Newsletter : June 2013
Written by Steph Kendall
Welcome to the New Zealand Tourism Guide www.tourism.net.nz June 2013 issue. If you have news or comments, please email us news@tourism.net.nz.
In this June newsletter:
Auckland Comes of Age
A recent write-up in the New York Times (a broadsheet with a daily circulation of 1.5 million-plus and an online audience of more than 30 million) lauded Auckland as a must-see travel destination for its vibrancy and home-grown products – none of which have anything to do with The Lord of the Rings.
The article featured 12 stops on a weekend adventure, including: the "exquisite" Māori culture displays at Auckland Art Gallery and Auckland War Memorial Museum, Britomart's "bubbling night-life hub" and the "bountiful natural beauty" of Waiheke Island. The glowing review of "the San Francisco-steep streets and regenerated neighbourhoods of newly vibrant Auckland" have not gone unnoticed by city ambassadors.
The tourism manager at Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development, Jason Hill said "It shows that Auckland has really come of age as a sophisticated and truly international city that is being recognised and endorsed by some pretty credible third parties."
It was the type of publicity money really could not buy. "One of the things that the New York Times is very strict on is they don't accept invitations to visit destinations like ours so when they do come and write it's honest and credible and it makes it even more valuable."
36 Hours in Auckland
Friday
- Auckland Art Gallery
- Oyster shucking at Seafood Depot after visiting the Sky Tower
- Drinks in Britomart
Saturday
- Walk through the Auckland Domain to the Parnell Farmers' Market
- Auckland War Memorial Museum
- Lunch and shopping in Ponsonby
- Dinner at Meredith's
- Live music at Golden Dawn
Sunday
- A sunrise hike up Mt Eden
- Lunch and shopping on K Road
- Afternoon vineyard visits on Waiheke Island
Question for Tourism Operators: What would the best 36 hours include for a traveller in your region? Why not publish your own mini-guide to promote your business and its ‘packages’?
Waiheke Island Gets Top Ranking
Auckland's Waiheke Island has been ranked in the top 10 islands to visit in the South Pacific by an influential travel review website. The annual TripAdvisor Travelers Choice Destination awards honour top travel places worldwide, based on millions of reviews and opinions from travellers.
Waiheke Island - described as a haven of beautiful beaches, gastronomical treasures and small wineries - features alongside a range of stand-out Pacific Island destinations, including Bora Bora and Taveuni Island in Fiji.
In the same poll, Auckland central was rated the second best destination in New Zealand. Auckland also had three beaches in the top 10 list: Piha (3) and Bethells and Karekare.
The recognition follows several other accolades in the last six months, with Waiheke Island being listed in the New York Times 46 Places to Go this year and Auckland being named Australasia's top destination in the 2012 World Travel Awards.
Auckland was also ranked third in the world on the 2013 Mercer Scale of Global Lifestyle Cities and named Best Turnaround Destination by Britain's Cruise Insight magazine.
Are You Missing the Boat?
Tourism operators in port cities are being urged to cater for the diverse expectations of the tourism sector's fastest growing market. The cruise industry saw 209,000 passengers making 756 port visits last summer, up from 17,000 less than 10 years ago. Next summer up to 225,000 are expected. A cruise industry consultancy says New Zealand risks missing out on most of the boom in the sector by not giving passengers what they want.
Cruise Strategy said tourist operators were not tailoring their offerings to different size ships and different passenger mixes. "In our naivety we lump the cruise industry all together when in fact the industry is highly segmented and that segmentation goes to the cruise lines, the passengers and the ships they travel on." Some first-time cruisers want to be "led by the nose"; experienced passengers from more upscale ships with few resort options want to come ashore and explore.
In destinations such as the Pacific Islands, Caribbean and Southeast Asia it is common for passengers to be greeted by stalls and a carnival atmosphere on or near the wharf.
The report continues, "...in New Zealand, passengers generally arrive to no special welcome, experience little of the real New Zealand and visit only a tiny proportion of our vibrant and authentic businesses. There is a lack of understanding about cruise and cruise passengers among our business sector, and a lack of co-ordination. We've got to have much more consistent quality in our offerings and people want to get behind the story. Don't just take them to an art gallery, take them to meet the artist."
However, Carnival Cruises said New Zealand ports have got it right. "I think New Zealand stands out in the typical passengers' minds because of what communities do." A pipe band plays at Port Chalmers, vintage cars greet passengers in Napier and in Picton bouquets are handed out to departing passengers. Auckland is a "zinger" because of where the ships dock.
Carnival Australia says this region is the fastest growing cruise market in the world. The company yesterday said one of its P&O vessels, the Pacific Pearl, will have Auckland as its home port for the next three years. New Zealanders and Australians were now the second keenest cruisers in the world after the USA market.
The Marketing Mix
Written by Steph Kendall
Following on from last month's overview of a Marketing Plan for tourism businesses, this month we take a look at the main components of a successful marketing mix – or in this case, the 5 Ps. Product, Place, Promotion, Price and Packaging.
