Central Otago Tourism Operators Urged To Be Unique

Unique attractions and activities telling the Central Otago story will help develop stronger and more diverse visitor markets according to tourism operators representing NZ’s largest export sector.

Visiting Cromwell to speak to the local industry Tourism Export Council of New Zealand Chief Executive Judy Chen says Central Otago is uniquely positioned near an international airport and other popular destinations and clever thinking could help lure more visitors.

Inbound tour operators are the companies who bring visitors to New Zealand and TECNZ Judy Chen says her members are constantly seeking new attractions and experiences to develop their itineraries.  But she said focusing on unique experiences would be key to Central Otago’s success.

“Most international visitors spend about two weeks in NZ and can only choose up to a handful of regions at the most to visit in that time.   Visitors need to have a reason to visit your region to experience something that they cannot do anywhere else.

That’s not as difficult as you might think.  Visitors will want to be in your picturesque environment, seeing and hearing the stories of your region: and there is no shortage of great history here.’

Ms Chen says attractions such as the $6.6 million Lake Dunstan Trail would be a great boost for domestic and international tourism in the region.

“Many of our members would be interested in expanding their itineraries to include more products in regions that offer something different for our visitors.

TECNZ is very interested in working with the local Regional Tourism Organisation and Central Otago operators and on ways to further develop their unique products for the international market.

‘We want to work together with you, support your strategy and to play our part in ensuring your region has a carefully managed, sustainable tourism industry for the future.”

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:

Tourism Exporters meet local industry in Ruapehu today

Building on the uniqueness of the region is the key to success in tourism for the Ruapehu region according to Tourism Exporters.

The Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) is in the region today (Thursday June 6) for a board meeting and to meet with the local tourism industry.

Tourism exporters are the companies who bring visitors to New Zealand and TECNZ Judy Chen says they are always looking for new and different attractions and experiences to develop their itineraries.

‘We, like the rest of the tourism industry are eager to further expand the visitor flow into the regions and Ruapehu’s unique offerings of outdoor mountain and bush activities are well positioned to support that.

New products such as the development of the Ruapehu Alpine lift will help develop a summer attraction for the region and potentially bring more and different visitors to the region.

But the region’s early development of sustainable tourism practices also puts it ahead of many other parts of New Zealand.

Ms Chen said her board was looking forward to meeting the Ruapehu tourism industry and finding out about new developments today.

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:

National Finalist After 28 Years of Service at the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor, Wellington

Lance Webster, morning restaurant personality and High Tea connoisseur at the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor has been named one of three Food & Beverage Employee of the Year finalists for the prestigious New Zealand Hotel Industry Awards 2019.

With a career spanning an impressive 28 years at the leading capital hotel, Lance is known for an engaging and personalised approach to customer service, consistently recognised in guest reviews and by hotel management. His award submission was endorsed further by written references from external organisations, including the Rotary Club Wellington, a long-standing client at the busy 17^th floor Whitby’s Restaurant.

Lance’s point of difference is his eagerness to go out of his way to seek and develop his culinary expertise through travel and research. Each morning he begins his day by reading the paper, educating himself on what is happening around town and what to recommend to diners. When travelling, Lance is absorbing knowledge to implement to the breakfast and High Tea service at Whitby’s Restaurant.

For example, he has attended various tea demonstrations over the years and has sampled High Teas in Canada and England to further understand distinct experiences. He knows that Ceylon Tea leaves are grown at a higher altitude and therefore are slightly lighter in taste with elegant flavours. He takes the time to share his knowledge with new team members, alongside entwinning the facts subtly into the guest experience, as outlined in the following guest review.

“A five-star High Tea experience. Lance was the most informative staff member. With a can do attitude and amazing knowledge, combined with the tea and food selection, this is a must do experience in Wellington.”

Reflecting on Lance’s success, Hotel General Manager Steve Martin is immensely proud of Lance’s long tenure, his passion for customer service and knowledge that he happily shares with new employees.
“We believe Lance is a champion for a successful and fulfilled career within the New Zealand Hotel industry and the entire hotel team are honoured that he has been recognised as a finalist.”

Winners of the New Zealand Hotel Industry Awards are announced at a premium Gala dinner in Auckland this week. An avid train enthusiast, Lance is travelling the North Island courtesy of Kiwirail on the Northern Explorer, an experience he will passionately be sharing and promoting to guests for years to come.

Media Contact details:

Jessica Taylor | Marketing & Communications Manager | James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor
021 190 7368 E: marketing@jamescookhotel.co.nz

About the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor
The James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor is one of the capital’s leading hotels, known for welcoming service, quality accommodation and environmentally conscious initiatives. Conveniently situated between the leading retail district of Lambton Quay and the business hub of The Terrace, the 4 ½ star hotel features 268 accommodation rooms, valet parking, two restaurants and bars, a day spa, complimentary Wi-Fi and fitness facilities. A $12m refurbishment is currently in progress, with new Executive Rooms due to open in July 2019.

