media & trade • newsletter

September 2009

CEO Comment

As the new season approaches, it's time to look forward and plan for what's coming up.  Change continues to happen fast and as the global downturn continues to effect travel patterns, some interesting trends are emerging here.  On the plus side, Nelson Tasman is doing better than the national average in international visitor nights, with the backpacker market, Australians and Europeans keeping things buoyant.  On the downside, our domestic market performance is behind the national average, with some large declines over winter.  Competition on main trunk air routes is making it very attractive for kiwis to travel between the main centres. 

At Nelson Tasman Tourism our international trade marketing programme has been very busy with Astrid travelling constantly over the past two months and Nicki reports that our annual domestic campaign 'Nelson Spring' is getting a great response from Wellingtonians.  The new Visitor Guide is all sold, a new website is underway and our AGM and annual update is coming up fast - diary Friday 23 October to come along and catch-up - we'll see you there.

Nelson Spring Springs Up All Over The Capital City!      

The 2009 Nelson Spring domestic marketing campaign is well underway in Wellington.  ‘Nelson Spring is about placing Nelson Tasman in the minds of domestic travellers as the ultimate short-break destination - an accessible, achievable and indulgent escape' says Domestic Marketing Manager, Nicki van Asch. 'The 2009 campaign targets Wellingtonians with a springtime call to action.'

Visit the refreshed campaign website www.NelsonSpring.co.nz.  This year’s prize draw proposition is key to driving traffic to the campaign website.  Visitors are encouraged to engage with possible Nelson short-break itineraries, with entry requiring them to nominate their ultimate Nelson Spring short-break from a selection of itineraries.  

Components of the 2009 campaign include a series of print advertisements in the Dom Post and Capital Times, a domestic media famil programme generating spring inspired destination stories, a Wellington letter box drop of 5,000 Nelson Spring postcards, a central Wellington Café drop (read more below) and Interislander onboard material placements.

Wellingtonians Get a Double Shot of Nelson with their Lattes      

Last week, one hundred Wild Tomato magazines and the equivalent number of 2009 Nelson Arts Festival programmes were delivered to central Wellington cafés. A Nelson Spring call to action sticker was boldly displayed on the front offering readers the chance to win a Nelson getaway by visiting www.NelsonSpring.co.nz

Recent Domestic Media Visits      

In mid August Nelson Tasman Tourism hosted the editor of Weekends Magazine and just last week journalists from NZ Womens’ Weekly and Avenues magazine as part of the Nelson Spring campaign and in conjunction with Heritage Hotel Group. 

Weekends Magazine is now out, with Nelson Tasman grabbing the longest regional feature in the issue right up front at page 6 of the magazine.  Avenues magazine is expected to publish the Nelson indulgence story in their October issue.  

Australian Market Insights Seminar      

Tourism New Zealand and Nelson Tasman Tourism invite you to an Australian Market Insights Seminar in either Wellington or Christchurch.  Presentations from the TNZ Sydney team will focus on;

• The Current Market Situation
• Marketing, PR, and Trade Strategies
• General updates from the Australian Market (Media, Airlines, RTO Strategy & more)

The Wellington seminar will be held on Wednesday 23 September and the Christchurch seminar is to be held on Tuesday 29 September.  Both will be held from 10am - 3pm. 

Please RSVP to Tracy at info@nelsonnz.com by Monday 14 September 2009.

Sina Zimmermann - Internship with Nelson Tasman Tourism      

Sina Zimmermann is the latest intern to join the team at Nelson Tasman Tourism.
Sina will be working with us for the next five months and is very excited about discovering the whole region especially during the summer season.

Sina comes from a small city in a region called Sauerland in West Germany but has been studying in Deventer in the Netherlands (which although only 100 kms from home, is still a different country!).  In Deventer Sina studied “ Hoger Toeristisch en Recreatief Onderwijs” which translated means Tourism and Leisure Management.

Sina has developed a huge wanderlust so it is fortunate that her studies include two internships, the first one was in Barcelona, Spain, where she also learned a little Spanish and the second one is of course here in Nelson.

Sina is in the last year of her studies and after her internship at Nelson Tasman Tourism, will start to write her thesis, with the aim of completing her bachelor degree within the next year.

Sina is looking forward to meeting and working with you all.

www.NelsonNZ.com revamp      

Our website www.NelsonNZ.com is about to go through a revamp.  A new, simpler and easier to navigate site is the objective. 

As the new website will not be completed by the end of the current advertising year of 30 September, current advertisers' listings which are due to expire then will be extended until the revamp is complete.

If you are a new advertiser wishing to advertise on our site, please register your interest by emailing Tracy info@nelsonnz.com and we will get back to you on the options available to you.  

Something to Tweet about...      

With less than four weeks to go, only a limited number of delegate registrations remain for New Zealand’s first e-Tourism Conference to be held in Wellington at Te Papa, 1-2 October 2009.

The event will provide invaluable insights into some of the latest marketing trends and business practices in the tourism and travel industry in the digital age. Speakers will present how to take advantage of the latest social media and mobile marketing tools, and discuss some of the challenges and opportunities facing tourism operators and marketers in an ever-changing online business environment.
http://on-cue.co.nz/etourism/index.html

Changes in Opening Hours at Golden Bay i-SITE      

As the impact of the global economic downturn affects tourism numbers and as more people book their travel online, our visitor centres are experiencing less foot traffic through the door and declining revenue streams. 

We have recently reviewed the operations of all three visitor centres and have reduced staffing levels in all three.  This has resulted in a reduction in the opening hours of the Golden Bay i-SITE. 

