec 06)
• Hawkes Bay
• Wellington
• Queenstown
• Dunedin

Remember if you have been looking for a high profile spot within your region to promote your business it would pay to get in now. If you are interested in other regions, let us know and we'll do our best to make these available next.

Hot Deal

Save over $1,000 + GST on a high-profile Regional Spot designed to put you in front of your target market. Normally $1,875 + GST, we have a special deal so you pay just $795 + GST for prime positioning on www.tourism.net.nz (you'll be profiled in 5 sections within your region i.e. region info, region scenic highlights etc - see example below).

Note: We currently have place-holders for some of these spots as per image below (Travel Insurance, NZ DVDs, Products and NZ Holiday Deals). These will be removed once the spot has been sold. Also if you order early then you have a better chance to select your position i.e far left, far right, left centre, right centre etc.

Example

Click the following links to check the Auckland regional spot coverage.

• Auckland Region Home Page
• Auckland Region Information
• Auckland Region Activity Highlights
• Auckland Region Scenic Highlights
• Auckland Region History

While on a first in, first served basis, we will not place competing businesses next to each other, so for example, if there is already a rental car company in one of the spots, we won't place a 2nd rental car company in the same region.

Contact your tourism consultant for more information, drop us an email or call 0800 14-65-49.

How to Create Online Goodwill

by Avatar Web Promotions

Thinking about what you can do to extend a little goodwill towards your online customers? Here are a few ideas for what you can do to keep your customers' interests in mind when you are selling products or services over the Internet.

By offering online customers more 'protection' when they shop, you can make great strides towards enjoying a happier, warmer and fuzzier trading relationship together.

10 top tips for safer online trading

1. Provide adequate address and contact details — phone, fax, email and street address (not just a PO Box number) on every page of your Web site.
2. List all of the costs relating to the purchase of a particular item (include the cost of the product/service, GST, delivery, postage and handling).
3. Provide details about your site's secure online payment handling.
4. Enable people to print out their order and include unique reference numbers for each transaction.
5. Clearly provide access to your guarantees, return, exchange or refund policies.
6. Provide details of how customers can lodge a complaint with you and what your complaint procedure is.
7. Specify which legal jurisdiction will apply to the transaction (i.e. your country or your customer's) and/ or which disputes resolution processes may apply (e.g., an ombudsman scheme or industry code).
8. Clearly state what currency the purchase is in.
9. State any restrictions or conditions that may apply to the purchase (such as geographic or age restrictions).
10. Include a privacy policy (it's always a good idea to provide a link to your privacy policy at the point at which customers are required to provide any personal information such as email address, postal address or payment details).

More information about trading online can be found on the Ministry of Consumer Affairs Web site.

Tips For Email Marketing Best Practice

by Avatar Web Promotions

Hefty fines have recently been imposed on email marketers, who have flouted US laws on commercial email marketing. However, don't let that put you off! Email marketing remains a very cost-effective and efficient way of reaching your target audience.

Here are a few tips for making sure your campaigns follow best practice guidelines:

• Only email customers with their consent.
• Always offer recipients the option to unsubscribe from your mailing list.
• Send out relevant and interesting information.
• Communicate within reasonable time frames (not so often that your emails are considered "spammy").

Remember to keep your mailing list up-to-date and don't add irrelevant email addresses. Good luck and happy emailing.

We welcome any feedback — send your comments to : news@tourism.net.nz

Regards,

The Team
Ph 0800 14 65 49
https://www.tourism.net.nz
New Zealand Tourism Online Limited
Head Office: 179 Tuam Street, Christchurch