Fiordland locals encouraged to ‘Host A Holiday’ for friends and family

Fiordland has come up with a unique initiative encouraging locals to invite their friends and family into town, just in time for the September school holidays.

Businesses have jumped at the opportunity to be part of ‘Host A Holiday’, providing locals with something free-of-charge if they bring full paying out-of-towners to their business.

Te Anau owner-operator Christine Wallace from Fiordland Outdoors Company, says getting locals out to experience what Fiordland has to offer, and bring all their friends, is a real win for businesses.

“Word of mouth can be very powerful and we’ve got a lot to see and do in Fiordland, still at a really affordable price.”

Christine’s business, which provides guided tours in Fiordland including water transport for the Milford and Kepler tracks, is one of 17 businesses taking part in the initiative including fellow tourism operators, restaurants, cafes, accommodation providers and even the local cinema.

“We want this community to get back on its feet and help itself. If we all work together it’s amazing what we can do, especially given what we’ve been through.

“We’ve got to keep coming up with these unique ideas because we’re in competition with every corner of New Zealand at the moment and we’re putting up our hand and saying ‘here, pick Fiordland for your next holiday’.”

Christine hopes the initiative will have a flow on effect following the school holidays, providing an opportunity to bring old friends and family together in Fiordland all year round.

As a town which relies heavily on tourism, Fiordland has taken a big hit, first with the floods in February this year followed by Covid-19.

Destination Fiordland General Manager Madeleine Peacock says she’s confident the initiative will give this resilient area another boost.

“It’s all about getting in behind our hometowns, we know why Te Anau Fiordland are special. There’s never been a better time for locals to get out and about in their own backyards and we’re asking them to encourage friends from all around New Zealand to get down here while they can have the place to themselves!

“The scenery, the activities, our great food and accommodation and superb locals welcome have never changed, but with borders still closed there’s never been a better time to explore.

“Bring Mum, Dad, the kids and grandparents, we promise they’ll have a superb time.”

Although locals are being invited to ‘host’ their friends and family, it doesn’t mean they have to stay with them. Visitors are being encouraged to stay with local accommodation providers while in the area.

Locals taking part need to provide proof of residence within the Te Anau Basin, Manapouri or Milford Sound regions and are also being asked to write a review, blog or social media post about the business, to help keep the momentum going.

Business providers include Sandfly Café, Fiordland Outdoors Co, Real Journeys, Cruise Milford, Fiordland Jet, Southern Lakes Helicopters, Habit Foods – Bao Now, Southern Discoveries, Fiordland Cinema, Trips and Tramps, Fiordland Helicopters, Redcliff Café, Faith in Fiordland, Go Orange, The Cinema Suites, Cruise Te Anau and Wings and Water- Fiordland Seaplane.

Terms and conditions will apply and may vary between operators. Free trips will be subject to availability and not in conjunction with other offers. Free offers will vary between providers and will depend on the number of visitors locals bring through the doors.

For high res photos and more media information please contact:

Mandy Cooper

Southern PR

M: 0273377907

E: Mandy@southerpr.co.nz

This year Shotover Canyon Swing is going ‘full swing’ in an event on the 17th September 2020 to raise funds for St John Ambulance and raise awareness for mental health.

This is an exciting action-packed event that will see Jason Medina aim to break new records as he swings as many times as possible in a day to raise money and awareness for a good cause. What started as a spitball idea grew to the ambitious goal of raising $50,000 and completing up to 100 Canyon Swings by Medina himself.

To assist with reaching the goal of $50,000 Jason and the team at Shotover Canyon Swing are looking for a business and individuals to jump on board and sponsor each of his jumps.

Your sponsorship toward the event will assist St John in the Central Otago community. Every day our mission is to deliver the right care at the right time for New Zealander’s but doing that needs more than ambulances and highly trained ambulance officers. It needs the help and support of people like you.

You, and people like you, make it possible for us to deliver Emergency Ambulance Services to New Zealand, but also
deliver many other programmes that benefit our Kiwi communities; like Caring Caller, St John Youth Friends of the
Emergency Department, Hospital Friends and more.

Without donors like you we simply would not be able to help as many people as we do. We hope that you would like to get behind this event and see your sponsorship as being as important to our work as the paramedics themselves.

Becoming a sponsor is simple. Go to www.canyonswing.co.nz/fundraiser and fill in the sponsorship form – that’s it!
If you would like more information please contact salmon@canyonswing.co.nz.

