Newsletter : January 2008

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

NZTO Comment

by Garry Bond, General Manager, New Zealand Tourism Online

I can't believe we are already in full swing for the year. Besides the fact that I haven't taken down my Christmas tree yet, it seems rather a long time ago that Santa visited. Hopefully he brought you lots of travellers over the holiday period.

While you may have been busy, do you consider you have a balanced lifestyle? In the tourism industry, business people are committed to customer service and the needs of the traveller. This is understandable as it really is a service industry, however are you losing your edge? Are you working long hours at the expense of family and friends? Are you stressed out? Sure you can do this short term but longer periods aren't good for you. Do you need to take a step back and assess your situation? Maybe now is not the best time, but in a couple of months take some time out and make sure you are balancing your life. After all you are only on this earth for a limited amount of time.

With the price of fuel still on the increase it's good to see Air New Zealand is cutting domestic air fares by up to 30 per cent to stimulate demand. Sure I guess it's increased competition on domestic routes from Australian carriers Pacific Blue and Qantas that have helped stimulate the price reduction but New Zealanders should take advantage of this. The Ministry of Tourism ran a domestic travel survey showing a $1 billion rise in domestic travel spending to $8 billion in the year to last September. This was up 10.4 per cent from the year before. This is good news and as an example I know a family who live in Christchurch and managed to get some cheap airfares. They flew to Wellington, then onto Auckland where they got a rental car, stayed in various accommodation and visited attractions in the area - all because the airfares made it possible.

Have a great year.

Free Map

New Zealand Tourism Online has a New Zealand map for you to use - and it's free! It's a great way to add more value to your own Web site, and there are five different maps to choose from: accommodation, attractions, tours, transport and visitor information. The example below is the visitor information map.

These maps are ideal for providing visitors to your site with quality information. For example, if you are an accommodation supplier you may feel your visitors would benefit from finding out about activities in your area and around New Zealand. In this case you'd use the activities and/or information map. If applicable you may use more than one map on your site.

To obtain your free map click here.

DIRECT BOOKINGS - BookIt

Over $200,000 in bookings have been made by travellers to tourism operators involved in our new booking system (and it's only been up and running for a few months).

“I have been using your New Zealand Tourism Online site to make bookings for my New Zealand holiday this month. I just wanted to let you know that I thought the site was the best one I have ever used. It is so easy to use, clear and uncomplicated, and so efficient! I couldn't believe how quickly I could make the bookings – it was a real pleasure. So thanks heaps!” – Lindsay Richardson, Melbourne Australia

Want to join them and get your share of bookings? This booking function is fully integrated into our site. It provides the ability for travellers (domestic or international) to book right now.

The setup is free and you only pay a commission on confirmed bookings – plus:

• Free extra exposure on our site regardless of whether you get direct bookings or not
• Withdraw at any time (no fixed period or contract)

Here's 11 more points for you to consider.

1. Reduces the risk of losing a booking from customers ready to book now
2. We are New Zealand's top commercial tourism directory (Neilson Netratings)
3. Generate confirmed sales from our massive traffic numbers (international and domestic travellers)
4. Provides additional exposure and details for your product offering, including availability and pricing
5. Be a profiled operator on our site with booking capability
6. Exclusive to Gold members
7. Saves you time and effort – by not having to deal with enquiries regarding availability
8. Provides immediate information to customers, anytime of the day or night
9. Has excellent BookIt reporting including the ability to gather feedback from travellers who have used your services
10. The system takes care of processing credit cards (inc Amex and Diners), cancel refunds etc and the net amount for any bookings are transferred to your nominated bank account, usually within 48 hours of the travellers arrival
11. Optional customised “Make a Booking” links and buttons for your own site or within your emails (see below)

Please note: This option is only available to those operators who have a gold listing or gold listing with Web page. Enquire if you are not sure if you have a gold listing or wish to market yourself to over 220,000 visitors each month.

“We have been delighted with the success we have had with the BookIt system. Our accommodation bookings have increased since participating and we are very happy with the ease of use this service provides. Confirming bookings is done with the touch of a button and payments are made promptly, usually in advance. Any queries we may have have always been answered swiftly and professionally. We would not hesitate to recommend this booking system.” – Jude Edwards, Accommodation Manager, YMCA Christchurch

Free “Make a Booking” Option – Use the Booking System on your own Site or within your Emails!