New Opening Hours (subject to change):

10am - 5pm (Shoulder)

9am - 6pm (Summer)

10am - 5pm Mon-Fri & 10am - 4pm Sat & Sun (Winter).

The staff restructure in Golden Bay has created a new position of Travel Consultant/IT & Booking Supervisor.  Click here for details of this position.

Don't forget Its On!      

If you, your customers or staff are looking for an event to go to - be it an art exhibition, concert, festival, major sports tournament, A&P show, school fair, bike show, rugby match - whatever it is ... don't forget Its On!!

Check www.itson.co.nz - for the most comprehensive, up-to-date, easy-to-use listing of events in the Nelson Tasman region.

If you're an event organiser, don't forget to list your event on Its On ... a great promotional opportunity at no cost!

Its On Events Update

* eDay - Saturday 12th Sept, across the region
* Abel Tasman Coastal Classic, Saturday 12th Sept, Abel Tasman
* Pro Rider NZ National Motorcycle Show, Sunday 13th Sept, Founders Heritage Park
* Haydn and the String Quartet, Wednesday 16th Sept, Nelson School of Music
* Nelson Home & Garden Show, Friday 18th to Sunday 20th Sept, Trafalgar Centre
* Spring Nelson Beer Fete, Saturday 19th Sept, Founders Heritage Park
* Spring Challenge, Friday 25th  to Sunday 27th Sept, St Arnaud
* Jack Liebeck & Stephen De Pledge, Saturday 26th Sept, Nelson School of Music
* Nelson New Release Wine Tasting, Tuesday 29th Sept, The Boathouse, Nelson   

*Air NZ Cup - Tasman Makos vs Auckland - Sunday 27th Sept, Trafalgar Park

For more info and events… don’t forget to check out www.itson.co.nz, because if it’s on, it’s on Its On!

Counter Poster in Nelson i-SITE - Available for first time!      

Counter poster advertising space in Nelson i-SITE is always in hot demand.  Usually we have a waiting list, but this year for the first time one spot has become available. 

A1 in size, these spot-lit posters are protected behind a professional perspex panel.  Located directly behind the front counter they are frequently referred to by customers and staff.  The cost for each poster space is $2,625 + GST (10% discount when purchased online) for the period to 30 June 2010.

If you are interested, please email charlotte@nelsonnz.com by 18 September for an expression of interest form. 

Monthly Statistics      

Here are the latest Nelson Tasman statistics on domestic and international guest nights.

Guest Nights	Jun 09	% Change Jun 08	YE Jun 09	% Change YE Jun 09
Domestic	31,320	-14.7%	787,420	-6.6%
International	12,620	5.5%	445,080	-1.1%
Total	43,928	-9.7%	1,232,500	-4.7%

 
Source: Statistics NZ

Operator Update - What's New      

• Congratulations to two Nelson restaurants, on achieving major awards in the Cuisine New Zealand Restaurant of the Year Awards held recently - Bouterey's at 251 for Best Smart Dining Regional category and Hopgoods Restaurant & Bar for Best Casual Dining Regional category.
• Waimea Estates' Spinyback Pinot Gris 2008 has won a Gold Medal and the Trophy at the recently held Decanter Wine Awards for Champion New Zealand White Wine under 10 pounds and the Seifried Winemakers Collection Sweet Agnes Riesling Ice Wine 2008 won a Gold Medal and the Trophy for Champion New Zealand Sweet Wine over 10 pounds
• Congratulations also to those operators on achieving Qualmark enviro-logos during the month of August; Shelbourne Villa - Enviro-Gold and Tailored Travel New Zealand Custom Tours - Enviro-Bronze

Snippets      

• A further reminder that display advertising for the 09-10 year in the Nelson i-SITE, Golden Bay i-SITE & Murchison Visitor Centres was due by 1 July 09.  There are no pro-rata rates available, so to ensure you get the most out of your display period, please make payment as soon as you can.  Don't forget you can get 10% discount by purchasing online www.nelsonnz.com/advertise.with.us  For further information please email michael@nelsonnz.com
• Following four months of intensive design, the Ministry of Tourism and Tautoko Enterprise Support Ltd signed an agreement in July for the delivery of the Maori Tourism Mentoring Programme in 2009/10, to assist Maori cultural tourism businesses to be profitable and sustainable.
  For further information on the programme, see www.tautoko.co.nz
• Recycling services are now being offered to businesses in the Nelson region by Nelmac, Smart Environmental and EnviroWaste.  Services exist for all those materials currently collected in the household recycling collection apart from glass.  All services will be more cost effective than sending the material to landfill, and also better for the environment.  Contact details are Nelmac 546 0910, Smart Environmental 546 9007 and EnviroWaste 547 0962.
• Sick of squishing into a small room for your meetings? Need somewhere with a data projector, internet, and an electronic whiteboard that prints out your brainstorming notes?  Nelson Tasman Tourism’s offices, situated upstairs in the Millers Acre Centre, Taha o te Awa, include board and meeting rooms which are available for hire for business meetings when not in use internally.  To inquire about booking, please ring Tracy Penney, Executive Assistant, Nelson Tasman Tourism on 03 546 6228 or email info@NelsonNZ.com

• The Nelson Arts Festival is bringing Brian Richards, recognized as the country's foremost brand strategist, to Nelson to talk at the Granary Festival Café on Thurs 22 Oct at 5pm.   Come along, enjoy a glass of wine and hear what Brian has to say about how the arts community can connect with business to add the cultural ingredients needed to position products and services in a global context. Bookings at Everyman Records 03 548 3083 or online at www.everyman.co.nz