February 29, 2008

Kia Ora !*FIRSTNAME*!,

Top honours for RBAN

The Rotorua Backpackers and Adventure Network (RBAN) took out the Highly Commended Showstopper Award at the recent Melbourne Adventure Travel and Backpackers Expo, placing it in the top three of 167 stands.

The award was judged anonymously on criteria that included visual impact, message presentation and the interactive abilities of the booth personnel. The award recognises the awesome work done by Sarah Christie (NZONE/Kaitiaki ) Haylee Bloor (Zorb) and Natasha Barber (Skyline Skyrides) in promoting the RBAN and the Rotorua region.

Everybody was impressed with the fantastic vibe created by the girls, the reggae sounds of Katchafire and the awesome products the RBAN represents.  

Check out the new look backpacker website that was recently given a major revamp.
www.backpackrotoruaNZ.com

Submissions for TRENZ issue

The wheels for the TRENZ 2008 edition of DRTM’s In Essence trade and media magazine are about to start turning. Rotorua operators with new commissionable developments, products or services have two weeks to register to promote their businesses FOC to international buyers attending TRENZ, as well as the regular trade and media recipients. Click here for deadline details and the criteria for making an In Essence submission.

AIME

Conference and incentive co-ordinator Melissa Gray attended AsiaPacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME), on February 19 and 20, and says it was very successful.

“Buyers showed great interest in Rotorua, particularly with the airport going trans-Tasman.”

Diana Moore and Michelle Adams from Events and Venues and Lynley Martin from Skyline Skyrides also attended.

More like 1001

As part of this year’s AA ‘I love you NZ’ campaign, DRTM has compiled a list of 101 favourite Rotorua experiences. Coming up with a list of 101 favourite things to do in Rotorua proved to be a headache for DRTM’s domestic and events co-ordinator Hayley McVicar.

“It was hard to limit it to 101 when Rotorua has more like 1001 things to do,” she says. Mountain biking featured top of the list, which can be viewed here.

The new campaign starts just after Easter. Picks will be loaded to the AA website (www.aatravel.co.nz) in March.

Last year public voting on the AA website ensured that Rotorua featured six times in the list of the country’s top attractions, activities or experiences.

Website a winner

Latest statistics show DRTM’s website is a hit. There have been 25,343 visits in the past month, 20,272 absolute unique visitors and 207,131 page views. The average time spent on the site is six minutes, 53 seconds and 26.97 per cent of users are returning visitors.

The most downloaded file is the walking tracks brochure, with 152 downloaded in the past month.This is followed by the C and I planner, with 79 downloaded and the Rotorua Visitor Guide 2008, with 62.

New girl in the office

DRTM welcomes Karlene McCormick to the team. The new office administrator, Karlene has been a travel consultant at Holiday Shoppe Rotorua for the past six years. Prior to that she held various administration roles. She starts at DRTM on March 25, replacing Christine Murrow, who is relocating to Canada.

NZ goes ‘green and gold’ for Aussies

A new series of advertisements that successfully promoted New Zealand in the Australian market under the ‘What’s On in New Zealand’ tagline was launched on February 3. Announcing a further extension to the highly successful What’s On campaign, Minister of Tourism Damien O’Connor said since the launch of the campaign in August 2006, the number of Australians visiting New Zealand increased by more than nine per cent.

“As a thank you, New Zealand is paying homage to Australia’s national colours claiming to turn New Zealand ‘green and gold’ to welcome them in the autumn months.”

The What’s On campaign focuses on promoting off-peak seasons and specific seasonal events to give Australians more reason to visit New Zealand, and ideas to encourage them to do so outside the peak summer months.

Australia is a vital market for this country’s tourism industry, providing more than 38 per cent of New Zealand’s visitors last year, the minister added.

To view the ads go to www.tourismnewzealand.com

Grand old lady marks century

The Rotorua Museum team is gearing up to celebrate the building’s centenary on August 13. While the Bath House opened to the public for spa treatments in May 1908, the official opening was held on August 13 to coincide with a visit from the US Great White Fleet to New Zealand in August 1908, museum marketing manager Catherine Donovan says.

“The global show of force by the US Navy and its involvement with the opening a colonial spa facility in a fledgling tourism town is one of the intriguing stories that will be brought to light and celebrated to mark the building’s colourful 100-year history.”

