Tourism Export Council of New ZealandUpdates - Tourism Export Council of New Zealand

Holiday parks give most income back to their communities

Holiday parks contribute an average of 86% of their expenditure to their own regions and add further value through social, environmental and community contributions, a new report has found.

In combination with its ongoing Visitor Expenditure research, Holiday Parks New Zealand commissioned Angus & Associates to investigate the value of holiday parks to the communities in which they are based. The report examined the expenditure and non-financial contributions of a range of holiday parks across the country.

The average total expenditure of the holiday parks featured in the study was $1.11 million for the year ending March 2018. Expenditure most likely to be made in a park’s own region included rent, salaries and wages, indirect taxes, security, repairs, replacement and maintenance, cleaning and laundry, accounting and legal fees, and motor vehicle expenses. On average, more than 90% of expenditure in these categories occurred in-region.

Holiday parks’ average expenditure per region has grown compared with the 2016/17 and 2017/18 studies. In particular, the proportion of expenditure spent within the region for a small holiday park increased to 77 percent from 71 percent in 2016/17.

Salaries, wages and other employee costs were the largest expenses for holiday parks, with small and medium holiday parks spending a fifth of their expenditure on capital improvements, such as ablution blocks and solar panels. Large holiday parks may have a stronger focus on replacement and repairs, the report suggests.

Small holiday parks were found to have a slightly higher expenditure on advertising, promotion and publicity compared to large and medium parks.

“Park investment has increased noticeably since 2017. The improvement to facilities may reflect the strong performance of holiday parks and New Zealand’s tourism sector in general in recent years,” says New Zealand Holiday Parks Chief Executive Fergus Brown.

The study suggests that when the contribution of parks is combined with the average spend of park visitors, the holiday park sector’s economic contribution to New Zealand is $1.32 billion – higher than previous estimates of $1.16 billion (2015) and $1.17 billion (2017).

In addition to financial contributions, holiday parks are making social, environmental, economic and community contributions to their local areas. Some ways in which they were found to be doing this were by having staff act as board members or trustees of local community boards and projects, and as predator control advocates and conservation volunteers.

Fergus Brown states: “Not only are the parks bringing $1.2 billion a year to the industry in visitor expenditure, they are creating a sustainable environment and allowing communities to thrive”.

ENDS

For more information

Fergus Brown

Chief Executive
Holiday Parks New Zealand
Phone: 04 298 3283
Mobile: 021 535 087
Email: Fergus@holidayparks.co.nz

Web: www.holidayparks.co.nz

Chateau Marlborough Hotel wins Best Regional Property Award for second time.

Chateau Marlborough Hotel has been recognised as one of the country’s leading hotels by the HM Awards – winning Best Regional Property in New Zealand at the Sydney Awards on Friday 6th September.

The 2019 HM Awards for Hotel and Accommodation Excellence, are the leading industry awards in the region and celebrate the best properties, departments, people, chains and brands in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

Chateau Marlborough was up against 15 other properties in their category. Chief Executive Officer, Brent Marshall says the team is thrilled to have been chosen for this prestigious award for the second consecutive year.

“This award is testament to the hard work and dedication that our General Manager Lynley Mckinnon and her team have put into the hotel over the years. Working through a major extension and maintaining exceptional standards whilst growing the business is an exceptional achievement and it is an honour to be recognised by the HM Awards in this way”

Chateau Marlborough offers 80 boutique hotel rooms in the centre of Blenheim and is the only hotel rated Qualmark 5 star Gold at the top of the South Island.

Ends

For further information please contact:
Lynley Mckinnon
General Manager
www.marlboroughnz.co.nz

Dunedin Convention Bureau rebrands to Dunedin Business Events

(Dunedin, 13 September 2019) – The Dunedin Convention Bureau has announced a rebranding to Dunedin Business Events, reflecting a growing trend in the national conference industry.

Nicole Carvell Business Events Tourism Advisor Enterprise Dunedin says, “Looking at the list of regional bureaus in New Zealand, approximately half have adopted the newer ‘business events’ terminology over ‘convention bureau’.

“We feel it’s a better fit for the size and nature of our conference offering in Dunedin, which has found its niche in association and boutique-sized conferences, especially those that can benefit from the academic strengths the city possesses.”

