04 Mar 2005

An obvious trend emerging from market research about the tourist sector of New Zealand is that overseas travellers are coming here to have a natural experience in a local setting. In response to this tourist operators in the regions are stepping up their strategies to expose themselves to this market.

A key to maintaining business is to develop relationships with key stakeholders who have the infrastructure to expose your service or product to potential markets. This is a key theme that is being resounded from within the confines of the Hui Taumata forum.

As an example of this Jason's Travel has recently shared that their research shows oversea's travellers are choosing to travel to the regions rather than to the cities. Due to this Jason's Travel is developing a relationship with a regional developer, namely Venture Taranaki. Venture Taranaki is about to implement the Taranaki Tourism Strategy and business plan. These two key stakeholders have come together to make an opportunity from current market research. Jason's will support Venture Taranaki by providing operational support such as distributing brochures, updating data and producing maps. Jason's website contains more than 25,000 tourism business listings, thousands of travel articles and hundreds of maps. The website has hits from international travellers wanting to visit New Zealand.

Another method for exposure is to develop joint focussed marketing strategies with other local operators, which focuses in on the region rather than the operation itself. For example the Southern Lakes Marketing Board has spent $20,000 on theming to ensure there is a strong Southern Lakes presence at the tourism trade show, Trenz. Tren is New Zealand's most significant international tourism trade show bring together tourist operators and companies together with international connections and buyers. There will be 52 operators taking part from Queenstown, Wanaka, Central Otago and Fiordland. This year Trenz will be hosted in Christchurch from 13th-16th of June 2005.

The Government has come on board and is about to call for applications for grants from the new Toursim Demand Subsidy Scheme to meet infrastrutural issues in the regions with high tourist impact but little available revenue for community development due to the lack of rate payers. Under this fund the government will be assiting regional communites to meet high tourism numbers by upgrading their water and wastewater infrasturcture. Meanwhile, seeing the risk of capacity restraints at a regional level and the potential for growth in tourism in these areas the Government is working on a 3-year project to model current tourist flows and forecast tourism flows around the country. For more information visit their website

Maori have a huge potential to create new opportunities for economic development at a regional level, especially through growing Tourism. Maori not only currently hold key stakes in major tourist operations in New Zealand they also have the opportunity to utilise their customary knowledge and assets to develop relationships within their local regions in a way that creates a deeper imprint within this market. Maori have plenty of opportunity to be recognised as key developers of regional infrastructure, especially if it is to maximise return from their customary assets derived from whakapapa and maintained through ahi kaa.