The Great White Fleet was a US naval force that circumnavigated the world (between Dec 1907 and Feb 1909) on then US president Teddy Roosevelt’s orders to demonstrate the growing military might of the US. Some 100,000 people (10% of Auckland’s population) lined every vantage point as the fleet sailed into Waitemata Harbour on August 9, 1908.

Tarawera update

With the takeover of the Landing Café (which will reopen as a casual pizza café, garden bar and general store) looming on July 1, Clearwater Cruises owner/operator Paul Connell is working hard behind the scenes to ensure The Landing Lake Tarawera becomes what he calls “the gateway to adventure activities” in the area.

A booking office, to open at the Landing on July 1, will offer a number of tourism options to enable visitors to explore the lake and mountain. Options include private charters on two luxuriously appointed Clearwater Cruises vessels, self-drive pontoon boats, pedal boat and canoe hire, guided boat trout fishing, guided lake-edge fly fishing, water taxi services, guided tramping, mountain biking and tramping combos including a boat cruise to the Tarawera Outlet, guided kayak tours (full day activity or twilight paddle options), scenic helicopter flights with optional Mt Tarawera landing and scenic floatplane flights.

There will also be various combo packages that could include the Landing Café, Clearwater Cruises, Waimangu Volcanic Valley, Buried Village, guided kayaking, helicopters and floatplanes on request. Paul is also working on an exciting half-day Pink and White Terrace combo that he says is really interesting.

Open day ‘buzzing’

WHAKAnuia!, the inaugural event at Whakarewarewa The Living Thermal Village on Waitangi Day, was a great success. WHAKAnuia!, which means to acknowledge, to promote, to celebrate, was about bringing the community together to celebrate Waitangi Day as a Rotorua day. It was the first time tangata whenua had run such an initiative, and Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick congratulated Whakarewarewa for its vision.

More than 2500 people attended, enjoying the various activities and gaining an insight into daily life at Whakarewarewa. Marketing co-ordinator Justin Te Hau said the village was buzzing, creating the perfect atmosphere. 

“Feedback has been excellent and we were still getting comments from people three weeks after the event.”  

One of the day’s highlights was the native tree planting ceremony. Local children escorted representatives of various ethnic groups to plant their native tree and plaque around one of the vilage’s walking tracks. Visitors to Whakarewarewa can now learn what different cultures live in Rotorua. 

WHAKAnuia! will be held again on February 6, 2009.

Hip Hip Hupai!

BNZ Operation Nest Egg is celebrating its 1000 th kiwi chick, born on February 18 at Rotorua’s Kiwi Encounter.

Hupai, which means ‘to overcome’, is a North Island brown kiwi. Its birth marks a significant milestone in the programme’s 14-year history. BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust executive director Michelle Impey says Hupai’s arrival is a symbol of hope for New Zealand’s icon.

‘I would like to thank the hundreds of community volunteers, Department of Conservation staff and workers at captive facilities around the country that have got us to this point. Without BNZ Operation Nest Egg and everyone involved, small kiwi populations would have a very difficult road to recovery and an uncertain future,” she says.

Hupai will be returned to its home at Waimarino, near Wanganui. Its name was the winning entry in a ‘name the chick’ competition, chosen from almost 1000 entries.

Exciting new opportunity with Tourism NZ

Tourism New Zealand would like to pass on an exciting opportunity to operators – The Pure Enterprise Mission to the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.

This is a great way to establish contacts in this vital market for New Zealand, under the guidance of Tourism New Zealand. For more information visit www.tourismnewzealand.com

Go hog wild?

Passionate Harley Davidson motorbike enthusiasts, Torrey and Kerri Houghton, own and operate Wild and Free Harley Tours. The couple says its new Rotorua-based company is committed to providing safe, fun, and exciting Harley tours for visitors looking for something a bit different. The five set tours on offer range from a 90-minute Lake Tarawera option to a five-hour around the lakes day tour. All tours showcase the best of the region’s scenic landscape. Customised tours can also be organised for those who are feeling a little wild and want to design a personalised Harley tour.

For more information visit www.harleytourswildandfree.co.nz

Personalised shopping

Essence of New Zealand has added an exciting new option to its line up at Pukeko Landing on Lake Tarawera – a stylist. Taupo-based Fiona Nelson, of Style to Die For, is working for Essence of New Zealand to offer Pukeko Landing guests customised shopping tours. Essence of New Zealand managing director Jennifer McBrearty says the new option is in keeping with Pukeko Landing’s philosophy of providing a haven for guests.