As part of Enterprise Dunedin, the economic development and destination marketing arm of the Dunedin City Council, Dunedin Business Events works to attract national and international conferences to the city. Dunedin’s share of delegate spend in the New Zealand business events market is worth approximately $16.4m per year. Some of this spend is generated by local businesses hosting events locally, but Dunedin attracts a large number of delegates from other parts of the country and abroad. Closer analysis suggests $5.6m of delegate spend in Dunedin was from international visitors, $6.5m was from visitors from other parts of New Zealand, and $4.3m was from locals.

While boutique conferences have been identified as the main source of medium-term growth, the city has proven successful in hosting a number of larger-scale events, such as TRENZ 2018. The compact city layout and wealth of recreational opportunities have also played a role in securing future events such as the 2020 World Leisure Congress.

Differentiation is an important aspect of the Dunedin Business Events offering, the unique heritage venues, access to local experts as keynote speakers and opportunities to view some of New Zealand’s rarest wildlife provide a strong point of difference.

In keeping with this, some of the new messaging developed as part of the rebranding plays on Dunedin’s perceived remote location, ‘We’ll go to the ends of the earth to make sure your event is a success. Oh, we’re already there’.

ENDS

For more information please contact:

Nicole Carvell

Business Events Tourism Advisor

Enterprise Dunedin

Dunedin City Council

Telephone: 03 471 8834

Mob: 021 477 231

Email: nicole.carvell@dcc.govt.nz

Sarah Bramhall

PR and Promotions Advisor

Enterprise Dunedin

Dunedin City Council

Telephone: 03 471 8832

Mob: 022 1872 535

Email: sarah.bramhall@dcc.govt.nz

VisitorPoint celebrates new tourism industry partnership

A new tourism business partnership between New Zealand’s top brochure distribution company and Australia’s leading online booking platform is being hailed as a ‘win win’ for the travel trade.

VisitorPoint, New Zealand’s only national distributor of tourism information, has joined forces with global travel-tech group, Adventium Technology.

VisitorPoint BDM Stacey Scott says the new partnership, which aligns specifically with Adventium’s TravelDesk product, has amazing synergies and benefits for both businesses.

VisitorPoint currently distributes over 3,500 brochure titles from New Zealand tourism operators throughout the country. The new arrangement will mean all current and future users of the Adventism TravelDesk booking platform throughout Australia and New Zealand will have a seamless platform on which to order stock through VisitorPointOnline.

“Rather than requiring independent log ins, users will be able to click a button while within TravelDesk and choose the stock they’d like to order,” says Stacey.

“They’ll be dispatched within 24 hours from one of our three warehouses in New Zealand, meaning accessing stock has never been easier. As new outlets come on board, they’ll be automatically given log ins so there’s no delay in accessing the titles we manage.

“It’s fantastic news for TravelDesk outlets, but also for our operators as it means more than 600 outlets in Australasia now have access to their print collateral at the click of a mouse, and consumption is measurable through our client reporting system.”

Ms Scott says TravelDesk has a range of benefits for VisitorPoint outlets as it is a simple booking system, enabling them to generate revenue by booking national and international travel products from their brochure displays.

Adventium Technology’s Director of Strategic Partnerships, Selina Kelly, says “We are dedicated to providing the content and functionality our travel agents need into the TravelDesk system to give them greater efficiency and make their lives easier. Both TravelDesk and VisitorPoint are focused on supporting agent and operator growth throughout the region, making this a great partnership for us and our clients.”

About VisitorPoint

VisitorPoint is New Zealand’s only national distributor of tourism information, having distributed brochures throughout New Zealand for more than 30 years.

It operates three warehouses in Christchurch, Auckland and Queenstown equipped with full teams of warehouse staff working in tandem with 19 merchandisers, as well as sales and marketing and senior management teams.

It is a company that likes to innovate — last year it introduced live online reporting for its clients, and it supports print companies which share its sustainable print visions. It has over 2000 physical display outlets throughout New Zealand and operates 38 distribution circuits.

For further media information or high res images please contact:

Stacey Scott

VisitorPoint Business Development Manager

M: 021 828 977

E: Stacey.S@VisitorPoint.co.nz

Fiona Woodham

Southern PR

T: 03 451 0444

M: 027 4313270

E: fiona@southernpr.co.nz

For immediate release Thursday 12 September 2019
Media Release from Tourism Export Council of New Zealand

NZST and YoungTEC continue to drive tourism as a career

The fourth consecutive year of the New Zealand School of Tourism (NZST) Speed dating initiative has demonstrated the value of developing tourism careers with the largest group of participants this year, amounting to over 100.

