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

Newsletter : June 2002

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

NZTO Comment

by Garry Bond

I've worked for online companies that have sold CD's, computer products, books etc and it's a hard graft. Many people are just not used to paying for products on-line and many businesses flounder because they rely on this income to at least cover the running costs.

Tourism on the Internet however is different and I'd say that this is one of the few industries where there are huge benefits for tourism operators. Basically you aren't selling a product, you're selling a destination and a holiday. This is especially rue for the international market but equally so for NZ'ers. Sure, your business may be rental cars or accommodation but you are still an important part of the overall experience.

Prior to the Internet what options did you have to reach your intended audience - especially internationally? Not many, and those that were available were very expensive or you had to work in with wholesalers to get a foot in the door. With the Internet however you can now reach a massive audience and if you choose the right companies to work with, then that audience will be both qualified and targeted.

A word of warning though, people visiting your Web site or Web page will judge your business on what they see - this is your front door. Have a badly designed, slow or disjointed Web site or Web page and you would be better off not having an Internet presence at all. If you need any help or advice in this area please feel free to contact me.

How to make money on the Internet in NZ

Have you ever considered adding affiliate programs from the likes of Amazon.com (books) to your Web site so you could make some passive income? Wouldn't it be great to have regular money coming in without having to do a thing. The problem is though, that affiliate programs typically pay peanuts and unless you are using it to provide a service to visitors, then they just aren't worth it. On our site for example, we provide a range of NZ books that can be brought through Amazon.com and we do this to provide more content on our site and as a service to those who wish to browse. This is just as well as Amazon doesn't pay much (5-15%). Our sales to date earn us about $1 for each book purchased @$19.95 and we would have to sell tons of books to make it worth while.

Are you paying too much for Duty Free goods?

Regency Duty Free have got an excellent Corporate Card which offers you discounts on a wide range of Duty Free products and best of all it's free to join! You and your staff can use it when they are travelling on business or pleasure.

Internet Scams and Viruses

by Mark Rocket at Avatar Web Promotions

There's a lot of dodgy people out there on the Internet these days. Be very careful about responding to emails or Internet promotions if you're unsure whether or not they're from a credible source.

A current clever scam is from "Internet Name Protection Pty Ltd". They're an Aussie company that posts out letters to New Zealand domain name holders saying that their equivalent domain name is available with another extension (e.g. you may have "companyname.co.nz" and they say that "companyname.net.nz" is available). The wording is confusing and may at a quick glance appear to be a renewal notice for an existing domain that you have. Needless to say, we recommend you disregard these letters.

In addition there are a lot of computer viruses and email hoaxes around currently, so don't believe everything you read. Even if it's a message forwarded from someone you know. A current hoax that's floating around suggests that you delete a file from your computer called "jdbgmgr.exe" because it's a virus. It's actually part of the Windows Operating System and is likely to be affected by a virus. In this instance deleting the file usually won't be a major problem, but potentially this type of clever hoax could really ruin your day.

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

Regards,

The Team
Ph 0800 14 65 49
www.tourism.net.nz
New Zealand Tourism Guide
Head Office: Christchurch

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The largest range of escorted & small group tours

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Explore NZ on a custom self-drive package holiday

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Cross Cook Strait and enjoy Kiwi hospitality.

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