Newsletter : February 2017
Written by Steph Kendall
Welcome to the New Zealand Tourism Guide www.tourism.net.nz February 2017 issue. If you have news or comments, please email us news@tourism.net.nz.
In this February newsletter:
Kaikoura Tourism Getting Back on Track
Around ninety per cent of tourism activity providers and more than seventy-five per cent of accommodation providers in Kaikoura are back operating following the November earthquake. Whale watching, dolphin, seal and albatross encounters are operating daily, offering plenty of activities for the increasing numbers of visitors making their way back to the town.
"It's fantastic to see that Kaikoura has bounced back so quickly and it really shows how resilient the community is," says Tourism New Zealand's Acting Chief Executive Brighid Kelly. "One of the most important things we can do is continue to get the word out internationally that Kaikoura is open for business and providing visitors with a great experience like they always have."
Qatar Airways Commits to NZ
The longest commercial flight in the world - Qatar Airways' Doha to Auckland service - touched down 15 minutes ahead of schedule on its inaugural flight on 6th February and the airline says it is here for the long haul.
The airline's chief executive Akbar Al Baker was on board the flight and when asked whether any rise in fuel prices could affect commitment to the route, he said it was a long term commitment to the country. "We never close a route when we launch. We are not an airline that is only here for good times. We are here for good times and bad times because we service the people that we operate to."
On its daily Auckland service, the airline is using a long-range Boeing 777 which has 217 economy seats and 42 business class seats. It's anticipated that ultra-long range flying will become more common, but airlines will need to provide higher quality product.
Super Cruising Draws Crowds
Mega ship Ovation of the Seas made its final New Zealand port of call this month after bringing nearly 20,000 passengers to the country during the cruising season. Cruise line Royal Caribbean estimates that the ship's 17 calls to seven ports injected an estimated $8.5million in passenger spend into the local economy.
Ovation is the largest cruise ship that visits New Zealand and is too big to fit alongside Auckland's cruise ship wharves. The Auckland Council is studying options to modify Queen's Wharf to accommodate mega ships. The ship has been attracting big crowds at ports visited.
Cruise New Zealand estimates that during 2015-2016 the sector was worth $484 million in value added to the New Zealand economy - it is forecast to grow to $490 million in the current season.
Social Media Stars Promote New Zealand
US film actors, Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey are in New Zealand for location shooting on the upcoming Disney film, A Wrinkle in Time. Kaling, who played Disgust in the Oscar-winning Inside Out and is the star of the popular TV series The Mindy Project took to social media to reveal her intentions of travelling to New Zealand for the film. "Any lovely Kiwis out there have recommendations for me? Your country is so beautiful and I am lucky to be able to go," she said. Witherspoon also announced her departure for New Zealand on social media. Both actresses are talking about their visits to New Zealand in very positive ways - why is this of interest? Because Witherspoon has over 5 million followers on Instagram, Kaling has over 3.5 million followers on Twitter - and what these actors do and where they do it makes waves!
As to the film itself? A Wrinkle in Time is a fantasy adventure directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Jennifer Lee, based on the 1962 novel series by Madeleine L'Engle. The movie is set to be released in the US on 6th April 2018. In late 2016, director DuVernay was location scouting in the South Island, hinting the rugged Canterbury landscape was a desirable place to film scenes of the movie. At the time of writing, the actors were enjoying the beautiful scenery of Wanaka.
NZ Still Top of the Pops with UK Travellers
New Zealand continues to hold the Top Country award with a near perfect score in the UK's Wanderlust Magazine Reader Travel Awards 2017, winning gold for the third year in a row. The top spot for New Zealand is the country's ninth win over the 18 years of the awards with New Zealand achieved a near perfect satisfaction rating of 99.67%.
The finalists were rated by 1,800 of the publication's readers, with a total of 165 countries, 830 cities, 440 airports and 484 tour operators being nominated. Pip Casey, Wanderlust's Regional Manager for Europe said, "These awards are unique as winners are based on customer satisfaction of the visit and not solely on the number of votes. This really illustrates the quality of experience that visitors receive in New Zealand and is testament to the expertise and dedication of New Zealand operators large and small. As our visitor numbers continue to grow, it's great to see this level of service being upheld."
"New Zealand continues to stand out from the crowd for our readers and we are thrilled the country is 'top dog' once more. In fact, ever since we started the awards in 1999 the country has not been out of the top 3, quite an achievement," commented Wanderlust's Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Lyn Hughes.
Tools for Business: Quick Click Fixes for Photos
The photograph to the right is from an album of holiday snaps taken at Lake Tekapo. The photograph on the left is as taken without any editing whatsoever. The same photograph on the right has been 'played around' with – for as many as three minutes – and just a few clicks helped to 1) straighten the horizon 2) sharpen the image 3) boost the colours slightly and 4) helped fix the original exposure. The point here is not that the second photograph is so much better than the first – photography is always subjective – but that it is quick and easy for anyone to edit the quality of a photograph.
This image was 'photo shopped' using free to use tools in Picasa, however, finding a free to use photo manipulation program has never been easier across all of the devices that take, store and/or manage images. Simply look for the editor's pencil near you and have a play. You may be surprised at how much you can improve the quality of a 'snap'.
Tip: If you are editing photos for a website or newsletter, try to keep the look of each image consistent. It's very tempting to throw lots of different special effects and lighting at photographs, but if each image is treated differently, the results can look rather hotch-potch.
Top Tourism Site of the Month
This month's Top Tourism Site Award goes to Argyll on Clyde.
It makes a change to find a business that has downsized its presentation to effectively just one-page online, but that is exactly what you'll find in Argyll on Clyde's new web presence -and it's the main reason we have flagged it.
Argyll on Clyde offers bed and breakfast accommodation and the hosts also run a 4WD safari business. This is a very elegant-looking web page – and a very nice looking property - which incorporates the key pieces of information a potential guest may require: accommodation detail, easy to see room availability, location map and contact details.
However, the downside of such a slimmed down approach may prove to be a difficulty in gaining high rankings in search engines' results pages (as search engines tend to favour websites presenting more rather than less information). Also, the reader may be left wondering about the area's key attractions such as the Otago Rail Trail, wineries and Queenstown – and find information about them from other websites (which possibly also offer accommodation). Whether a potential looker returns to this web page to make an enquiry about booking or becomes an instant booker elsewhere could perhaps be a concern.
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