Across three regions; Wellington, Rotorua and Auckland, NZST students met with Young Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (YoungTEC) members to share experiences of working in tourism and expose students to the range of career opportunities available.

Collaborating with the New Zealand School of Tourism on this initiative, we are working together to show the value of tourism as a career”.

NZST Chief Executive Officer, Kylie Wilson says, “We value our partnership with TECNZ and this initiative as it gives exposure to the next generation of tourism professionals to be inspired by current industry professionals they can easily relate to, whilst also having a chance to seek advice on upcoming career decisions they are reflecting on”.

The NZST Speed dating initiative is planning to run for a fifth year in 2020. Wilson says “We are excited to continue deepening our relationship with TECNZ and YoungTEC, adding value to our students and the tourism industry”.

ENDS

About the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand

The Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) is a trade association that represents the interests of the inbound tourism industry since 1971. Its membership includes inbound tour operators (Inbound Members) and attraction, activity, accommodation, transport suppliers, regional tourism organisations and tourism services providers (Allied Members). TECNZ members collectively handle most of New Zealand’s international visitor arrivals. www.tourismexportcouncil.org.nz.

For more information please contact:

Judy Chen

CEO Tourism Export Council of NZ

027 6644 836

Beyond The Blue offers bespoke DMC services in New Zealand and the South Pacific, as well as Australia.

The team are highly skilled and experienced, catering for a range of travel agents, brokers and tour operators with differing structures and requirements.

Pioneering Ziptrek Ecotours founder finalist in top New Zealand tourism awards

From architecture to guiding, outdoor education to tourism, with a degree of self-deprecation Trent Yeo says he “wandered with purpose” into the tourism industry.

Ten years down the track, what he’s achieved in setting up pioneering zipline company Ziptrek Ecotours, in tandem with multiple roles in industry organisations, events and working groups, on boards, as a speaker, facilitator, participant or host, is now being recognised.

This week he has been named a finalist in the prestigious New Zealand Tourism Awards in the Emerging Tourism Leader category, recognising his work as an outstanding tourism professional.

The Queenstown-based multi-award-winning Zipline Ecotours is celebrating ten years in business this year, as the pioneers of ziplining in New Zealand and a recognised leader in business innovation, eco-tourism and sustainable business practice.

At its heart, it’s an eco-tourism company, aiming to educate and inspire others towards long-term environmental and sustainable practices. And Trent could not be more proud of what the company has achieved.

“Ziptrek Ecotours is now woven into the Queenstown’s deep tourism heritage,” he says. “Tens of thousands of people every year now hear a story of humanity’s link to our natural world.

“I am passionate about travel as a multiculturally influenced Chinese-Malaysian-Australian proudly in Aotearoa. The effect of empathy of places and people through travel is profound, and tourism has to be of ‘net good’ for the individual, community and planet.”

Trent says the value he brings to the wider tourism industry is as a generalist, a collaborator and with connections outside tourism.

“I’m optimistic and macro-focussed, simultaneously patient and impatient about delivering with more impact. I’m in tourism because it counts, because tourism is an investment in people.

“This may seem grand, but the emotional component of tourism is the most powerful aspect of tourism; the experience economy. We must transform thinking around humanity’s role in sustainability.”

Much of Trent’s value to the industry is through tourism and across other sectors, such as technology, startups and future focussed projects.

Forty percent of his time is spent on unpaid work, direct and indirect tourism and ‘extracurricular’ work on a national or local level, as a business leader and citizen.

“I’m very proud to be a finalist in the awards and to be a part of this amazing industry of people in Aotearoa,” says Trent. “There are some outstanding finalists in all categories and I’m looking forward to the awards night in October.”

ENDS

For further media information or hi res images please contact:

Ziptrek Ecotours
Nicky Busst
Email: nbusst@ziptrek.com
Phone: 027 721 9017
Web: www.ziptrek.com

Southern PR
Fiona Woodham
E: fiona@southernpr.co.nz
P: 0274 313 270

YoungTEC Awards welcome a new partnership

The Young Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (YoungTEC) welcome on board a new partner, Go with Tourism, to the YoungTEC Awards this year.

Go with Tourism is a new and game-changing job connector specifically designed for the tourism industry. The initiative was spearheaded by Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development (ATEED) and it is currently in the process of going national.