Salmon
Sales Manager
salmon@canyonswing.co.nz
027 293 0045

Sarah Bloxham
St John Area Executive Officer
sarah.bloxham@stjohn.org.nz
027 704 8670

Heli Glenorchy acquires Heliworks Queenstown – builds on brand for future

Heli Glenorchy, owned by Action Helicopters Limited and one of the Southern Lakes’ top scenic helicopter companies, has announced the acquisition of Heliworks Queenstown.

Heli Glenorchy director and chief pilot Nick Nicholson and co-director and maintenance controller Blair Christmas said they were proud and delighted to announce the move, which comes into effect today (Tuesday 1 September 2020).

Heliworks Queenstown was founded by the legendary Sir Richard (Hannibal) Hayes, who is renowned for extraordinary feats of search and rescue in New Zealand’s Southern Alps.

Meanwhile Heli Glenorchy’s Nick Nicholson grew up in Te Anau and has spent the majority of his flying career in the mountains of Fiordland, the Southern Lakes region and Alaska, including invaluable time spent working for Sir Richard.

Nick’s love and intimate knowledge of flying in the region led him to set up Heli Glenorchy five years ago.

Heli Glenorchy operates from the Glenorchy Airstrip on the doorstep of the Southern Alps, Mount aspiring and Fiordland National Parks. The five-year-old company boasts a modern fleet of helicopters, a 100% safety record, highly-experienced local pilots and access to remote locations with spectacular alpine scenery.

Heliworks Queenstown Helicopters 2012 Ltd has a proven reputation for excellence. It offers a wide range of Queenstown and Glenorchy scenic flight experiences, and provides a range of helicopter services from search and rescue and commercial operations to filming and tourism.

Heliworks Queenstown is also renowned for its proposals and wedding services, working with professional wedding photographers, celebrants and planners to fly wedding parties to unique locations.

Nick and Blair said it was a “privilege” to take the reins of such an iconic brand.

“We’re excited about the opportunity and challenge that lies ahead,” said Nick.

“Hannibal built this brand from the ground up, and I was lucky enough to work beside him for a number of years. Taking this business into the future is now a dream realised, even in these trying times.”

Hannibal said he was proud to see Heliworks Queenstown going into the safe and capable hands of Nick, who he respected both as a former employee and director of another locally-operated and family-owned helicopter company.

“My wife Carol and I are happy to hand on the baton to Nick who we’re sure will continue the good name we’ve strived so long to establish,” he said.

“Nick’s a good kiwi bloke and has a close-knit, talented team including local pilots. They’re specialists in both commercial operations and scenic experiences.

“I’m sure the company will continue as it always has done, offering efficient, high-quality service with safety and professionalism as its highest priority, building on the reputation we’ve established and cherishing our history.”

Sir Richard and Lady Carol Hayes will continue to operate Southern Lakes Helicopters Ltd in Fiordland and the Mount Cook operations.  “We are looking forward to a close working relationship with the new Heliworks team.”

For further media information please contact:

Tess Kelly

Sales and Marketing Manager – Heli Glenorchy & Heliworks Queenstown

M: 021 509 530

E: marketing@heliglenorchy.co.nz

Fiona Woodham

Southern PR

M: 0274 313 270

E: fiona@southernpr.co.nz

Get off the beaten track and explore the natural & untouched Whanganui River on one of our Jet Boat or Canoe Tours. Be immersed in our local indigenous Māori & Pre-European culture by local river people – tangata whenua o te awa –  for a truly unique experience and memory.

Tourism Accelerator launches to help startup founders re-shape the
tourism industry.

Wellington-based startup programme Lightning Lab has teamed up with Tourwriter , an
award-winning Kiwi tourism-tech company, to launch Tourism Accelerator 2020 . Set to commence in
October 2020, the programme focuses on helping startup founders who are designing solutions to
make travel better for travellers, suppliers, and the environment.

The programme, which is sponsored by Callaghan Innovation and Tourwriter, is a streamlined,
primarily-virtual version of the regular programme that had to be postponed due to the COVID-19
pandemic.

Underpinning the programme is a need for ‘better travel’. This means a shift away from what
Tourwriter co-CEO, Glenn Campbell calls ‘cookie cutter travel’. ‘You know, that kind of same-same
travel that’s easy to book, but seldom memorable in the way a well-researched itinerary can be, and
often results in over tourism’.

The Tourism Accelerator targets three impact areas for better travel: smarter travel matchmaking,
new financial solutions, and environmental guardianship.

Up to six ventures will be accepted into the four-month mentorship programme. Selected startups will
work closely with a large team of experienced mentors and investors who have built, advised, and
sold companies in the tourism sector. At the end of the programme, each venture will have the
opportunity to pitch for cash investment from investors, underwritten to the value of $100,000.