“Our guests often have limited time, are seeking an ‘away from it all’ sanctuary and don’t want to leave.”

The desire to take home a memento of Rotorua and/or New Zealand will take them into the city centre, but they often miss the best outlets and products, she says.

“Rotorua has some wonderful retailers, artists’ studios and the like, but often it isn’t easy to discover on your own.”

Fiona will plan and host customised shopping itineraries tailored to the interests and expectations of guests. Essence of New Zealand is also offering styling workshops run by Fiona and based at Pukeko Landing. For small groups only, they would be ideal as a partners’ programme option.

Free tourism-related course offered

The Hei Manaaki Tourism programme is designed for people working in tourism industry or wish to pursue a career in the industry.

The free programme comprises two 18-week courses. On completion students are awarded an NZQA national certificate in tourism Maori, levels three and four. 

Hei Manaaki equips students with a range of transferable skills and a thorough grounding in the industry, while giving them an appreciation of Maori cultural elements as it applies within tourism. It also gives them a good understanding of Maori culture and local history. 

Case studies of local and national tourism businesses are discussed while studying visitor services, communication, customer services, cross–cultural communication, professional development and knowledge of the tourism industry.

Students attend one tutorial a week and get free resources (notes, textbooks and CD Roms). Regular workshops are also held with guest speakers from the industry.  

For more information phone (07) 348 3139 or Cyrus Hingston on 021 290 0121, or email admin.tematamaori@xtra.co.nz

Back into C and I

The Lakeland Queen and Agrodome welcomes new sales and marketing co-ordinator Mary Eriksen. This is a new position to promote the Lakeland Queen and the Agrodome within the conference and incentive market.

Mary has spent the past 17 months at the Novotel and Ibis Rotorua as executive secretary to the general manager/area manager. Before that she was the conference and sales manager at the Grand Tiara (now Distinction Rotorua) for 3.5 years. She is excited about her new role.

Mary will be based at the Lakeland Queen office at the Rotorua city lakefront, working with general manager Denise Siviter. She can be contacted on 07 348 0265 or 027 244 2455, or email

Significant double header

Rotorua’s Nicara Lodge has become the first five-star Qualmarked property in the Rotorua region – and only the second in the North Island - to achieve Green Globe status.

Lodge owners Mike and Heather Johnson are delighted and justifiably so, especially given their self-contained commercial holiday home, Nicara Cottage, has also achieved bronze Green Globe benchmarking approval. In doing so, Nicara Cottage has become New Zealand’s first commercial holiday home property to be benchmarked.

Green Globe is a worldwide benchmarking and certification system for the travel and tourism industry across the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental management. The programme exists for dedicated tourism operators who believe in adopting and maintaining sustainable practices.

The programme exists for dedicated tourism operators who believe in adopting and maintaining sustainable practices.

“If New Zealand is to live the image of being 100% Pure we all have to do our bit,” Mike says.

The couple plans an international announcement of the Green Globe accreditation at the ITB travel trade show in Berlin next from March 5-9.

Service award for Air NZ

Air New Zealand has been recognised with a Passenger Service Award in the Air Transport World (ATW) 34th Annual Industry Achievement Awards. Announced on January 28, the awards were presented to the overall and category winners at ATW’s gala awards dinner at Swisshotel Singapore -The Stamford on February 18. In choosing Air New Zealand, ATW’S editors recognised both the airline's physical product and the service delivered by Air New Zealand staff. The carrier's new Business Premier and Pacific Premium Economy products have been extremely well-received.

In a recent survey, 95 per cent of Air NZ customers said they would recommend the carrier. Air New Zealand, part of the Star Alliance marketing partnership of 19 international airlines, was also acknowledged in the Market Leadership Award that went to the Star Alliance for providing seamless travel product for passengers. Singapore Airlines was named Airline of the Year for 2008. ATW, a leading monthly magazine covering the global airline industry, started the annual airline industry awards in 1974.

 

Wanderlust readers love NZ

For the second year running, New Zealand has been voted the ‘Top Country’ by readers of the UK-based travel publication Wanderlust. New Zealand won after receiving an impressive 96.86 per cent satisfaction rating in the annual awards, which survey the customer satisfaction levels of 3000 travellers over the past year.

