Newsletter : July 2016
Written by Steph Kendall
Welcome to the New Zealand Tourism Guide www.tourism.net.nz July 2016 issue. If you have news or comments, please email us news@tourism.net.nz.
In this July newsletter:
- TNZ & Air New Zealand Target Argentinian Travellers
- Three Words: Approved Destination Status
- New Zealand Hits the US Highway
- Awaroa Beach Officially Part of Abel Tasman National Park
- Managing Carbon Footprints Makes Good Business Sense
- Tools for Business: Carbon Footprint Calculators
- Tourism Site of the Month: The Victoria Railway Hotel
TNZ & Air New Zealand Target Argentinian Travellers
With the help of former Argentinian rugby player, Agustin Pichot, Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand recently show cased all that New Zealand offers to the Argentinian market. This online campaign "New Zealand in 13 Hours" aimed to show travellers in this market that 'New Zealand is closer than you think' and is a world-class choice for rafting, jet boating, helicopter rides and extreme golf. (All activities undertaken by Pichot.)
Air New Zealand introduced direct flights to Auckland from Buenos Aires. Air New Zealand Head says Argentinians are now taking notice of New Zealand as a travel destination, "We're very excited to see the interest being generated in Argentina about our direct flights to Auckland. Being a proud rugby nation, it was fitting we brought out one of the legends of their game, Agustin Pichot, to showcase just how amazing our rugby mad country is as a travel destination."
Since Air New Zealand started operating, the new route arrivals from Argentina have more than doubled, with inbound arrivals reaching more than 10,000 for the year ended April 2016.
The campaign finished at the end of June.
Three Words: Approved Destination Status
These three words may not be familiar to everyone, but they are critical to New Zealand's tourism industry. Approved Destination Status is the name of a Government-to-Government agreement signed in 1999 that enabled Chinese visitors to come to New Zealand as part of a tour group on an ADS visa.
Today, while Free and Independent Travel is rapidly becoming the way Chinese see New Zealand, the group tour market still makes up around 46 per cent of Chinese visitor arrivals for the year ending March 2016. This number continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace now than FIT.
Tourism New Zealand is responsible for approving companies that wish to run ADS tours and for approving ADS tour guides. The rules and criteria for tour operators and guides are outlined in a Code of Conduct. The aim of all this activity is to help make sure that Chinese visitors to New Zealand have the best experience possible.
The news overall is positive from the Chinese market with numbers continuing to increase and Tourism New Zealand is still receiving applications from companies wishing to receive ADS status. TNZ continues a program of spot checks to ensure the delivery of a quality experience.
New Zealand Hits the US Highway
This month sees Tourism New Zealand taking an epic road trip through the US. This roadshow series includes TNZ and 38 New Zealand operators visiting 15 cities between July and November supporting new air routes and helping grow the US market.
The agents will profile New Zealand through smaller targeted engagement including breakfast, lunch and evening trade and consumer events. The 15 cities were carefully selected by TNZ as they provide key connection routes for United Airlines, Air New Zealand and American Airlines into their main hubs of San Francisco and LA respectively.
"Working alongside the airlines to host the events provides us the opportunity to leverage their presence with their partners and agents – a critical aspect as we start to build strong relationships with new contacts in these new locations," says TNZ representative.
The series runs across the following dates:
- Series 1 from 18 July: Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and Phoenix;
- Series 2 from 12 September: Boston, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Denver;
- Series 3 from 3 October: Toronto, Washington, Charlotte and Houston;
- Series 4 from 14 November: New York, Miami, Austin and Dallas.
Awaroa Beach Officially Part of Abel Tasman National Park
The remote inlet of Awaroa Beach has now officially become part of Abel Tasman National Park with the simple gesture of raising a picnic blanket to reveal the new signage at the beach. The moment was witnessed by hundreds of people who arrived by boat or kayak and was the final step in the journey to 'buy the beach for New Zealand.'
Environment Minister Nick Smith said Awaroa's addition to the Abel Tasman National Park honoured the spirit behind Ngati Tuwharetoa chief Te Heuheu Tukino's idea to establish New Zealand's first national park 125 years ago.
