Newsletter : October 2014
Written by Steph Kendall
Welcome to the New Zealand Tourism Guide www.tourism.net.nz October 2014 issue. If you have news or comments, please email us news@tourism.net.nz.
In this October newsletter:
Visitors May Stay Longer and Do More
Tourism Holdings' Grant Webster says the falling New Zealand dollar will boost the visitor sector but is unlikely to encourage a big surge in numbers this high season. He added that the lower kiwi would allow those who had decided to come here to have a better holiday when they're here.
Latest figures show the number of short-term visitors in the year to August increased 5.3 per cent to nearly 2.8 million. Tourism Holdings is New Zealand and Australia's biggest motorhome rental business and its profit soared 192 per cent to $11.1 million in the year to June 30.
(New Zealand residents departed on 2.24 million overseas trips in the year to August, up 2 per cent from 2013, said Statistics New Zealand. Around half of all trips by New Zealand residents were to Australia with the next most-visited destinations the United States, Fiji and Britain.)
Road Safety Campaign Needed to Target Overseas Drivers?
Following a number of serious crashes caused by overseas drivers including fatalities, an investigating coroner made several suggestions to help avoid similar tragedies. He suggested that the country should consider making all campervan and other rental vehicle firms answerable to a code of practice, that mandatory passenger airbags for rental vehicles be considered and that 'keep left' dashboard signage be compulsory.
However, road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson said the law must go further. "The bottom line is, vehicles are being rented to people who are clearly not capable of driving them safely. No one who has flown in from an overseas trip of more than eight hours should be allowed to rent a vehicle for 24 hours."
Rental Vehicle Association chief executive Barry Kidd said most of the coroner's suggestions had merit and that tourists needed reminding of four main things - driving on the left, always wearing seatbelts, not exceeding 100km/h and not overtaking on yellow lines.
Online advice such as that published on NZTG's driving in New Zealand pages should form part of instructions provided to tourists.
New Zealand's International Media Program... Tweet As
One of Japan's most well-known athletes, figure-skater Mao Asada, visited New Zealand recently as part of Tourism New Zealand's international media programme. The trip aired as a storytelling-type documentary, viewed by a 4.4 million-strong Japanese audience, on TV Tokyo in September.
Nick Mudge of Tourism New Zealand said that an audience the size of New Zealand's population is not insignificant, and has the potential to convert into real tourism gains. And that as Japan's leading sports star, Mao is key to influencing behaviour. We know that word of mouth remains one of the most influential factors in helping people make travel decisions and when endorsement comes from popular and appealing influencers the impact is even stronger. He added that the equivalent advertising value of the 75 minute programme was over NZD$6m.
In tandem with the episode airing Tourism New Zealand was live tweeting, responding to tweets asking questions of New Zealand. Mudge added that, "When connecting with the youth market it is important to be interactive and immediately responsive and the live tweeting worked very well to this end."
New Zealand received just over 48,000 holiday arrivals from Japan for the year end August 2014.
Working Out Your Competitive Advantage
Compiled by Steph Kendall
Your competitive advantage is that which sets your business apart from your competition. It highlights the benefits a customer receives when they decide to do business with you. It could be your service, reputation or your location.
To identify your competitive advantage, you first need to understand your competitors and your customers. Ask yourself:
Getting started
- Why do customers come to us?
- Why do customers go to our competitors and not us?
- Why do some potential customers make enquiries but fail to book?
- What do we need to do to be successful in the future?
Good market research can reveal how your business is different from your competitors, and what you have to offer that appeals to your customers.
Customers buy benefits
When customers choose your services, they are buying the benefit it gives them. For example, the competitive advantage for a restaurant may be: We use fresh, local ingredients to make-to-order the highest quality gourmet lunches in the local area.
Different people may see different benefits:
- People with allergies or particular dislikes will enjoy the convenience of ordering a lunch with their preferred ingredients
- People who want to treat themselves will be attracted by the fresh, high-quality ingredients and that lunches are gourmet
- People who want to support local businesses will appreciate that you use only local ingredients.
Thinking about how your business can benefit your customers will help you to locate your competitive advantage. A strong competitive advantage:
- Reflects the competitive strength of your business (e.g. quality of service)
- Is preferably, but not necessarily, unique
- Is clear and simple
- May change over time
- Should be supported by honest and ongoing market research
- Should highlight the benefits to customers rather than boast of your business itself.
After you have highlighted your competitive advantage, the best way to tell your customers about it is to create your unique selling proposition.
10 Tips to Improve Business
Compiled by Steph Kendall
This month we focus on the popular and competitive bed and breakfast industry sector and what newcomers to the industry should consider before they dive in; and a few tips for old B&B hands too:
- Work out what service you can offer? – Will you (or should you) be offering food or alcohol, running activities, making pick-ups, opening all year round?
- Decide on what service standards to aim for – Check out your competition and work out what you do or don't like and what you can or can't incorporate into your own business.
- Get your pricing right – Again compare the prices being charged by your competition for a similar product / service offering. High prices for luxury bed and breakfasts are tempting, but ensure your accommodation meets expectations (see Qualmark ratings).
- Talk to your council about your zoning – Before you invest any money into turning your home into a bed and breakfast business, make sure you are allowed to operate a business of this kind in the area
- Get the builder's quotes – Make sure you take into account the costs of making any modifications to your property to meet fire and building regulations (e.g. smoke detectors, fire exits, permits and consents)
- Licences – Make sure your establishment and staff meet the requirements for food handling and that you have a licence for serving food or alcohol. If you are offering a transfer service for your guests, ensure you have the correct endorsement on your driver's licence.
- Visit the rates' office – Work out if your rates will be affected by the change in the building's usage and then you won't receive any surprise bills.
- Starting anew? – Register with the Inland Revenue and Companies Office.
- Consider your marketing strategy – Read our marketing tips on creating marketing strategies, but definitely get a website for your business and set up an online accommodation booking service.
- Ensure you have the right insurances in place – Talk to your insurance provider about a policy which covers the changes of use to your home. You may have to include cover for guests' property or for unpaid bills.
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 Mellonsfolly Ranch, North Island.
This website truly embodies the essence of the product it is promoting with lots of design elements featuring western iconography (ornate belt buckles, timbered backgrounds) but it's really the photography and videos that bring this unique experience/offer to life. The website stays 'in character' even when inviting viewers to subscribe to its newsletter, The Valley Bugle. A perfect accommodation for lovers of dress-up and the perhaps one of few websites championing its very non-kiwi flavour. The owners have truly thought through their competitive advantage and unique selling proposition.
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