Applications are now open and close on the 30 September 2020. The programme commences on 29
October and finishes on 19 February 2021.

For more information, visit: lightninglab.co.nz/tourism
For comment, high-res photos, or interviews, please contact:
Luke Ball
GM Lightning Lab
Creative HQ
luke.ball@creativehq.co.nz | 027 936 0026

Weddings take a leap forward at Ziptrek Ecotours in Queenstown

Wedding season has arrived at award winning company Ziptrek Ecotours as they launch their zipline
accessed treehouses as an outdoor venue, suited for small intimate weddings. This move falls in behind
a trend for elopements as fresh air and small groups becomes the celebratory norm throughout the
country.

Ziptrek’s beautifully crafted and generous treehouses make the perfect open plan venue for the happy
couple to take their vows surrounded by a small group of friends and family in a venue that captures the
spontaneity. Intimate group weddings are taking off, often due to the challenges with friends and family
unable to join in a travel restricted world, so the opportunity to get married in a truly unique setting, in
what is arguably one of the most picturesque towns in NZ, Queenstown (and already a very popular
wedding destination) can be a reality.

“You don’t even have to go far to capture some stunning photos to remember your special day forever,
as our treehouses are the perfect space to capture those unique wedding shots” says Nicky Busst,
Marketing & Sales Manager for Ziptrek Ecotours in Queenstown. “The scale of our treehouses with the
most incredible view of Lake Wakatipu & The Remarkables leaves you at a loss for words and adds to
the excitement and special meaning of the day” says Busst.

If the day’s nerves and excitement isn’t quite enough, you can take it to new heights with an adrenaline
filled leap of faith into your marriage with the option of a “Kereru jump” post nuptials or even to
conclude them.

Since COVID19 Ziptrek Ecotours utilizes new market opportunities as an outdoor venue to capture
unique events and repeat visitation. In May for NZ Music month Ziptrek launched “Treehouse Sessions”,
a sold out event, where local artists performed live music on the treehouse decks whilst guests zipped
between them on ziplines. There are plans to continue various style of events from spring, recognizing
more broader markets and local community groups such as the arts, culture and performance scenes.

Stay tuned for more.

For further media information or imagery, please contact Nicky Busst at nbusst@ziptrek.com / 027 721
9017

For bookings, please contact Kenny at salesnz@ziptrek.com / 021 946 160

The Rees Hotel Queenstown Milks New Sustainability Initiative
To Reduce 13,000 Bottles from NZ’s Plastic Waste

Leading by example, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Rees Hotel Queenstown has upheld their staunch commitment to the environment by launching a new sustainability initiative to reduce plastic waste. The Hotel is proud to announce that their milk will now be supplied by Windy Ridge Farm in reusable and recyclable glass bottles, which will save over 13,000 plastic bottles from going to landfill each year.

The Rees Hotel tracked how many 300ml and 2L plastic bottles they bought from April 2019 to March 2020 and discovered that they had used over 13,000 plastic bottles in just one year. With 1.76 billion plastic containers sent to landfill by New Zealanders each year, The Rees Hotel is proud to again be an industry leader, dedicated to substantially reducing their plastic waste with this one valuable new, local partnership.

Mark Rose, CEO and general manager of The Rees Hotel said, “We are proud to demonstrate that our commitment to sustainability across all our operations continues even in the toughest of times for our industry

Saving 13,000 plastic bottles from landfill per year is an enormous achievement and we are thrilled to be able to undertake this with our like-minded partner, local milk supplier Windy Ridge Farm. We will continue to strive to make a difference for ongoing sustainability with new initiatives through partnerships with environmentally-conscious businesses like our own,” Mr Rose continued.

The Rees Hotel Queenstown Wins 2020 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award four years in a row

The Rees Hotel is pleased to announce it has been recognised as a 2020 Travellers’ Choice award-winner. Based on a full year of Tripadvisor reviews, prior to any changes caused by the pandemic, award winners are known for consistently receiving great traveller feedback, placing them in the top 10% of hospitality businesses around the globe.

CEO Mark Rose said, “We are thrilled to again have the level of excellence our hotel continually strives for be recognised by travellers worldwide, with this prestigious award. It is a reflection on the commitment of our team and a credit to their outstanding achievements on a daily basis.”

Capstone Hotel Management secures the management of Delamore Lodge on Waiheke Island.