Department of Conservation will work with environmental group Project Janzsoon over the coming years to remove gorse along the sand dunes and re-route the Abel Tasman track overlooking the bay.
Managing Carbon Footprints Makes Good Business Sense
Edited by Stephanie Kendall
If you search for information online regarding carbon footprint management, it is easy to find the often-expressed opinion that by actively managing a company's carbon footprint, companies are displaying good business sense. By developing management plans, businesses can demonstrate leadership in their industry, reduce costs, unlock new revenue streams and improve employee and stakeholder engagement.
The benefits of investing in environmental sustainability are relatively well known and being seen to invest in environmental sustainability may help promote and improve a brand, as well as customer loyalty. Whilst a recent study, The Cone Millennial Cause Study, showed that over 80% of 13-25 year olds surveyed said they would only work for a company that cares about its impact on society, there is also evidence to suggest that effective carbon management means commercial success. (Marks & Spencer, the UK/global retail chain, which became carbon neutral as part of its "Plan A" Commitments, has contributed a £185 million net benefit to the business in just five years.)
With rising energy prices, changing law and more scientific based research available, there has never been a better time for companies to take action to understand and act to mitigate the true costs of their environmental impact.
Understanding emissions is the first step in planning reductions and proving environmental credentials. This can be achieved through introducing a carbon management plan that may for example reduce emissions and include investment in renewable energy projects or forest protection. This may provide a business with a very credible statement of taking environmental action and trying to reduce its environmental impact to zero.
Key Notes
- A carbon footprint refers to the greenhouse gas emissions caused, either directly or indirectly, by a person, organisation, event, service or product.
- A carbon footprint takes into account more than just CO2 emissions. It captures all key greenhouse gas emissions: Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).
- A carbon footprint expresses greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a carbon dioxide equivalent – you will see the term CO2e.
- An organisational carbon footprint expresses all emissions from an organisation.
- A product carbon footprint expresses emissions that occur over the life cycle of a product.
- You can review online advice from the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development on how to define the boundary of your carbon footprint, measurement/assessment, benchmarking and types of emissions covered and more.
In this month's Tools for Business, we provide some links to online carbon footprint calculators so you can get started with understanding your company's emissions and carbon footprint.
Tools for Business: Carbon Footprint Calculators
There are numerous carbon footprint calculators freely available on the internet to help get your carbon management plan underway. Here are some links to a few calculators:
- Carbon Footprint Ltd - Designed for micro and small sized businesses.
- Business CO2 emissions calculator - ClimateCare
- Business Calculator - Carbonfund.org
- Clear - Calculate the carbon footprint of a business
- Footprint measurement - Carbon Trust
Top Tourism Site of the Month
This month's Top Tourism Site Award goes to The Victoria Railway Hotel.
The website design for this accommodation is very clean and modern looking in keeping with the look of the accommodation itself. The photographs are of excellent quality, it features clear navigation, a slideshow of images on the home page and a fully responsive layout. Other elements, which are very well presented, include: user-friendly icons, clear links to booking engine, social media and pictorial paths to the available rooms.
It would be nice perhaps to see a few photographs (on the home page especially) featuring happy, satisfied clientele – including those in the target market – enjoying the facilities.
Nominate a Site
If you think a New Zealand travel or tourism website deserves a 'Top Tourism Site Award', let us know about it. (View further information about the award criteria).
About the Top Tourism Site Award
The New Zealand Tourism Guide confers a Top Tourism Site Award to websites that:
- Enhance New Zealand as a travel destination
- Publish useful and informative content
- Are laid out in a professional and aesthetically-pleasing manner
- Are designed effectively for the World Wide Web
- May demonstrate easy functionality, interactivity, originality, outstanding graphic quality and marketing reach.
We welcome any feedback — send your comments to: news@tourism.net.nz
Kind regards,
The Team
Ph 0800 14 65 49
www.tourism.net.nz
New Zealand Tourism Guide
Head Office: Ground Floor, 518 Colombo Street, Christchurch