Tourism operators are eagerly anticipating a visit to Christchurch for next year’s annual Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) Tourism Conference, 14-15 August 2019.

It is the first time the conference has been held in the city for 20 years and will be an opportunity to showcase all the new tourism options available in Christchurch, plus old favourites.

Chief Executive of TECNZ, Judy Chen said, “We are excited to be heading back to Christchurch for next years conference.  As tour operators, our members have a deep understanding of the Christchurch tourism offering and the challenges the region has faced over the last seven years since the 2011 earthquakes.”

“There is no doubt, as the rebuild nears completion that Christchurch is again becoming a key destination on holiday itineraries. We look forward to seeing all the new activities and attractions, as well as, the fantastic food and beverage scene the city has to offer in 2019.

Many of these operators are members of TECNZ and we’re looking forward to seeing the new attractions and activities they have to offer.”

The destination for the 2019 conference was hotly contested and announced yesterday at the conclusion of the Tourism Conference in Napier.

ChristchurchNZ General Manager Destination and Attraction Loren Heaphy said it was exciting to be able to play host to so many tourism operators.

“They will be able to see first-hand all the great tourism product on offer in our city. There is so much to explore and seeing it in person is a powerful way to experience how our city has shaped and developed.”

Ms Chen said the South Island is always a compelling visitor destination, with Christchurch often the key connector to other great destinations.

“Our Board recently visited Kaikoura and were delighted to see how the area had bounced back despite the challenges of the last couple of years since the 2016 earthquakes.”

“There’s no doubt it’s been tough but the rebuild of the roads into the region and the redevelopment of the wharf for the iconic whale watch experience are all compelling reasons for tour operators to keep promoting the town.

The recent announcement of the 118 room Sudima Hotel development will also add useful large-scale accommodation to the area, making group tours and overnight stays much more do-able. This in turn increases length of stay and spend in the town, which is a win-win for us all.”

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. 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 6644836

The tourism industry is being told it must be constantly adapting to change with technological advances likely to have an enormous impact on their business.

Chief Executive of the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) Judy Chen says historically tourism operators have risen to the challenge of change, but the speed in which its happening through technological advances means they can’t afford to be complacent about what’s ahead.

The theme of the TECNZ conference being held in Hawkes Bay this year is ‘Future-proofing the Industry.’  Key global trends affecting tourism that were discussed included: climate change, the rise of the ethical consumer, changing demographics and infrastructure, the healthcare revolution, the changing world order and social media.

“Tour Operators are good at dealing with change, be it mother nature at her fiercest or through new ways people book, research or like to travel.

There has been a great deal of movement in how we market and what we offer with a strong shift away from large tour groups, to smaller more intimate ones and even individual itineraries being planned by tour operators.

The massive growth in visitor numbers also means the once, highly relied upon, tour series bookings are no longer the cornerstone of hotel or visitor attraction business.  This means tour operators are now competing for space in tourism hot spots rather than having the run of them.

There are numerous examples of our industry changing, evolving and adapting their businesses – but that process needs to be constant.”

At the conference, Jesse Keith Group Manager Future Insights at Callaghan Innovation said rather than a threat, new technologies such as AI could be an enormous factor in promoting tourism.

“Some tourism operators would argue that technologies could spell the demise of tourism, as people will just sit at home and enjoy a ‘holiday’ from their couch via virtual reality.  We think quite the reverse, new technologies should be a powerful promotional tool to getting visitors to NZ.

Imagine standing at a travel trade show in Shanghai and taking a virtual walk along the Milford Track.  Putting people ‘virtually’ in a New Zealand holiday has to be a compelling sales pitch to getting them there in person.”

Mr Keith said the next generation of travellers coming to New Zealand are totally connected, they have likely researched and booked everything online and when they are here, everything they do, see, experience or eat will be sent out to their followers via the fast growing Instagram.

“Research shows more than 40% of those under 33 prioritise ‘instragrammability’ when choosing their next holiday spot.  For tour operator this needs to be a key consideration, are you taking people to places where they can do this as well as providing those photo opportunities?”

Lauren Foster, Director at Deloitte said a number of disrupters are driving rapid change in the workforce and all industries are challenged by both the opportunities and threats this brings with it.

“Individuals are keeping up and adapting to the rapid changes in technology the best, but businesses, organisations and the policies that govern them are not adapting fast enough. This means the gap between technology and businesses ability to adapt is expected to rise substantially.”