If you belong to our booking system why not use this? Ideal if you don't have a booking type of facility on your own Web site. Capture those wanting to book now! The same commission rate applies but it covers all admin and credit card fees. Very convenient and you can also use it in your emails as well. We'll supply you with the buttons and code once we have set you up on our site and it's up to you if you want to use it.

Make a Booking Search

A 'Make a Booking Search' function has been added to the home page (under Air NZ Fare Finder) to allow travellers quick access to those operators with the booking option. This makes it easy for travellers wanting to book immediately.

Yes I'm Interested

Want more info including commission rates? Please email us now.

The sooner you apply, the sooner we can get you up and running. In fact we do all the work for you. You just say “yes, let me have this option”.

PS: Thanks to all of you who already have the booking option installed or are waiting for it to be added. Many of you are now live here and the rest are being processed.

UNDERSTAND HOW YOUR SITE CAN BE FOUND

by Garry Bond, General Manager, New Zealand Tourism Online

Without a real understanding about how people actually find your Web site, you really won't know where the best places are to put your time and effort in to marketing your Web site effectively.

People will follow a variety of routes to arrive at your web site. Understanding where they are coming from is the first step to attracting more of them. Possible paths include:

Search Engines

If your Web site is performing very well in the major search engines such as Yahoo, Google or MSN Search, then the percentage of visitors from this source will be good.

Comments: Great if you can get on the first page of a search engine. Can be expensive if using a search engine optimisation company depending on what you wish to achieve. Time consuming if you have the knowledge to do it yourself.

Web Directories (like New Zealand Tourism Online)

If you have a listing of some kind on these sites, then you are likely to receive visitors directly from them and depending on the type of directory, these visitors will be good quality leads that are focused on travellers requirements. The traffic you receive can vary depending on the profile and popularity of the site you are listed on as well as what you have to offer appeals to the traveller.

Comments: Usually quality leads with a low to medium cost but often much cheaper than print media costs.

Direct Bookings

Either confirmed bookings or bookings subject to your availability. Often originated from other Web sites who have a direct booking option for you to use. Helps expand marketing exposure.

Comments: Low or no setup costs and only pay for confirmed bookings. Good use of technology.

Pay per Click Adverting

Most well known one is Google Adwords. Your text ads show up to the right of search results when searchers search on keywords. You pay only when someone clicks on your advert.

Comments: Best for shorter term campaigns as quite expensive over time. Need to research, choose your keywords carefully and monitor results closely.

Web Links

Some visitors follow links from other Web site i.e. from a links page.

Comments: Low or no cost but time consuming. Worth the effort as aids rankings within search engines.

Direct Email Marketing/Viral Marketing

Some people will follow a link that they have been sent in an email either from the site's owner or from another person recommending the site to them. Viral marketing promotes your site by creating a “creative” (video, text message, photo, animation, etc.) so compelling, interesting, bizarre, funny, or helpful, that people pass it on to their friends with your URL or marketing message.

Comments: Low or no cost and hit and miss unless you think of a good way other people may pass on your Web site link to other people. Can also be wildly successful for the fortunate few who stumble upon a compelling creative.

Email Newsletters

Some people will follow a link that they have been sent in an email either from the site's owner or from another person recommending the site to them. Use your own mailing list or pay to be in someone else's.

Comments: Can be quite effective with well-written copy and a mailing list. Cheap enough if you can do it all yourself and can maintain a subscriber list. Hit and miss if you use someone else's newsletter unless it's targeted to your audience.

Newsgroups

Visitors may follow a link from a message in a newsgroup or an online forum. You become an active part of several online communities, forums, blogs, etc and participate in discussions and promote your site passively through your “signature.”

Comments: Can be somewhat effective. This has a low cost and is targeted, but time intensive.

Affiliate Programs

You are likely to know if you have an affiliate program running but this may be a regular way to gain traffic. For tourism operators, direct booking is the most common form of affiliate program.

Comments: See booking comments.

Traditional Media

People will copy the address from other media such as magazines, business cards, newspapers, brochures, direct mail, TV adverts, etc.

Comments: Well worth investing in the basics such as business cards and check usability if advertising in magazines etc. Hard to monitor and often expensive.

Word of Mouth

People talk to each other and if your Web site is memorable enough, then chances are you'll get traffic from this source.

Comments: Free so spread the word. Best if you have an easy to remember Web site address.

Guesswork

Experienced people on the Internet guess at the site's address and type it in directly i.e. www.avis.co.nz or www.tvnz.co.nz

Comments: Unless you are well known then unlikely to get much from this avenue.