“Visitors come to New Zealand looking for unique, authentic experiences, so the fact that this award is based on visitor satisfaction is something our tourism industry can be very proud of,” Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton says.

Wanderlust says New Zealand’s growing popularity as a filming location has also helped raise its profile as a holiday destination. Madagascar and Namibia were voted into second and third place respectively. This award follows New Zealand win for best holiday destination worldwide as voted by readers of the British Daily Telegraph newspaper in November 2007.

Local favourite

Congratulations to one of Rotorua’s fine dining options for achieving the highest culinary standard in cooking lamb and beef for the eighth year in a row. Bistro 1284 now displays a 2008 New Zealand Beef and Lamb Hallmark of Excellence presentation plate along with its seven beef and lamb excellence awards. The New Zealand Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau organises the anonymous hallmark assessments annually to acknowledge a consistently high standard of beef and lamb cuisine. The bistro also has a new head chef, Dale Mutu. Dale trained under previous owner Damon McGinniss for three years and has been in the industry for the past 10 years.

New Zealand International Visitor Arrivals (IVA)

International visitor arrivals to New Zealand for the month of December 2007 were down 0.6 per cent over December 2006. Arrivals were up from  Australia (up 3.8 per cent),  China (up 7.2 per cent) and Germany (up 9 per cent). There were fewer arrivals from the UK (down 9.7 per cent), the US (down 4.9 per cent), Japan (down 13.7 per cent) and  Korea (down 31.1 per cent). 

Rotorua Commercial Accommodation Monitor (CAM)

Visitor arrivals to Rotorua commercial accommodation providers for the month of December 2007 were down 3.7 per cent over December 2006. Domestic visitor nights were down 4.9 per cent and international visitor nights were down 1.6 per cent, resulting in a 3.1 per cent decrease in visitor nights overall. Nationally, visitor nights spent in commercial accommodation for the same period increased by 0.9 per cent.

Rotorua Attraction Monitor

Visits to Rotorua Attraction Monitor participant businesses for the month of December 2007 were up 1.0 per cent over December 2006. For the same period domestic attraction visits were up 16.0 per cent and international attraction visits were down 4.6 per cent. 

Rotorua District Hosted Accommodation Survey 2007

DRTM commissioned APR Consultants Ltd to assess and analyse visitor activity associated with hosted accommodation in the Rotorua District.  The results of this survey have provided a greater understanding of the hosted accommodation sector than has been available in the past. When repeated in future years it will provide a valuable benchmark for determining changes in the sector over time.   

Click here to view highlights of the Rotorua District Hosted Accommodation Survey 2007

For more information or to subscribe to any of the above monitors, contact DRTM's Research Co-ordinator, Gina George on (07) 349 7289 or email

Sustainability in action

Come and join members of the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter for a fun-filled afternoon of learning at the Buried Village. The afternoon includes a guided site visit of the Buried Village to discover steps taken and future plans towards increased sustainability, afternoon tea and the chance to learn something new at an 'energy' presentation.

When:

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Time:

1.30-4pm

Where:

The Buried Village

Cost:

$5 or more donation to the Cancer Society's Relay for Life appeal. Payable on arrival at the Buried Village

Carpool:

Please indicate if you want a ride or have seats available for car pooling

RSVP:

by March 13, 2008

Limited to 40 spaces.  Non-charter members on a space-available basis.

To find out more about joining the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter visit www.sustainableNZ.com or call Eldad Collins on (07) 349 8325 or Gina George on (07) 349 7289.


More FM Triwoman Series
Saturday, March 1 at Blue Lake Reserve.

Kingsgate Hotel Rotorua Half Marathon and New Balance 10k Fun Run
March 16 from at Long Mile Rd, Whakarewarewa Forest.

Whakatane-Rotorua-Taupo Bike Odyssey
March 21-23 between Whakatane, Rotorua and Taupo.

Easter Speedway Extravaganza
March 22-23 at Paradise Valley Raceway

For more information and a comprehensive list of events check out www.rotoruanz.com/events

We have collected your contact details. This information is collected to enable us to keep you up to date with tourism news pertinent to the Rotorua tourism market and keep you informed of the activities of the Destination Rotorua Marketing office. We will not disclose your contact details to third parties.

 

Jill Marshall
Communications Manager
Destination Rotorua Marketing
Private Bag 3007, Rotorua
Phone +64 7 349 7285
Fax +64 7 349 4133