Ms Foster said the tourism industry will particularly be challenged by the expectation of the working environment they create and need to think about this across three dimensions; the work itself, the worker and the workplace.

“People are looking for greater and greater flexibility about where and when work is done. They don’t want to be stuck at a desk in an office all day which means employers need to rethink how they recruit and manage their workforce.

The term ‘Open Talent’ is used to refer to an augmented workforce and more flexible talent pool where both businesses and workers have access to a greater number of employment options. There is much to be gained from joint ventures with other like-minded individuals or businesses, contractors, freelancers, crowd sourcing and even robots and AI.

In a people-heavy industry like tourism, robots will have their place doing tasks that can be automated or don’t necessarily require human interaction but there will still be a need for people to provide a deeper level of customer service and in managing others.

Overall, jobs are not going away, but they are definitely changing.”

During the discussion on ‘Moving to a renewal energy, low carbon future’, Andrew Caseley Chief Executive of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) encouraged tourism operators to invest in an Electric Vehicle (EV) future. Investing in low-emission transport and technology is crucial to address climate change and the transport sector has a big role to play.

Judy Chen says Tourism Operators have the right experience and attitude to adapt to the opportunities discussed at the conference.

“We’ve been adapting and adopting since we swapped bringing visitors here from ships to jet propelled planes and restored a devastated industry after the Mt Tarawera eruption devastated a key attraction – the Pink and White Terraces overnight. “

Whatever the opportunities are – we’re an industry that’s up for it.”

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. 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.

Three of New Zealand’s top tourism operators have been recognised as the best in the business by their industry peers. The awards event, part of the annual Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) Tourism Conference was held at Craggy Range in the Hawke’s Bay last night (Wednesday 8 August).

“Congratulations to our 2018 winners” says Chief Executive, Judy Chen. “Our annual Operator of the Year Awards celebrate those who are highly engaged with their business partners in the industry and have excelled in areas of innovation, customer service and responsible tourism.”

“Awards finalists were chosen by the TECNZ Board but the winners are decided by member votes with many past winners commenting on the significance of receiving acknowledgment from their peers within the industry.  As we head into another busy summer season this is just the boost our three winners deserve to help them continue to deliver fabulous, often bucket list holiday experiences in New Zealand.”

The winners of the 2018 Operator of the Year Awards are:

Inbound Operator of the Year Award

• General Travel New Zealand

General Travel New Zealand is one of the country’s longest established inbound tour operators.

Founded in 1973 by Peter Black, General Travel New Zealand is a privately owned and operated company that takes a personal and direct interest in meeting, and often exceeding, the expectations of individual travellers and groups of visitors from markets including North America, Australia, Japan, Asia, Europe, South Africa, India and South America.

General Travel employs 35 staff in Auckland and another 12 in 5 offshore sales offices. They work in all visitor markets to varying degrees and are often one of the first companies into new and emerging markets to spread the New Zealand Story.

The day to day running of the business now falls largely to John Sng (Managing Director) and Anna Black (Executive Director), while Peter makes a good attempt to retire.   The company has been a member of TECNZ since the mid-70s and is one of the original members with Peter, others from the General Travel team and now Anna having all served on the TECNZ Board, with Anna the incumbent TECNZ Chair.

Ms Chen said, “General Travel has been a long standing and highly regarded operator in the tourism sector for over 40 years.  As the industry has grown and changed so too has General Travel and this is a huge credit to Peter, Anna, John and their team.”

Allied Operator of the Year Award

• Scenic Hotel Group

Founded in 1980 on the West Coast of the South Island, the Scenic Hotel Group story is one of friends and family. Over nearly four decades, Scenic Hotel Group has grown to 18 hotels that stretch from Paihia in the far north to Gore and Queenstown in the deep south and now also includes the South Pacific nations of Niue and Tonga.

In New Zealand, Scenic Hotel Group delivers a uniquely kiwi experience and is passionate about growing and developing sustainable tourism in New Zealand all demonstrated through a range of environmental and procurement initiatives.

Ms Chen said, “The Scenic Hotel Group is another shining example of a company that has grown and evolved as the tourism industry has.  Scenic has always been a huge supporter of the industry and this award is well deserved.  Managing Director, Lani Hagaman can be justifiably proud of the Scenic Hotel Group collection, often located in some of the more remote but arguably most beautiful destinations throughout New Zealand.”