ATEED General Manager: Destination, Steve Armitage, says Go with Tourism is the perfect fit for the YoungTEC Awards, “YoungTEC’s mission to develop future leaders in the tourism industry aligns with our reason for launching Go with Tourism, which is to address the growing skills gap in the industry by attracting young talent as outlined in our Destination AKL 2025 strategy.

Through this partnership we continue to demonstrate that tourism is a desirable career choice; one that offers a variety of career pathways and opportunities that can lead to successful future’s for our rangatahi.”

The Young Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (YoungTEC) Award entries are now open and calling for applications.

The YoungTEC Awards are an accolade to the outstanding efforts and contribution to the development of New Zealand’s $39.1 billion tourism industry, by a YoungTEC member. The Go with Tourism Rising Star Award highlights YoungTEC members who have been working in the tourism industry for less than five years and it focuses on career development.

YoungTEC’s Chair, Nicole Botting, says “the YoungTEC Awards are hotly contested each year by the future leaders of our industry. We are grateful to have the incredible support of Go with Tourism, helping us shine a spotlight on the exceptional careers our young people can have in tourism”.

The YoungTEC Awards are provided with great support from our partners. Thanks to Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand for their continued contribution to the YoungTEC Excellence Award. Their year after year support with development of young people in tourism is highly valued.

The YoungTEC Awards will be announced at the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand’s Symposium event in Auckland on 4 December 2019.

There are some incredible prizes to be won, including a prize for the YoungTEC Excellence Award, two week professional development placement in one of Tourism New Zealand’s international offices, return economy flights sponsored by Air New Zealand and two week’s accommodation by Tourism Export Council of New Zealand.

Entries close on 3 October 2019, and finalists will be announced on 18 October. For more information on the YoungTEC categories, applications and key dates, visit https://www.tourismexportcouncil.org.nz/ytec/ytec-awards/.

ENDS

About YoungTEC

YoungTEC is an organisation of young tourism professionals under the age of 36 years who are members of Tourism Export Council companies. A YoungTEC membership offers regular networking events with other young professionals in the tourism industry, educational workshops and a professional development programme complete with a mentor which gives you the most up-to-date tourism information and tips to take into your own workplace.

About the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand

For more information on YoungTEC and to find out how to become a member visit www.tourismexportcouncil.org.nz/ytec or go to their Facebook page www.facebook.com/youngtourismexportcouncil.

For more information please contact:

Nicole Botting – YoungTEC Chair

027 418 8943

nicole.botting@christchurchnz.com

DESTINATION WAIRARAPA BOSS TO STEP DOWN

After eight years in charge of the region’s tourism organisation, Destination Wairarapa, David Hancock is stepping down.

The announcement follows the recent signing off of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the three District Councils which ensures funding for Destination Wairarapa through to 2022.

Within that agreement is a review of what Destination Wairarapa deliver as a Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO).

“I’m very proud of where Destination Wairarapa has come from and sits now over my eight years as General Manager,” Mr Hancock says.

“With the position that the organisation is now in, it is an excellent time for someone else to take over.”

Mr Hancock says the tourism sector is a significant contributor to the local economy, with tourism related spend in Wairarapa nearly $195 million for the year ending June 2019.

“As an organisation Destination Wairarapa is performing very strongly, playing a key role in promoting and marketing the Wairarapa region.”

“A good demonstration of this is that while Wairarapa ranks 24th in terms of funding of the 30 RTOs in the country, our website performance in unique visitors and pages visited ranks 12th.

“This reflects well on the skill level of the team and how they promote the region and drive people to learn more about spending time in the Wairarapa.”

Destination Wairarapa board chair Robin Dunlop says Mr Hancock has a done a tremendous job, leading the organisation through a strong period of growth.

“Under David’s leadership Destination Wairarapa has become a well-regarded and very effective RTO. The Board will be very sad to see him go,” Dr Dunlop says.

Mr Hancock’s last day will be on December 20.

ENDS

For more information please contact:

Walt Dickson

Media Communications & Content

Mobile: 0272959019

For over thirty years, Limousine Services Queenstown has provided its guests with unique travel experiences. With a focus on sightseeing and indulgence in equal parts, we provide our guests with unforgettable memories.

Offering custom designed transfers and sightseeing experiences, the Limousine Services Queenstown team loves to share its passion for New Zealand’s rich landscapes and heritage.