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

Newsletter : May 2007

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

NZTO Comment

by Garry Bond, General Manager, New Zealand Tourism Online

Daylight saving has successfully been changed and the Government has decided to extend daylight saving another three weeks, to a 27-week period. Clocks will go forward an hour a week earlier than usual, starting on the last Sunday in September and will go back an hour on the first Sunday of April, instead of the third Sunday in March. I believe this has got to be good for the tourism industry as a whole and although this change won't suit all operators, I have a good feeling that it will be a positive move in extending the season. Hopefully New Zealand Tourism Online did make a difference by promoting the petition that was eventually signed by around 42,000 people.

On a slightly different note, there unfortunately wasn't much in the Government budget for tourism. This has become a bit of a talking point at TRENZ and elsewhere within the industry. New Zealand must keep the ball rolling and while larger tourism businesses can help wave the New Zealand flag, the vast majority of operators are at the mercy of the Government doing a good job promoting our country across the globe. Can we afford to wait until the 2011 Rugby World Cup before the spotlight is back on New Zealand? The size of the New Zealand tourism budget is about the same size as the South Australian tourism budget so you get an idea of how far the money the Government spends on tourism has to stretch. Food for thought.

Well we managed to get into the finals for the New Zealand Tourism Awards in the Tourism Service Provider category. While we have been fortunate to pick up five awards in the last three years, it really doesn't get any easier. Hopefully the stars will align themselves for us on the night and I believe crossing your toes as well as your fingers does help.

Audio Visual Clip Update

Air Fiordland sample audio visual clipOver 200 tourism operators have now taken a multimedia audio visual clip which means a new directory within the www.tourism.net.nz Web site has been created to cope with the numbers.

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.

If you have an audio visual clip or are about to order one from us, you will now gain extra exposure here. Take a quick look.

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

New Zealand Tourism Online has also entered the audio visual in the Tourism Awards this year as an innovative new product.

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

Click to view audio visual clipThis 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
  • Enhance your NZTO Web page if you have one, see Air Fiordland Web page example - Details Box
  • Add to your own Web site after we supply you with button and text options
  • Include it in your own emails to potential customers

BONUS DEAL

You'll get all of this for just $395 + GST for the 1st year and $195 + GST for 2nd year. Includes:

- Professional multimedia audio visual clip
- Personalised code and button so you can add it to your own Web site and in your emails
- Listing in the audio visual directory on https://www.tourism.net.nz/visitor-information/audio-visuals/

BONUS
- Listing on the specialised tourism multimedia audio visual Web site (under construction) worth $195 + GST (click here for a sneak preview)

You guys have done Ko Tane proud. I'm really happy with the clip, but most of all the pronunciation of Māori words is excellent."

Dave Brennan, Ko Tane, Christchurch

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). 

Beginners Guide to Search Engine Advertising

Ready to give your marketing cocktail a bit of a shake-up? If you're not already using search engine advertising, you may want to think about advertising your business, your latest special offer or a seasonal promotion through those little ads on search engines (see examples to the right).

Using search engine advertising can be an effective way of getting instant search engine coverage, competing with your competition and balancing more long-term search engine optimisation strategies.

Here are some guidelines to help you get started with a search engine advertising campaign:

  • Clearly identify the purpose of your advertising campaign
  • Decide who and where your target audience is
  • Decide what your budget is
  • Decide which search engine you want to advertise on (Google Adwords or Yahoo! Search Marketing)
  • Select keywords that are relevant and affordable for your campaign
  • Write relevant, interesting and persuasive adverts (both search engines offer guidelines on how to do this)
  • Point the ads to relevant pages on your Web site
  • Test and measure your results
  • Refine your ads, your keyword selection and your landing pages to improve your results for this campaign (and the next!)

Whilst Yahoo!'s upcoming 'Panama' platform promises an upgrade of its advertising program, the key difference between Google and Yahoo! is simply that most people still prefer using Google rather than Yahoo!.

Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act

You now have six months to make sure that you are not an illegal spammer. New Zealand has passed its anti-spam law in the form of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007. In the next six months, before the law comes into force, you need to review your email practices to make sure that you comply. There are significant penalties for getting it wrong (and of course your reputation will suffer), so the Act isn't something you can afford to ignore.

Rick Shera, of Lowndes Jordan, one of New Zealand's leading ICT (information, communication and technology) lawyers, gives us a few pointers. Here's what Rick has to say:

What The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act Applies To

The Act primarily applies to New Zealand connected (e.g., sender or receiver in NZ) email (not letters, voicemail or faxes), which markets goods, services, land, business or investment opportunities. The main change is that before you send anyone a commercial email, you need his or her consent.

What Consent Means

You can have express consent (i.e. where someone has agreed that you can send them the email) or inferred consent. So, we hear you ask, what does inferred consent mean? We can divide 'inferred consent' into two categories—existing contacts and new contacts.

Existing Contacts

You can send a commercial email to your existing contacts without express consent if you have a business or other relationship, which indicates that they would expect to receive that email from you.

For example, as a lawyer, I can email my clients with legal information without having to obtain their express consent—I can infer consent because that is the focus of my business relationship with them. However, I could not send them an email promoting, say, a new invention, since that is outside that relationship.

New Contacts

You can send a commercial email to new contacts without express consent if:

  • Their business email address has been conspicuously published; and
  • They have not stated that they do not want to receive unsolicited messages at that address; and
  • The message you are sending is relevant to the business, role, functions, or duties of the recipient, in their business or official capacity.

We welcome any feedback — send your comments to :

Regards,

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

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