Newsletter September: 2008 brought to you by New Zealand Tourism Online http://www.tourism.net.nz/  In this September Newsletter:
by Garry Bond, General Manager, New Zealand Tourism Online We survived. With the media reporting lowering house sales and general tightening in the economy, it's great to see our industry is robust enough to continue moving forward. And there are good news stories. With just over 70,000 Australians who participated in snowsports during their New Zealand holiday in the year to March 2008 - that's a gain of 30 percent on the previous year. Tourism New Zealand's What's On campaigns have run during the winter season for the past two years, but their latest advertising activity has been created to take advantage of the season's record snow falls. "The New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015 highlights the need for the tourism industry to stimulate demand outside the peak season. The What's On campaign is designed to show the range of activities available in New Zealand at different times of the year and encourage travel in the shoulder and off-peak seasons," said Mr O'Connor. And how about the credit crunch in the US? Over the last few years there's been a war, SARS and the bird flu. Stuff comes up all of the time and New Zealand is lucky enough to be resilient and continues to be a popular travel destination. We are a positive breed overall and I'm sure you'll agree that with the lower mortgage rates, lower petrol prices and more sunshine, we all look forward to a good summer. We've also got an election to participate in. STRAW POLL: Which party will you vote for? Email me with the party name or if you are undecided. I'll publish the results in October. PS: I have no party affiliations but I'm interested in what the tourism industry thinks will be the outcome. WOW A media release from Tourism New Zealand. With a record number of international entries, judges and media the Montana World of Wearable™ Art (WOW®) Awards Show entered its twentieth year in global style. This year an unprecedented third of all garments hail from international designers, from countries as far afield as the UK, US, India, Japan, Thailand, Germany, Israel and Canada. The event displayed a special showcase dress created for Paris Fashion Week by Indian designer Manish Arora. As a sponsor of WOW since 2001, Tourism New Zealand has helped build the profile of this premier art event internationally by hosting international media and working closely with designers and design students in the markets in which it operates. Tourism New Zealand hosts 11 international publications for WOW this year, as well as the BBC and German television network ZDF. These publications and programmes will reach an audience of over 200 million, with ZDF alone likely to be watched by over 100 million people in Europe. Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton says, "WOW is an ideal opportunity for us to show our international audiences that New Zealand is more than just its landscapes; we are a vibrant nation with a sophisticated art scene and an entrepreneurial spirit. There is no other event quite like this and the media love that." Click here to read the rest of the article Featured Tourism Operator – Budget  Budget New Zealand is a recognised leader in the rental car industry, offering excellent rates on late model vehicles. Budget understands the needs of today's corporate and leisure travellers and provides a quick and easy online booking option and access to special online rates and discounts. - Book online and receive a further discount on the best rate of the day
- Simple three step booking process
- Create, amend, or cancel reservations online
- Wide range of vehicle options available so you can select the right car for your needs
- All Budget rentals are covered by 24 Hour AA Roadside Assistance
- Late model – low kilometre vehicle fleet
- Value for money – Budget drives your dollar further
Visit Budget Car Rentals for the best deals on rental cars. Web Marketing Options It's coming up to the busy season and now is a great time to market yourself. New Zealand Tourism Online provides tourism operators with an extensive range of advertising solutions, from simple listings to engaging audio-visual presentations. As we have a huge profile in search engines, and about 200,000 unique visitors every single month, advertising on New Zealand Tourism Online effectively means quality traffic is being driven to your door. SPECIAL DEAL --> Buy any one of the feature positions before the end of October 08 and get an extra month for free. Have a look at the many options. There are some excellent marketing spots including: Major Category Feature Spot – Only 4 spots For a higher profile, consider adding a Major Category Feature spot listing (limited options – please check with us). This can appear in a major category such as Transport. Only your business is featured so it's exclusively yours for the listing period. Example: Accommodation Map Category Feature Spot – High Profile Maybe you want to be profiled in your own category, such as boutique and heritage accommodation or scenic tours? Only your business is featured so it's exclusively yours for the listing period. Map Category Feature spot listings provide great exposure on the map page. Example: Apartments Activities Feature Spot – Ideal for Attractions and Activities Feature your business on a visitor information page specific to your attraction or activity e.g. bungy jumping, horse riding or even weddings. Only your business is featured so it's exclusively yours for the listing period. Great opportunity to get an Activities Feature spot so your business is in front of those who want to know more. Example: Bungy Jumping Regional Feature Spot – Regional Exposure For visitors who want to know more about a region, what there is to do, its history and scenic highlights, why not grab a Regional Feature spot? A maximum of 4 spots are available per region. Some regions are fully booked already so please check or ask us. Example: Auckland Driving Route Feature Spot – Great for Accommodation or Rental Cars/Motorhomes Ideal if you wish to target those visitors who are self-driving around New Zealand. Two different feature spots are available. The Driving Route Feature spot is a large feature which rotates (a max of 4 spots) while the Driving Route Details spots cover an actual driving route between two cities in detail (a max of 4 spots). Example (Driving Route Feature): Auckland Example (Driving Route Details): Auckland-Rotorua-Wellington Audio Visual Clip (AV) – Very Popular According to the latest PhoCusWright Consumer Travel Trends Survey, nine out of ten online travel buyers (89%) say travel-related podcasts or online video influence their travel purchases. Join the 100's of tourism operators who already have an Audio Visual clip. A highly professional studio recorded multimedia clip is personalised for your business. Very cost effective. Note: New Zealand Tourism Online produce a Yellow Pages version of this AV and are selling heaps of them! Example: Audio Visual Directory BUY or CHECK AVAILABILITY SPOT Simply email us to order or to check the availability (give us the details of what you are interested in), contact your tourism consultant directly or call us on 0800-14-65-49. Building a Web Site – Tips It is not just a Web Site. It is where the bricks-and-mortar world meets the clicks-and-mortar world, and your Web Site has an impact on your company image and reputation. Your online market presence must meets the expectations of your site visitors. A visit to your site must not only meet the visitor's needs, but also to ensure return visits. After all, what good is your site if you only get someone to stop by once and never return again (although gaining a booking is good result). There are many different objectives and strategies for various Web Sites, but one fundamental objective is to have visitors bookmark the site and return again. So how can you satisfy your visitors' needs and increase the frequency of visits from the same visitors? There is no magic formula or secrets that will do it. However, laying the foundation of your site by answering five basic questions prior to building your site will allow you to develop an online presence that meets your business goals and encourages visitors to return to your site. The five questions to be answered are:
1) Who is your target audience,
2) What are your Web Site objectives,
3) What does a visitor expect from your site,
4) What do you want the visitor to leave with, and
5) Why should a visitor return to your site? Click here to read the rest of the article We welcome any feedback – send your comments to : news@tourism.net.nz Regards, The Team
Ph 0800 14 65 49
http://www.tourism.net.nz/
New Zealand Tourism Online
Head Office: 179 Tuam Street, Christchurch | 