Queenstown tourism giant Go Orange supports kiwi social enterprise 

A growing social enterprise founded four years ago by a young entrepreneur has been given a huge boost thanks to one of New Zealand’s top tourism companies.

Adventure tourism company Go Orange has gifted two buses to kiwi social enterprise Got To Get Out, which is on a mission to get people active and outdoors, on free hikes and bike trips organised by founder Rob Bruce.

The trips have become so popular that Rob now works full-time on Got To Get Out, driving the length and breadth of New Zealand transporting people to and from their events.

And now thanks to Go Orange it will have two South Island-based vehicles to help decrease transport costs and time, enabling Rob to increase the social impact of got To Get Out on the community.

Go Orange General Manager Luke Taylor was inspired to donate two former rafting buses to Got To Get Out after hearing Rob speak at a backpacker (BYATA) conference last year.

The 20-seater Nissan Civilian buses were officially handed over to Rob in Queenstown today (June 21).

The rafting buses were surplus to requirements as the company has invested in a fleet of purpose-built, all-wheel-drive Unimogs.

“I like the idea of there being a different tourism model in New Zealand,” says Luke.

“There are lots of New Zealanders who don’t feel connected to the environment we live in, so there’s a bit of social good in us donating these vehicles to a good cause for the next part of their lives.

“We’re delighted to support Got To Get Out.”

Go Orange joins outdoor gear store Torpedo7 in supporting the drive to help people get outdoors and enjoy being in nature with new people.

Torpedo7 last year commissioned Got To Get Out to deliver their Torpedo7 Club free experiences around the country.

Rob previously worked for a corporate marketing agency before developing the concept of Got To Get Out while on a hike to Mt Everest base camp.

After reading a quote by Sir Edmund Hillary which says “It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves”, he embraced the concept that different people have their own mountain to climb.

“I decided to use my professional skills to help other New Zealanders conquer their own Mt Everests, and now I’m on this incredible path where a social enterprise helps deliver health and wellbeing to people who may have been feeling lonely or depressed but feel so much better after coming walking, paddle boarding or mountain-biking with us,” says Rob.

“People are coming along more than once because they’ve made friends, they’ve got active and got outside, and it improves their mood and wellbeing. We’re building a genuine community in a sector of society that wasn’t being catered for.

“It was my dream to turn my passion into a full-time job, but that wasn’t quite financially viable until Torpedo7 came on board and we now have the support of Go Orange.

“When Luke called and offered the buses, I just about jumped out of my seat, I was so thrilled and just so grateful.

“Got To Get Out is arranging South Island-based hikes, ski trips, and later in the year mountain bike and paddle board outings in Nelson, Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin, all departing from Torpedo7 stores thanks to this new partnership.

“Up until now I’ve been driving from Auckland to Dunedin, then making the grueling1500km return trip home before repeating. It’s a hectic schedule that involves huge miles, and significant cost in ferry crossings, petrol, road user charges and time.

“The Go Orange buses will decrease those costs and time, and therefore increase our social impact by helping me focus on getting more of the community outdoors, especially in the South Island.”

The Got To Get Out online community has now grown to 15,000 people.

With volunteer help and additional vehicles Rob can now run simultaneous trips in both islands.

For further information, high res images and video please contact:

Fiona Woodham

Southern PR

M: 0274 313 270

E: Fiona@southernpr.co.nz

RealNZ is a group of tourism and ski businesses based in the south of the South Island of New Zealand, that share a common purpose to do ‘business for good’.

Established in 1954, RealNZ continues to honor the legacy of founders Les and Olive Hutchins through the belief that tourism and conservation work hand in hand to sustain each other.

Based on the premise that when people care about something they look after it, RealNZ invites visitors to fall in love with New Zealand, and in doing so protect it for generations to come.

The real people, real places and real experiences that, together, form RealNZ, are helping enable important conservation programs such as the Cooper Island Restoration Project, Walter Peak Land Restoration Project and Predator Free Rakiura.

From the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch right down to Stewart Island, RealNZ has experiences spanning:

• remote untouched natural wilderness including Doubtful Sound, Milford Sound and Stewart Island
• unique experiences like the historic TSS Earnslaw steamship that cruises beautiful Lake Wakatipu and the mysterious underground world of Te Anau Glowworm Caves
• the thrilling Jet Boats and Rafts that navigate the famous Kawarau or Shotover Rivers
• the high-altitude exhilaration of Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone

RealNZ has curated the most memorable experiences of New Zealand into a group of businesses with a common purpose, to create enduring value through conservation, that is enabled by tourism – to do business for good.

