Newsletter : July 2007

NZTO Comment

by Garry Bond, General Manager, New Zealand Tourism Online

Sustainability. Is it scary word for you? With so much focus around this now, it's hard to ignore the fact that it's something we all need to a) look at, and b) do something about.

If you think about it, New Zealand is one of the best countries to be able to get this up and running. We are small enough, can move fairly quickly, and we don't have neighbouring countries to worry about. The thing is though, other destinations will also be looking closely at, not only sustainability, but the environmental impact of their own country. New Zealand often punches above its own weight on many global fronts and sustainability needs to be one of them.

While the tourism industry can play a large part with policies and implementation, the rest of New Zealand also needs to follow suit. A shared vision should also be promoted to local and central Government plus the many other business sectors around the country.

New Zealand is changing however and many people do recognise the land we live in needs protecting. I recently had lunch with an old work colleague and he's got a great Web site called Ecobob. Interesting name but the site promotes eco living, homes and construction, information and communities. We just need more people like this to kick it along.

So what can I do about it, I hear you say. Simply start with looking at basic things such as reducing energy costs, minimising waste, careful water use, recycling, environmental building construction and CO2 emissions. Firstly select a couple of areas to look at, then monitor, analyse the results and implement change. Then monitor, analyse and so on. It doesn't have to be hard. At New Zealand Tourism Online, we turn all PC's, monitors, printers, heaters and lights off at night (we've even posted notices to remind people). We recycle normal items like glass and cardboard but also reuse printer paper. Along with this we do our bit by promoting sustainability via our business centre and other community issues.

At the end of the day though, it's up to you. Make a decision now—it's better you make a small start than no start at all.

New Booking Function

As a tourism operator (sorry only available to those with a gold listing or a gold listing with a Web page), have you applied to add our new booking function to your listing yet? This booking function is fully integrated into our site and provides the ability for travellers (domestic or international) to book something right now. Here's 10 points for you to consider.

1. Booking Button: You will have a "Make a Booking" button added to your listing
2. Compare and Book: You will be included as part of the "Compare Rates" function within your region and category
3. Cross Marketing: We can cross market your business, for example, someone who is interested in a rental car can also be offered accommodation options and visa versa
4. Packages: We have the ability to construct "packages", for example, you could be part of a "3 Day Escape to Nelson" package
5. Reduced Risk: Reduces the risk of losing a booking from customers ready to book now
6. Bookings: Generate confirmed sales from international and domestic travellers
7. Product: Additional exposure and details for your product offering, including availability and pricing
8. Profile: Be a profiled operator on our site with a booking capability
9. Save Time: Saves you time and effort by not having to deal with enquiries regarding availability
10. Timely Information: Provides immediate information to customers, anytime of the day or night

We have partnered with BookIt who will provide the booking system. We choose them because of the flexibility of the system and the excellent reporting functions, including the ability for you to gather travellers feedback.

Yes I'm Interested

It's free to setup but if you haven't already received information on this option, then please email us now.

If you already have the information, then simply contact us to apply.

The sooner you apply, the sooner we can get you up and running.

PS: Thanks to all of you who have already applied. Many of you are now live here and the rest are being processed.

Audio Visual Clip Update

We now have over 250 tourism operators with an multimedia audio visual clip and a new directory was created to promote these within the https://www.tourism.net.nz/ Web site. You will gain extra exposure here. Take a quick look.

We have also linked this directory to our home page side menu and to our Visitor Information section for additional coverage.

Note: As these have been so popular, Yellow Pages now also have a version of this that will be marketed to the 200,000 odd businesses across the country. The price will however be $495 + GST but as existing clients, we will continue to hold our price at $395 + GST for as long as we can.

This product is geared entirely towards helping you convert “lookers into bookers”.

This audio visual product is designed to be cost effective and compelling, with the images and sound combination really helping liven up your site visitors experience. The audio visual attaches to your listing on our site and includes button options and links so you can use it on your own Web site or in emails to your customers!

Key Features

• Low cost
• Fast loading
• Communicate key messages and images in a focused format
• Suitable for both small and larger tourism operators across all market sectors
• Very appealing to your potential customers with additional conversion opportunities
• Professionally recorded soundtrack of your key messages
• Excellent selection of background music
• Enhance your NZTO listing, see Air Fiordland listing example - Media Clip link
• Add to your own Web site after we supply you with button and text options
• Include it in your own emails to potential customers

This is a great time of the year to get your one up and running. Plan now for the season ahead and get your order in now! Contact your tourism consultant or one of our specialist product Managers (Mike O'Sullivan on 0800 14 65 52 or Mike Kaye on 0800 14 65 54 for more information—yes both are called Mike).

3 Easy Ways to Reduce Web Management Costs

by Avatar Web Promotions

If you use the services of a Web design company to help you manage and update your Web site content, there are three simple things you can do to reduce your costs.

1. First work out exactly what you want to update. You can save money (in project management costs) by giving your project manager fewer emails to work through. If you keep changing your mind about what you want to change, your costs will increase.
2. Send all of your updates in one communication. Send 1 email which includes all relevant image files and one, single document (Word) outlining your text changes and update instructions. This minimises the amount of time spent collating update information. You will also save money if you save up a number of small updates to be implemented in one session.
   Avatar for example, charge $120 + gst per hour, pro rata for every 15 minutes (e.g. 10 minutes is charged at $30 + gst, 20 minutes at $60 + gst and so on).
3. Provide clear instructions. It may seem obvious to you what goes where, but not necessarily for the person making your updates. Your instructions should be written rather than verbal and should include:
   
   • The Web page you are referring to by its URL and page name (e.g. web-design.html and 'Web Design page')
   • Provide details of the text that is going to change and what the replacement text is
   • Provide details of which image/s needs replacing and what the names of the replacement image/s are
   • Send images as image files (jpeg or gif formats) not as part of a Word document
   • Clearly label your images (for example, 'master-bedroom.jpeg' is more identifiable than 'image1.jpeg') and refer to this image name in your update instructions
   • Provide a date by which you need your updates completed. If you need updates urgently and other projects have to be re-scheduled to accommodate you, you may be charged at premium rates (for example, Avatar's express update rate is $150 + gst per hour, charged pro rata every 15 minutes).

Basic Web Utilities

There is almost an overwhelming choice of online tools, handy programs and neat gizmos around, so we have selected a few to help you weed out the ones you're likely to use.

Browsers

Browsers are programs that are used to view and interact with various types of Internet and multimedia resources. They can be customized with your own preferences.

Many users seem to stick to Internet Explorer (IE), an old-favourite, but many people also use Mozilla Firefox. It's a free alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer and it's quicker.

• Mozilla Firefox
• Microsoft Edge

Search Engines

Search engines help people using the Internet to find information. Some of the most popular, influential and the most useful are listed below:

New Zealand

• Google NZ
• MSN NZ
• NZS.com
• Yahoo Extra

Other

• Google
• Yahoo!
• Windows Outlook (formerly MSN)
• Ask (formerly Ask Jeeves)

We all tend to use Google (NZ and .com versions) for the most part, though some of us, eager to escape from all things Google from time to time, will also switch to engines such as Alexa.

Although it's easy to get stuck in a search engine rut, you may find that specialised search engines and directories give you more relevant and better results.

• For searching for a New Zealand business try Yellow
• For searching the blogsphere try Technorati

Virus Protection

It's important to protect your machine and network from the nasties out there. We like these offerings:

• AVG
• Ad Aware (best used with Spybot)
• Spybot (best used with Ad Aware)