Newsletter : April 2018
Written by Steph Kendall
Welcome to the New Zealand Tourism Guide April 2018 issue. If you have news or comments, please email us news@tourism.net.nz.
In this April newsletter:
- World First in Time for ANZAC Day
- Luxury Travel Industry in Europe Loves NZ
- South Americans Drawn to Images of Epic NZ Landscapes
- New Route Brings North Eastern USA Closer
- New Zealand on the Menu for Tabi Salada
- Free Visuals to Promote New Zealand as a Tourist Destination
- Tips for Business: Showing Respect and Awareness of Differences
- Tourism Site of the Month: Awaroa Lodge
World First in Time for ANZAC Day
A world first sensory experience was opened at The Great War Exhibition in Wellington on 14th April. Created by Sir Peter Jackson, The Quinn's Post Trench Experience combines Jackson's acclaimed storytelling artistry with his personal passion for First World War military history and stories of the experiences of New Zealand soldiers.
Set at Quinn's Post, a tenuously held frontline position on the Gallipoli Peninsula, visitors will enter another world experienced by New Zealand soldiers during this campaign. With the help of cutting edge technology, visitors will be guided through Quinn's Post by the ghosts of New Zealand soldiers. Guests will experience the sights, sounds and even smells of Gallipoli 1915.
This is the latest addition to the ground-breaking Great War Exhibition which opened in Wellington on April 2015. The Exhibition, created by Sir Peter Jackson and supported by ANZ, commemorates the role played by New Zealand in the First World War, and has received international acclaim since opening. It is the highest rating 5-star attraction on TripAdvisor in Wellington.
Luxury Travel Industry in Europe Loves NZ
More than 300 agencies that cater solely for the world's high net worth individuals have voted New Zealand their "Most Preferred Destination". The title was awarded at Traveller Made's Essence of Luxury Forum in France recently.
Traveller Made is a network community for luxury travel designers and suppliers including hotels and experience providers. It is an exclusive invitation-only network with a two-year application process for membership.
"Traveller Made has considerable status among the luxury travel industry and to be recognised by its members is a tremendous boost for New Zealand's premium sector. Tourism New Zealand was the first national tourism organisation to join Traveller Made and the relationship has helped increase the awareness of New Zealand as a must-do luxury destination for its clients," says Pip Casey, Tourism New Zealand's Regional Manager Europe.
"Being awarded 'Most Preferred Destination' highlights the level of respect that the sector has for New Zealand's premium tourism offerings, and our world-renowned luxury lodges and facilities. For high net worth travellers looking for unique, bespoke experiences, New Zealand becomes the ultimate destination."
High net worth individuals from the UK and Germany account for New Zealand's 3rd and 4th largest markets for premium tourism.
South Americans Drawn to Images of Epic NZ Landscapes
New Zealand tourist operators looking to attract Argentinian and Brazilian visitors are best to use promotional images capturing New Zealand's epic landscapes and water activities on our lakes, rivers and beaches. These are the results of Tourism New Zealand's extensive image testing in South America, involving 900 people who are 'actively considering' a trip to New Zealand.
Argentinean 'active considerers' found images of swimming/bathing, snow and star gazing to be appealing while Brazilian 'active considerers' were more interested in images of natural hot pools and kayaking with epic landscapes in the background. The research also revealed the opportunity for marketing efforts to include more images of glow worm caves, fjords, wineries, glaciers and Hobbiton. These are activities that the audience is most interested in and would like to know more about.
Almost 38,000 visitors from Argentina and Brazil travelled to New Zealand in the year to January 2018 (up 28% on the year prior). Arrivals from these countries have been increasing progressively since 2015 when Air New Zealand launched its direct route from Buenos Aires to Auckland.
New Route Brings North Eastern USA Closer
Air New Zealand launched a new Auckland to Chicago route providing a fifth gateway for visitors to fly non-stop from the United States to New Zealand and vice versa. It will be the first direct flight to New Zealand from the north-east, making the east coast of the USA more accessible than ever before.