Small Business Operator of the Year Award

• Ecozip Adventures

EcoZip Adventures, a Waiheke Island based zipline tourism company first opened their doors to the paying public in 2012.   From those initial months, when they thought to zip 50 guests in a day was a huge achievement, to tens of thousands of guests every year, the company ensures they never lose sight of the simple vision they had for the business, that of introducing visitors to the native forests surrounding Auckland without the need for hiking gear or having to find lots of time for backcountry hiking.

Ms Chen said,” EcoZip is another brilliant example of making New Zealand’s beautiful landscapes accessible for all ages and levels of fitness.  Combining great views and eco-tourism, as well as, Waiheke Island’s fantastic food and beverage offering makes for a compelling visitor experience which is what makes EcoZip Adventures the sort of visitor activity that tour operators are looking for.”

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. 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.

2018 Award Finalists were:

 Inbound Operator of the Year finalists:

• General Travel
• Haka Tourism Group
• Naturally New Zealand Holidays

Allied Operator of the Year finalists:

• Forgotten World Adventures
• Scenic Hotel Group
• Te Puia

Small Business Operator of the Year finalists:

• Ecozip Adventures
• OGO Rotorua
• Tongariro River Rafting

The annual Tourism Conference hosted by the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) is another sold-out event this year. More than 320 delegates will gather in the Hawke’s Bay this week to learn and discuss what ‘future-proofing’ means for tourism and for their businesses.

“Tourism operators are mindful of the challenges we face as an industry and conscious that we all need to play our part and be better prepared to ensure we manage tourism growth sustainably into the future,” says Chief Executive of TECNZ, Judy Chen.

“Our aim with this year’s conference is to get delegates thinking outside of business as usual and looking to the future – what is tourism going to look like in 10, 20 or 30 years’ time, what innovations or artificial intelligence might we be using to enhance the visitor experience, what does our future workforce look like?

“Our aim is always to inspire, educate and provide opportunities to network with one another. I am delighted to see such strong support for the event and the region with record-breaking attendance numbers.”

“Hawke’s Bay is delighted to be hosting the 2018 TECNZ Tourism Conference” says Annie Dundas, General Manager of Hawke’s Bay Tourism. “It’s been a long time since the conference was last held here in 2004 and an enormous amount of new product has been developed – in food and wine, cycling and Maori tourism. This is our chance to showcase our tourism industry to those who sell it internationally. Many delegates will be experiencing our tourism products while they are here and we hope from this week we will see more of Hawke’s Bay on the itineraries of future international visitors.”

Napier Mayor, Bill Dalton said, “This conference is a terrific opportunity for tourism operators to explore everything Napier, and indeed Hawke’s Bay has to offer. We have come a long way since the last conference was held here and are increasingly becoming a destination of choice for those who want to experience are great slice of New Zealand.”

The conference is being held at the Napier Conference Centre on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 August with a programme of local tourism product familiarisations being held prior to and after the event.

Ms Chen says, “Getting tourism operators to different parts of the country each year is the key to continuing to educate them about the regional tourism products on offer. We have key inbound tour operators in town looking for fantastic tourism product to put into their tours and what better way to achieve this than to show them what the region has to offer. We know the Hawke’s Bay Tourism team, will do a great job delivering an exceptional event and we look forward to continuing to work with them and local operators to drive international visitor growth into the region.”

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. 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

HOW TO MAXIMISE YOUR CASH FLOW NOW!!!

Manage the financial resources of your business:

• Ask for a larger deposit on all bookings.
• Retain funds as long as you can before paying suppliers.
• Get your customers on Credit Card or Full Payment upon booking.
• Pay your monthly creditors later than usual.
• Use your company credit card to extend your time to pay suppliers.
• Ask your suppliers for extended credit terms – payment over 3 months or longer.
• Change your GST to payments basis and 6 months if possible.
• Put aside 20% – 30% of your receipts to pay GST and Tax.
• Check your tax calculations and put off payment until you have funds or pay your tax with your GST.
• Fund your tax through your accountant.
• Put surplus funds in a high interest account or on deposit.
• Ask staff to work extra unpaid now and take time off later.

WHEN BUSINESS IS QUIET MINIMISE YOUR EXPENSES!!!

Manage your business expenses better over the low season:

• Decide who can afford to take unpaid leave.
• Reduce the number of paid days per week.
• Pay your telephone bill on a Credit Card.
• Reduce your expenses both business and personal to the minimum.
• When business is quiet get staff to take their holidays – this maximizes productivity when they return.
• Get any projects completed over this time when staff is not so busy.