Providers of single and multi-day luxury bespoke and scheduled wine, nature and art tours in the Nelson/Tasman, Marlborough regions and throughout the South Island.

Fully catered wine, nature and art tours are leisurely, informal and designed to cater for all levels of fitness. They are essentially a soft adventure – enticing, always rewarding  and taken at a relaxed pace. Transported between sites in the luxurious comfort of a Mercedes, we follow less traveled routes, that provide a spontaneous insight into curious local attractions, historical and contemporary New Zealand life.

With vast experience in nature conservation and the wine industry, our team focuses on interpretation and interactive guided experiences, opening doors to introduce the wine & art personalities of Nelson and Marlborough, ensuring visitor expectations are always exceeded.

At Shotover Canyon Swing we specialise in putting smiles on peoples faces and scary, fun cliff jumping with our many unique ways to jump from our giant Rope Swing!

Canyon Swing – join us at Queenstown’s original and best swing! Sit, dangle or throw yourself from our 109 metre high platform before free falling vertically 60 metres (or 3 seconds!) past the famous Shotover Canyon cliff face and into a 200 metre Swing. This is the only swing in New Zealand where you can choose to be released or jump yourself! Sitting, forwards, backwards, flips, hanging upside down, on slide, in a chair, in a bin! – come test out your bravery (and underwear) with us!

Europcar is a global car rental leader with 132 locations throughout Australia and 19 locations in NZ. We are proud to promote we have the highest quality and youngest fleet of new cars and these are updated every 9 months in Australia and every 3-5 months in NZ. This means your client enjoys the latest technology, safety and reliability every time they rent. Europcar’s fleet range from smaller economical vehicles, family style SUV’s to luxury Mercedes-Benz.

Europcar has a 24/7 Customer Contact Centre with a dedicated team of specialists and a Centralised Damage and Claims department ensuring your client experience is easy and hassle free. Our experienced team of Account Managers can work with you to provide a full suite of rate products designed to cater for every customer and most of all they do it with a smile and a solid promise of customer satisfaction.

We empower the tourism industry through digital, driving preference and increasing online sales with our fresh, cutting-edge tourism marketing approach. By analysing your offering through the eyes of a visitor, we use digital to ensure you’re reaching them in the right place, at the right time.

We offer four key services: Spectacular tourism websites, digital strategy, clever paid media and content marketing for SEO. Data-driven and results-led, we are digital natives who hang our hats on doing high-impact work that affects your bottom line.

Six Grand Chancellor Hotels Receive TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence

TripAdvisor has awarded the reputable Certificate of Excellence to six hotels within the Grand Chancellor Hotels Group across Australia and New Zealand this week. Recognising consistent and highly rated guest stays, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor rating of at least four out of five and have a minimum number of reviews over a 12-month period to qualify.

Committed to providing guests and delegates with memorable experiences, the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor in Wellington received the accolade in the midst of a multimillion-dollar refurbishment of 200 rooms and suites. Guests can experience the new accommodation rooms from July 2019 and the hotel has also recently modernised Whitby’s Restaurant and replaced all elevators.

In Queensland, Hotel Grand Chancellor Townsville and Hotel Grand Chancellor Brisbane both received the recognition for consecutive years. Alongside modern accommodation rooms, both hotel’s feature rooftop pools with stunning views, notable restaurants and premium conference facilities. In Brisbane, the leading-edge Conference Centre has eleven spaces and Townsville’s six meeting rooms all feature natural light, plus a rooftop venue.
South Australian hospitality is integrated into the guest experience at Hotel Grand Chancellor Adelaide and The Chancellor on Currie, with both hotels recognised by TripAdvisor. Accommodation rooms have been modernised at the Hotel Grand Chancellor and guests can enjoy local cuisine at the restaurant and conference facilities. Offering a boutique experience, the second Adelaide hotel on Currie Street encapsulates Neo-Georgian architecture and style, located on the doorstep of the vibrant Gilbert Place.

Regarded as a standout hotel in Tasmania, the waterfront location, exceptional facilities and welcoming service have once again earned Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart the Hall of Fame status. Receiving TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence for more than five consecutive years, the hotel is centrally located and hosts distinguished conference and events at their Convention Centre.

Grand Chancellor Hotels are located throughout Australia and New Zealand in key destinations. The ten properties present quality accommodation with modern facilities, including five hotels with event venues suitable for over 400 delegates. For more information please visit grandchancellorhotels.com

Media Contact Jessica Taylor | Marketing & Communications Manager Grand Chancellor Hotels, Australia and New Zealand 021 190 7368 marketing@ghi-hotels.com