Product (or Service)
It's a great idea to establish a clear idea of the components of your business and the level of service or standards you intend to provide. Why? Because it will help you to identify the special features or benefits of your business, i.e. your competitive advantage, and to build your product or service around these.
Place (Distribution)
To take your product to the market, consider all the different types of distribution channels that are available to you. Investigate your options for those you are not already using. Think about:
- Direct to the consumer
- Retailers (travel agents)
- Wholesalers and Inbound Tour Operators (IBOs) – (more on IBOs in next month’s newsletter)
- Tourist Information Centres
- Electronic distribution (websites, social media, email marketing, e-newsletters, online press releases, e-books, etc.)
Promotion
Don’t be shy about promoting your business whenever the opportunity arises and create your own opportunities. Promotion is the means of letting people know about your business be it by:
- Advertising
- Public relations
- Publicity
- Direct marketing
- Online (website) and e-marketing
- Trade and consumer shows
- Word of mouth
A promotional mix specifies how much attention to pay to each subcategory and how much money to budget for each item. A promotional plan can have a wide range of objectives, including: sales increases, new product acceptance, positioning or competitive retaliation.
Promotion can be through brochures, trade displays or editorial in print media such as magazines generated from familiarisation visits. Make the most of cost-effective promotional opportunities such as public relations, word of mouth, web and e-marketing.
Price
To be successful in a busy marketplace, you’ll need to price your product accurately and competitively. When setting your price (or dynamic price), consider: its seasonality, your operating costs, the competition and likely demand. You should also think about:
- The total costs involved in getting the product or service to the market
- Your required profit margins
- Price sensitivity of current and new target markets
- Research, competitor analysis and competitive advantage
- Market and image perception of the product and the region
- The image of the business, value and quality of the product
Packaging
In order to sell your product make it as easy as possible to buy! Packaging can improve business and provide travellers with well-priced, enticing and convenient holiday options. A package combines two or more products so a traveller can save money buying them together rather than. Transport, accommodation, meals, attractions and entertainment can be used as ‘packages’. Look around at local businesses to see what your packaging options are.
You can read more about the marketing mix for tourism businesses from Tourism Victoria.
10 Tips to Improve Business
Written by Steph Kendall
- Ask an independent third-party to review your website design, optimisation and usability. Many web design and optimisation companies offer a free website review service with a view to helping you improve your website at a later date.
- Commission some new photography for your website (or take your own if you are skilled enough) and make sure you take pictures of different target audiences - females, males, young and old, families, single groups, etc.
- Supplement your permissions-based email marketing database by collecting email addresses from potential customers or repeat customers (in person, online, in forms, on bookings) so you can email them news of special offers.
- Make sure your advertising brochures are well displayed at: other attractions, in your business, information centres, local accommodations, transport terminals; and included in tourist information packs, mailed out whenever needed.
- Revamp your advertising brochures - update details such as: tour details, number of days, departure dates, the itinerary, departure or pick-up points, start and finish times, booking conditions, contact details, validity dates of the brochure, prices, room on the back of the brochure for a travel agent's stamp (if you are distributing to retail outlets).
- Take a look at your Facebook page - make sure it's up to date with its posts and replies. Giving people a new reason to interact with you - invite photographs, stories, feedback and 'likes'. Encourage your fans to 'share' your post with their Facebook contacts.
- Use the shoulder or quiet season to review your Marketing Plan and Marketing Mix (see above).
- Review your staff recruitment, training and presentation for your next busy season. Think about the levels of customer service you want to attain in your business and recruit (and pay for) the best.
- Ensure you are checking your monthly web statistics - if not, schedule it into your work diary. It takes just a couple of minutes each time and can give you valuable insight into your website performance.
- Look at your competition and learn from them. What are they doing particularly well? Can you replicate it, or improve on it for your business?
More Business Tips
You'll find more business tips in our newsletter archive, alongside:
Top Tourism Site of the Month
This month's Top Tourism Site Award goes to Walking Legends.
Walking Legends offer small group guided walks on the North Island. Their new website is well worth a look - it is instantly appealing and really entices viewers to explore its content, whilst offering a wealth of information on the home page alone.
The website blends great design style with quick and easy-to-absorb information - perfect for web viewers, who are skimmers not readers. The home page includes some great elements including: the map of the North Island (great for travellers unfamiliar with New Zealand geography), stunning photographic gallery featuring different 'products'/landscapes and markets (note different ages of the people photographed), a nicely designed and prominent call to action (featuring eye-catching walking boots), quick product overview (designed as shopping list/ note to self), a sign up for free walking brochure (great way to collect email addresses with a 'freebie') and a clear, easy to use navigation.
The only suggestion for these website owners is to use Meta Titles more effectively for search engines. Meta Titles offer one of the most important locations on a page for those all-important keywords and phrases.
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: Level One, 534 Colombo Street, Christchurch