GET FUNDING IN PLACE EARLY FOR THE LOW SEASON

Manage your funding:

• Request a temporary overdraft well before you need it.
• Obtain a loan using the equity in your property.
• Obtain a loan using the equity in your Insurance policy.
• Obtain a line of credit for emergencies well before your may require the funds.
• Flexirent any Computer purchases.
• Extend the credit limit on your Credit Cards.

WHAT LONGER TERM STRUCTURAL CHANGES CAN YOU MAKE TO IMPROVE CASH FLOW?

Long term solutions

• Match your long term assets with long term debt so you have the cash to pay your bills.
• Ensure that you have good systems in place to capture and bill every booking.
• Bill your service as soon as it is delivered.
• Develop your web presence to get customers direct and improve your margins.
• Prepare accounting reports monthly to keep a close check on your business.
• Prepare a Budget / Cash Flow so you know how much to put aside for the low season.
• If you are a tour operator – open a Trust / Travel Bank account – to enable better management of funds. Only take out what is yours.

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Small Tourism Business’s

Tourism operators are welcoming a proposed tourism levy but say they’re concerned visitors could end up paying multiple times to go on the Department of Conservation (DOC) land.

In a submission to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) says the proposed International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy is welcomed, as local Councils and by default ratepayers can’t continue to foot the bill for tourism infrastructure when tourism demand outstrips the day to day needs of local communities.

TECNZ Chief Executive Judy Chen said, “The projected $57M – $80M raised needs to be reinvested back into tourism across infrastructure and conservation initiatives and transparency in spending is important.”

There is also concern that visitors could be hit with multiple fees for conservation, first through the Visitor Levy and then when visiting DOC estates through commercial operators who already pay a concession accessing the area.

“Paying to access the conservation estate is nothing new. Tourism operators have paid a concession to DOC for years and these costs are passed to the visitor. This new levy effectively means our visitors will be paying twice or more dependent on the type of holiday they choose and how often they access commercial tourism activities on conservation land.”

“Current DOC concessions have targeted group visitors for many years and the new Visitor Levy will further disadvantage visitors travelling in groups. Should the levy go ahead we would like to see a review of the current concessions paid by tour and coach operators to ensure that visitor contribution across the board is equitable.

We have also seen some significant increases in operator concessions recently as DOC has a monopoly in the areas they operate and solely determines the ‘market rate’.

New Zealand is already considered a relatively expensive holiday destination. Our members are concerned that multiple costs imposed on visitors may deter them from enjoying as many of the great tourism sights and activities we have to offer.”

TECNZ has also queried why Australian and Pacific Island visitors will be exempt from paying the levy.

“Almost 1.5 million Australians visited New Zealand in the year to May 2018 which is around half of our international visitors”, Ms Chen said. “This is a significant number of international visitors not having to pay the levy who will still be accessing the same tourism attractions and facilities as those who have paid.”

“Our members feel these exemptions, particularly for the Australian market, leaves a large sum of collectible visitor levy money on the table – around $37.5M if the levy was set at the lowest amount of $25 per person.”

“TECNZ members are supportive of the Visitor Levy, but we need to make sure it is being collected from all international visitors and that they aren’t paying multiple times or unfairly for the same product, in this case that product being the conservation estate.”

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. 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
0276644836

Rachael Shadbolt
Communications Adviser
Brightside Collective
021 679 664

The Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) has launched a new Health & Safety (H&S) online checklist to improve the efficiency of H&S data collection, storage, and distribution for all New Zealand tourism operators.

TECNZ has partnered with the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) on this initiative. This is an essential tool for New Zealand travel suppliers especially working in the UK, European, and the US markets. European Union legislation requires European travel wholesalers to ensure that all suppliers participating in their travel programs have implemented satisfactory H&S standards. Up until now, data collection has been time consuming and inefficient due to the need to often replicate the same request multiple times for several users.

“The online checklist will be a fantastic resource to use as a ‘one stop-shop’ for collecting and distributing H&S information, benefiting both our tourism suppliers and inbound tour operators” says Judy Chen TECNZ CEO. “Health & Safety compliance is crucial to the success of all tourism businesses and we encourage suppliers to get behind this initiative to allow easy access to this vital information”.

For further Information, subscription cost, and sign up, please visit the TECNZ website.

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. 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

Tourism Export Council of New Zealand

027 66 44 836

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