Nelson Tasman Tourism December 2011 Newsletter

Christmas greetings to everyone! I hope this newsletter finds you in good health, good spirits and ready to open your doors to welcome visitors and holiday-makers over the festive season. It has certainly been a big week and thank you for your support in getting positive messages out to New Zealand (and the world) that the Nelson Tasman region is OPEN. Our thoughts go out to families and businesses that are experiencing storm damage from the floods and we hope for a speedy recovery process. What a fantastic job Nelson City Council and Tasman District councils have done over the past week. The urgency with getting the recovery underway with the most important six-week trading period coming up for retailers, restaurants, cafes, bars and tourism operators has been remarkable. It has been great to see such a united effort with industry, the Department of Conservation and community groups striving to get ready for the holiday flow of visitors.

The year 2011 has been the most difficult period of trading for the New Zealand tourism industry in three decades. The global financial crisis shows no weakening at the moment and the effects of the Canterbury earthquakes will continue to affect South Island tourism for some time. Just when we're feeling cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season, we are hit with a real whammy with the rain. What this year has proven is that the way we conduct business these days is very different from a few years ago when we had time to plan and be more proactive with our activities. The arrival and use of social media is changing the way the world sees us and how we need to engage with it. Booking patterns have changed with much shorter lead times which means our approach to business is now more reactive. One has to be quick to adapt or be at risk of missing the boat.

It has been a real privilege working with you all over the past twelve months. We hope the season will be productive and that you get a few minutes to soak up the sun and enjoy the great outdoors we live in.

Take care and all the best from Lynda and the NTT team.

Shoulder/Winter CAM Statistics 2011   

(Source: Statistics New Zealand Commercial Accommodation Monitor October 2011)

• Total Guest Nights in the Nelson Tasman (NT) region shows growth over the past seven months. Source: Statistics NZ Oct 2011
• Of fifteen South Island regions, NT produced the second highest growth with 19.7% total guest nights compared to October 2010, behind Clutha District which produced 36.8%. Six regions in the South Island produced a positive growth result. The total South Island Guest Night result was -11.3%.  
• NT region is one of fifteen regions in New Zealand that is showing year-to-date growth with 2.0% as at 31 October 2011. Four of fifteen South Island regions are showing YTD growth. Other regions being Hurunui (11.7%), Mackenzie (4.9%), Wanaka (13.5%) and Dunedin (1.3%). The total South Island YTD Guest Night result is -7.3%.
• International Guest Nights show growth for six out of the past seven months in 2011. Strong growth of international guest nights during September (35.6%) and October (22.8%) during RWC2011 period.
• Domestic Guest Nights show a little growth in April and May and strong growth during the winter period with June (20.0%), July (31.2%) and August (28.7%). Growth compared to months in 2010 attributed to increased conference business (Christchurch effect), marketing the destination more actively in the convention sector and more travel from Canterbury market which normally occurs in the summer, which did occur in Dec, Jan, Feb 2011 this year. A drop in domestic visitation in September attributed to corporate market not travelling until after the RWC2011 event occurred in the region. Growth in October 2011 domestic result due to South Island Masters Games, return of corporate market and additional conference business.

Update On newzealand.com

Tourism operators can maintain a presence on newzealand.com by publishing business listings, promoting travel deals and writing articles for free.  There are more than one million monthly visits to Tourism New Zealand's website, newzealand.com, and your listing is where you can provide essential information about your business to potential customers.  Registered operators who publish articles and deals attributed to their business are seeing ten times the click-thru rate compared to having a business listing alone.

For those operators already registered on newzealand.com, it pays to take some time to update your listing making sure your information is up-to-date and accurate, and add articles and deals.  There is no cost to do this and it will help you benefit from more visits to your own website.  Click here to find out how to edit your listing.  If you would like more information or to register online, click here

Introducing Angela Hunter, Convention & Incentive Marketing Manager

Angela Hunter (Ange) is thrilled to have been appointed the new Convention and Incentive Marketing Manager for Nelson Tasman Tourism (new title for Domestic Marketing Manager). Angela has recently shifted from Auckland to follow love, laughter and sunshine in beautiful Nelson Tasman with no regrets! 

After completing a Bachelor of Commerce with a double major in Marketing and Management at Auckland University, Angela went on to work five years in sales and marketing, organising events, tradeshows and functions for Composite Retail Services (a dedicated retail support network, bringing retailers and suppliers from several business skews together on a membership basis). The job was diverse and allowed her to attend many apparel and conference industry expos, including Meetings Expo, Fashion Exposed in Australia and Hong Kong Fashion Week. For the last year, Angela has worked to build strong client relationships as an Account Manager in the property division, for internet auction giant, TradeMe. 

Angela's other interests include travel, fitness and the outdoors; more good reasons why Nelson Tasman is the perfect region to promote and live in. Angela's excited to have been given this opportunity and is looking forward to meeting and working with you all. 

International Media Hosting

The year continues to rocket by with unprecedented media interest keeping Loren and Tracee busy hosting a number of media recently including the lively and fun Society of American Travel Writers! This group consisted of 22 different travel writers from North America including a number of freelancers, authors, photographers and writers from USA Today, Global Traveller, The Washington Post, Wanderlust, whereivebeeen.com, away.com, and globaltravelerusa.com.

The region has also recently hosted journalists from The Huffington Post, Vogue Germany, Channel 5 France and Beyond Travel – China 's major travel channel. 

International Trade Famils

STA Travel Famil

In early December Nelson Tasman Tourism hosted 12 travel agents from STA Travel, the largest student and youth travel agent in the world. They offer travel packages for backpackers and young people below the age of 30 years.  The regional famil offered experiences in youth and adventure activities in conjunction with Flying Kiwi Tours, and with the support of Tourism New Zealand.  The 12 agents spent one night in the Abel Tasman National Park and one night on Whakatu Marae.