New Zealand owned Capstone Hotels & Resorts trading as Capstone Hotel Management have been appointed as the Management Company for Delamore Lodge located on Waiheke Island, following its recent sale.
Capstone Managing Director Clare Davies says that the sale completed on 31 July.
Delamore Lodge has secured its position as a premium Lodge offering privacy, tranquillity, and luxury to guests from around the world.

Moulded around the hillside to resemble the shape of a Maori fishhook, Delamore Lodge offers supreme cliff top views and unsurpassed luxury service. Every aspect of the property has been developed with the landscape and vistas in mind featuring four guest suites and a luxury apartment, day spa services, several dining areas, guest lounge, infinity pool, jacuzzi and an events space.

Ms Davies says “we are absolutely thrilled to be joining the new owners of Delamore Lodge to continue on the journey of offering a boutique Lodge experience with a reputation of the highest standards of guest experience delivery. We understand the challenges that the current global situation places on the accommodation sector and look forward to welcoming more New Zealanders seeking a luxurious getaway this year”.
Reservation requests and contact details for the Lodge remain the same with a number of the existing staff continuing in their roles.

Capstone Hotel Management have properties located throughout New Zealand.

Key Contacts:
For all media enquiries contact:
Clare Davies Managing Director clare@capstonehotels.co.nz
For all trade & marketing enquiries contact:
Nona Jackson Director of Sales & Marketing nona@capstonehotels.co.nz

ENDS

Government urged to reconsider funding decision for Inbound Tour Operators

The Tourism Export Council of New Zealand has urged the Government and decision makers to reconsider
their decision to not fund any Inbound Tour Operators through the Strategic Tourism Assets Protection
Programme grants programme.

“We acknowledge the Government has done its best to provide support for some parts of the wider
tourism sector,” says Chief Executive Lynda Keene.

“But it was hugely frustrating to be informed by officials at the last minute that there will be no grant
funding made available for Inbound Tour Operators (ITOs). The decision to offer loans will not help our
members, as they have no income coming in for 18 months.”

“On behalf of our members, we urge the Government and decision makers to reconsider this decision.
Failure to do so will lead to a huge loss in Intellectual Property across the sector and leave us unable to
support local operators once borders re-open.”

“Our inbound members are an integral part of the tourism sector. They link offshore travellers and agents
with onshore product suppliers and will be a vital element to recovery when borders re-open.”

Information provided by Tourism NZ through its Research and Insights team suggests that 55% of all
international visitors pre-COVID were booked through trade (offshore) and Inbound Tour Operators in New
Zealand which equates to $9.46bn of $17.2bn that international tourism export receipts earned for the
New Zealand economy.

Ms Keene says the decision by Government to not provide Strategic Tourism grant funding to ITOs was
completely unexpected. We are a little perplexed that Inbound Tour Operators are not considered to be
strategic tourism assets considering the Government’s heightened emphasis on health and safety and
contact tracing. Inbound Tour Operators have always (pre-COVID) being able to trace every client/visitor
that is travelling around NZ of every hour of every day. Tourism NZ’s own research and insights supports
the enhanced and expected role that Inbound Tour Operators will play in the future when visitors return to
NZ and that Inbounds will be crucial to delivering on a visitor experience that meets new expectations
under a post-COVID environment.

“Operators were led to believe they would be eligible to receive grants through this process. We are
confused why this decision to offer loans instead of grants has been made.”

Ms Keene says TECNZ is keen to learn more about how the proposed Government-backed loan scheme will
work for operators. No business can forecast or plan for 18 months with no revenue. COVID-19 is an
unprecedented event.

“Our members have done all they can to keep their businesses afloat over the past six months in the
expectation that some Government funding would be made available. The complete lack of support for this
part of the sector means many of these companies will now shut down completely.

“We recognise that not every job and business can be saved, but the Government and the wider industry
need to recognise the important role played by Inbound Tour Operators.

“Maintaining the intellectual property and commercial business to business relationships that Inbound Tour
Operators have with offshore tour wholesalers is critical for the wider sector and rebound of NZ’s economic
recovery.

“That is why we applied on behalf of our members to the Government’s Strategic Tourism Assets
Protection Programme to support them through the COVID disruption. Sadly it appears we were misguided
that we did not meet the criteria, but it is extremely disappointing that not a single Inbound Tour Operator
will receive any grant funding either.

We are keen to discuss this further with Ministers of the Tourism Ministers Recovery Group. The
opportunity to share with Ministers or MBIE staff the critical and strategic role that Inbound Tour Operators
play in generating $17.2bn of NZ’s international tourism export earnings is vital to their survival ” says
Lynda Keene.

For more information please contact:
Lynda Keene, Chief Executive
Tourism Export Council of NZ
027 664 4836