ITC Industry News Bulletin #61
TOP STORIES
Off-peak arrivals remain a target for Tourism NZ
Last year, Tourism New Zealand focused on attracting tourists during off-peak seasons between summer and winter. The organisation has announced that they are continuing this campaign.
The move is strategic on many levels, namely that it benefits all involved parties. For example, tourists benefit due to fewer crowds at popular attractions, vendors benefit from more stable incomes, and Kiwis enjoy a stronger economy for the greater revenues brought in by visitors.
With events, conferences, special-interest travel, and other strategies, Tourism NZ has improved international holiday visitor arrivals by 18.4 per cent for spring 2015 and autumn 2016. The group is also confident that they can continue to grow these numbers with further promotion and investment.
Are tourism visitor numbers accurate?
Tourism Eastland is questioning whether visitor numbers are accurate, claiming that the region may be receiving double the figures currently estimated.
Chief Executive Stuart Perry has claimed that the group got together with a number of other RTOs to investigate data from cellphone towers, which could tell them more about SIM cards in the area and what that meant for tourism. This way, they can track where people are coming from, and also estimate how long visitors stay in the region.
With this information, Tourism Eastland shows that visitors from the Bay of Plenty make 7,900 day trips to Gisborne each month – on top of the 7,000 nights spent by visitors according to Statistics New Zealand.
IN BRIEF
New Zealand’s ‘finest wines’ revealed
A master panel of judges has decided on New Zealand’s 47 ‘finest wines’. Each of the six judges had to agree that each wine met the highest standards in all areas, which is why so few made the cut. Air NZ will be featuring a selection of the ‘finest’ in business class next month. Read more
Tourism NZ inspires 11,000 articles in a year
Over the past year, Tourism New Zealand’s marketing efforts have resulted in 11,000 news articles and stories. That equates to roughly 890 million people reading about the country’s travel news via print, and 350 million more watching on television. Read more
New mud festival to attract new visitors
The Rotorua Mud Festival will soon be added to the list of leading international tourism events when it kicks off in early December 2017. Celebrating the region’s geothermal and volcanic activity, the event aims to replicate the success of South Korea’s own mud festival, which sees more than three million visitors every year. Read more
New Argentina appointment to promote NZ tourism
A Market Development Executive has been appointed by Tourism NZ specifically to promote travel to New Zealand via the Buenos Aires to Auckland route. The appointment will aim to continue encouraging visits from Argentinians to New Zealand after the recent ‘closer than you think’ campaign. Read more
Nelson Airport unveils new terminal plans
Nelson Airport has unveiled its plans for redevelopment with a new terminal building that’s twice the size of the current one. With triple the car parks, and more seating, lounges and retail areas, this $32 million project will take two years and is designed to “reflect the beauty of the region”, says airport CEO Rob Evans. Read more
Half a million travellers visit Mt Cook each year
The number of international visitors making the trip to Aoraki Mt Cook each year has reached half a million, according to estimates. This will likely lead to improved facilities and investment in the park, says DOC. Read more
Posted in News, Travel and Tourism News | Tagged Air New Zealand, Gisborne, Mt Cook, Nelson, Tourism New Zealand | Leave a reply