Newsletter : October 2016
Written by Steph Kendall
Welcome to the New Zealand Tourism Guide www.tourism.net.nz October 2016 issue. If you have news or comments, please email us news@tourism.net.nz.
In this October newsletter:
Steady Rise of Filipino Visitors
A record breaking 17,680 Filipinos visited New Zealand in the year ending August 2016, representing a 25 percent increase in Filipino visitors compared to the previous year.
Tourism New Zealand's Steven Dixon said that the steady rise in tourist arrivals from the Philippines is a good indication of New Zealand's increasing appeal as a holiday destination. "Increased air capacity, such as Philippines Airlines four times weekly direct services via Cairns, has made it easier than ever to visit New Zealand and we are pleased to see how many Filipinos are taking up the opportunity to come and explore."
With the rise in Filipino visitors to New Zealand, Tourism New Zealand is seeking to strengthen tourism ties between the two countries. An inaugural trade training event for tourism operators in the Philippines will take place later in the month in Manila. During the training, Tourism New Zealand will be launching its 100% Pure New Zealand Specialist Programme. The training programme is designed specifically for travel sellers to boost their knowledge of New Zealand and grow sales for kiwi holidays.
Qualmark Criteria Refreshed
When Tourism New Zealand took full ownership of Qualmark last year, it took the opportunity to review the organisation to ensure it remains relevant and continues to add value in the face of growth and change in the tourism industry.
As a result, criteria have been refreshed and a live trial will begin from 25 October. The focus is about continuous improvement with the period up until Christmas serving as a time of testing and refinement. The improvements mean that Qualmark:
- will take a much more rounded view of what quality means
- will offer a more tailored experience to members, recognising that not one size fits all
- will provide be more advisors, providing more frequent contact with business.
The Enviro awards programme won't stay in its current form but rather than lessening the emphasis on sustainability, all assessments will include some aspects of environmental performance.
There will be a greater emphasis on customer service and customer satisfaction. What the customer is actually saying about the experience or product will be included in the assessment. With new legislation in place, health and safety will also play a more important part in the new criteria.
The way criteria is applied will also change. It will move from a tick box structure to more of an overall evaluation of the criteria against three models; either a minimum set of attributes, or those that are demonstrated by a good performing business or those attributes that represent best practice. Assessors will be looking for good processes that result in good products that lead to a good visitor experiences.
The introduction of a new product, 100% Pure NZ Experiences will recognise the very best, sustainable operators. These are the operators that reinforce that drive preference for New Zealand and are regarded as a uniquely New Zealand experience.
For more information, visit the Qualmark website.
Freedom Camping Behaviours Targeted
The Business Herald reports that a crackdown is due this summer on problems caused by freedom campers, as the tourism industry, local government and other groups have agreed to tackle problems such as littering and fouling beauty spots.
Campervan companies are working with local bodies to collect fines and a campaign to better educate freedom companies is likely. It's estimated that roughly 12,000 international visitors annually choose freedom camping as their accommodation and the industry wants to (and needs to) assess how they behave.
At a meeting of the New Zealand Responsible Camping Forum, attendees agreed to continue with a range of measures to tackle issues associated with freedom camping.
Local Government New Zealand president Lawrence Yule said tourism infrastructure was a key piece of the puzzle, but how it is funded was an issue for councils in tourist destinations, many of which are funded by a small ratepayer base. In May, the Government announced a contestable $12m fund for the regions to build small tourism facilities such as car parks and toilets, but Yule said other ways of funding the infrastructure need to be investigated.
The New Zealand Responsible Camping Forum was established in 2007 and brings together representatives from the tourism industry, rental vehicle operators, and central and local government. The forum agreed to commission research to better understand the extent of freedom camping.
The forum was keen to implement a social media campaign over the summer with a central message for freedom campers of "Assume nothing – always ask."
Read more about the Freedom Camping Act 2011.
If you believe that the act is being breached, contact your local authorities (regional and district councils).
World Travel Awards
The World Travel Awards 2016 were announced in Danang, Vietnam this month and included:
- Queenstown – The top destination in Australasia
- Air New Zealand – The best airline in the World Travel Awards
- New Zealand – Voted best adventure tourism destination
- SkyCity Auckland – Top casino resort
- Annandale, Marlborough Sounds – Leading experiential luxury property
- The Residence, Christchurch – Leading luxury hotel villa
- Eagle's Nest, Bay of Islands – Australasia's leading villa resort
Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon said it was the eighth year in a row the airline had topped the list in the awards. "Being consistently recognised by the industry as leading the way in Australasia is hugely gratifying, but the big challenge now is to get Australian travellers to understand that Air New Zealand is much more than a trans-Tasman carrier," he said.
The airline has just launched in Australia a multi-million dollar 'Better Way to Fly' campaign featuring Dave, a CGI goose who's discovered that Air New Zealand is a better way to fly from Australia to North and South America.
"Australia is an incredibly important market to Air New Zealand and through this campaign work we hope to encourage more Australian travellers to consider Air New Zealand for their next long haul trip to the Americas."'
In other awards, Hainan Airlines - which is coming to New Zealand - was voted Asia's top airline.
Tools for Business: Instagram
Instagram is a social media platform based on the idea of an online community built on the power of visual storytelling. At its best, Instagram features beautiful images that are inspiring, beautiful and entice the viewer to find out more about the business or individual behind them.
Businesses have been a part of the Instagram community since its launch in 2010 using the platform as a way to showcase their products and services in a rich, visual context. Instagram is a highly engaged global community with more than 500M active accounts.
Here are a few tips on how to use Instagram for your business:
- Get started with account name that's easily tied to your business. A company name works great.
- Add captions of varying lengths to your images.
- Incorporate hashtags (up to three) to make it easy to categorise content and help non-followers to find you.
- Include a simple profile picture (a brand logo or symbol is recommended – 150 x 150-pixel image).
- Think about how you can use photos and videos to help your business tell a compelling story.
- Spend time designing your ads. think about:
- What you are trying to achieve
- Who your audience is
- What do you want people to remember about your business
- How are you going to express your story.
For more tips, visit Instagram for Business. Also, take a look at New Zealand Tourism Guide's Instagram!
Top Tourism Site of the Month
This month's Top Tourism Site Award goes to Haka Lodge.
Haka Lodge offers superior backpackers' accommodation in a number of locations in the North and South Islands. Whilst the logo 'says' backpacker, the properties themselves are more upmarket. The website is easy to use, the booking engine very straightforward and the photos have a refreshing 'honesty' to them. Rather than using a wide-angle lens, the rooms appear to look the size they are (and that reviews suggest).
A few links appear to be missing from the text (e.g. "Still not convinced? Take a look at these fantastic reviews" and no link to the review – although there are plenty of reviews on TripAdvisor), so a proof read of the page copy might be timely.
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