The United States is an important market for the NZ tourism industry with its 222,000 holiday visitors each year contributing more than $850 million to the economy. The United States market is continuing to show strong interest in New Zealand, with a 11.3 percent increase in holiday visitor arrivals for the year to February 2018. Tourism New Zealand has run significant activity in the country over the last year including a Bryce Dallas Howard and National Geographic campaign, and specialist travel agent training reaching over 5,000 agents across cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Dallas.
The Auckland to Chicago route is the latest in growing USA airline capacity. There are currently more than 45 direct flights a week from the USA to New Zealand.
New Zealand on the Menu for Tabi Salada
Japanese travellers have been given a taster of New Zealand's regional morsels aimed at whetting their growing appetite for visiting. Tabi Salada, Japan's leading travel show (that translates to Travel Salad) spent two weeks filming around New Zealand in January and showcased shoulder travel activities over four episodes (aired in February and March).
The episodes featured Wellington, Marlborough, Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, Christchurch, Franz Josef Glacier, Queenstown and Glenorchy with the presenter taking part in activities as wide ranging as beer tasting at Wellington's Garage Project craft brewery, punting on the River Avon in Christchurch, mountain biking in Rotorua, a gourmet food tour in The Bay of Plenty, and heading down the Dart River in an inflatable 'Funyak' canoe.
Japan is a significant travel market for New Zealand with more than 69,000 Japanese holiday arrivals in the year to January 2018. It is New Zealand's second largest Asian market. Around 20 million viewers watched the four Tabi Salada episodes, with the New Zealand segments generating $4.5 million in equivalent advertising revenue.
Free Visuals to Promote New Zealand as a Tourist Destination
Images from the Tourism New Zealand image testing research (used to survey 'active considerers' in South America) are available for use via the Tourism New Zealand visual library.
This library is a collection of images of and about New Zealand. It is an online library which stores and distributes assets to be used in the promotion of New Zealand as a tourist destination and has been set up by and is managed by Tourism New Zealand.
Their goal is to assist partners, the media and regional tourism operators to communicate the New Zealand brand consistently across the globe in all channels and to increase the value of international visitors to the country. There are two licences available: Worldwide and Worldwide excluding New Zealand.
The images and assets are free to use as long as the full terms of use and licence rules are followed.
(This library may be in your bookmarked pages as, http://www.images.newzealand.com)
Tips for Business: Showing Respect and Awareness of Differences
This is the fifth article in a series of tips for business focussing on how to give great customer service to international visitors. This month we focus on how important it is to be aware of the differences between people's cultures and to be respectful of them.
It may mean that you can look at how you can adapt the way you behave and act. Talk over the suggestions below with your staff and see what you can do to further improve your customer service.
Actions and reactions to consider
- Treat people as individuals (not as numbers) and with respect (good manners, patience, etc.)
- Be mindful of key areas of difference within cultural norms including
- Attitudes to personal space
- Levels of physical contact
- Levels of eye contact
- Different customs affecting eating, washing, using the bathroom etc.
- Attitudes to status and ages
- Be careful with any physical contact such as putting your hand on someone's shoulder. Take your lead from the other person (rather than the other way around).
- Be aware of personal space and take care not to get too close to someone.
- Watch out for any reactions – often this will help you know how to respond to lots of different situations.
- Be prepared by doing your homework. Make sure you know which countries most of your customers are likely to come from and read up on their cultures and customs.
- Aim for a positive experience all round in any and all encounters with your customers. This will make them feel valued, respected and welcomed.
Top Tourism Site of the Month
This month's Top Tourism Site Award goes to Awaroa Lodge.
The web design trend of long scrolling pages shows no sign of going anywhere, but this month's highlighted website uses this design technique with video images in a very pleasing way. The first thing the viewer sees are high-quality video images which establish the appeal of the location – alongside is the easy to read, straightforward main menu/navigation. The scroll down takes the viewer through more attractive photography illustrating the accommodation and more details, finishing up on the location map and contact details.
The video images are extremely eye-catching and used to provide more detailed views of the scenery and landscapes, property and accommodation and some of what makes a holiday – someone else making the coffee and pouring the beer.
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
- June 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