Australian Product Manager & Campaign Agency Famil

Two Product Managers from Australian agencies ANZCRO and Zuji Holidays visited Nelson in mid-November to experience 3–4 star accommodation and activities. They were joined by two Tourism New Zealand staff and four representatives from Whybin/TBWA – TNZ's creative ad campaign company.

Offshore Marketing

Loren recently travelled to Auckland and Australia making sales calls to key IBOs, tour group operators and travel trade. A list of trade visited is below as well as some key findings;
Sydney – Bill Peach Journeys, Kirra Tours, Goway Travel, Swain, Qantas Holidays, Stella Travel Services, Tourism New Zealand Trade and PR.
Gold Coast – ANZCRO.
Brisbane  – wotif.com, Flight Centre.

Infinity (Stella Travel) is over performing considerably after a Tourism New Zealand campaign and roadshow involving their Australian based clientele was held. IMM was invited to attend this roadshow, however the dates conflicted with Nelson RWC games.

Wotif.com and Expedia are performing well in the lead up to summer, particularly with Wotif working in conjunction with Tourism New Zealand in the South Island Road Trips Joint Venture Campaign. They are both planning strong 2012 campaigns and leveraging online using Facebook, EDMs, Twitter, and news website advertising.

Operator/Cafe & Restaurant Christmas and New Year Opening Hours

Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you will be closed at any stage over the Christmas and New Year period 24 Dec – 4 Jan or have amended schedules over this period.

If you are a café or restaurant and you haven't already done so, please email Michael your opening hours over this same period and also attach any applicable menus available.

Here is a list of those open for Christmas Day dining (as of the 6/12/11);

Summer & Holiday Opening Hours

The office of Nelson Tasman Tourism will close at 4pm on Thursday 22 December and reopen Wednesday 4 January. 

Hours for the i-SITEs are as follows;

Monthly Statistics

Website Visits - www.NelsonNZ.com

Events Marketing and Development News 

Sponsored Event Update

Through Sept and Oct, a number of key sponsored events took place including  Oi You!, The Italian Festival, Taste Nelson, The Nelson Cycle Festival, the Mixed Foursomes Golf Championships and the South Island Masters Games. Combined, these events entertained over 15,000 visitors!

 Other events that have received sponsorship funding which will take place next year include:

• Nelson Nines 2012                            3 Mar-12
• MarchFest 2012                                24 & 25 Mar-12
• Kiwi Flyer Premiere 2012                    Apr-12

The Nelson Events Marketing & Development Programme is funded by the Nelson City Council to stimulate Nelson City 's economy by attracting additional visitors and spend to the city. This is achieved by focussing on developing events that fit with Nelson's distinct identity and take place in the shoulder and off seasons.

If you would like to learn more about the programme and find out if your event is eligible for sponsorship funding, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Events Marketing & Development Coordinator at Nelson Tasman Tourism. Applications are considered quarterly, with the next round closing on 1 February 2012.

ItsOn

ItsOn is Nelson Tasman's number one events website, and the best source of what's coming up in the region.

Over the last year, it has seen continued growth, with 59,115 absolute unique visitors (83% increase), viewing 403,901 web pages (+65%) with an average of 3.8 pages per visit. 68% of visits to the website are from outside the Nelson Tasman region, indicating that visitors are researching what's on as part of their planning prior to arriving in the region.

Keep up to date on what's coming up by signing up to receive free weekly event newsletters by email, click here or check out the competitions to win tickets to events!

Here is a selection of events coming up over the next month:

Woollaston Nelson Jazz and Blues Festival
Port Nelson Street Races
Interislander Summer Festival at the Harness Races
Annual Tahunanui Arts and Craft Fair
Nelson Classic & Vintage Motorcycle Show
Solar City Summer Movies
Trafalgar Square Countdown
Brightwater Wine and Food Festival

ItsOn is an initiative of Nelson City Council and is supported by Tasman District Council, MORE FM and Wild Tomato. Listing events on the website is completely free! To load your event, go to www.ItsOn.co.nz and click on Event Organisers.

What's New - Operator Update

• UBike's kiosk is located beside the Maitai River just along from Nelson i-SITE and offers cycle hire including electric – just choose a bike, a trail and go for it.  Check out www.ubike.co.nz for more information
• Congratulations to Anatoki Salmon on their recent Qualmark Enviro Gold accreditation
• BBH World Traveller Accommodation has recently announced the recipients of the 2011 National Quality Awards and congratulations to The Bug in Vanguard St , who won their division

Snippets

• Qualmark has introduced new motel and apartment sectors to provide greater relevance to travellers who it says have struggled with the self contained & serviced title. It says inbound tour operators and wholesalers had also asked for greater differentiation within these developing sectors. Read more.
• Check out the latest Fly Buys/Colmar Brunton Mood of the New Zealand Traveller report

Quick E-Tips

• Changing a personal Facebook page to a business page - in the early days of Facebook many businesses incorrectly set themselves up with a personal profile instead of a Facebook business page. One of the common questions at TIA's Social Media & Online Technology workshops is "can we migrate our personal Facebook page to a business one?" Cabbage Tree Creative says it now appears you can. Find out more.
• Tips to create loyal Facebook fans - with Facebook users numbering 800 million according to the company, the social networking site is an important marketing tool for many businesses. This article includes tips to help you create loyal fans, including creating consistent calls to action, focusing on smart branding, making word-of-mouth advocacy easy and monitoring, measuring and tracking your fans.