Please distribute to all staff

July 23, 2010

In This Issue

• Destination Television
• Air New Zealand
• International Update
• Domestic Update
• C&I Update
• Media Result
• Visitor Activity Statistics
• Sustainability
• Events - August 2010
• Dates for the Diary

Destination Television

DRTM supported the production of two Rotorua programmes earlier in the year that will shortly be screening.

New Zealand on a Plate 3
Rotorua Episode – TVNZ TVOne, screening in October. Saturday 5pm, premiere date to be confirmed.
Rotorua Episode – Channel 7, Sydney and NSW, Sunday 25th July 2010, 5.30pm
Rotorua Episode – Air NZ IFE, as of 1st September 2010, for at least 3 months all international flights – possibly 6 months
International screenings will follow with Electric Sky - TVB Hong Kong.
Destination NZ Hit the Road Series 4
Rotorua Episode – Air NZ IFE, as of 1st September 2010 – for at least 6 months all international flights
Channel 7 Australia – later this year Q4
Sky Living TV – looking at September, schedule to be confirmed.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF THIS IN FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT ACTIVITY.

Get your business on board Air New Zealand and in front of up to 250,000 inbound travelers every month! 

Destination Television produces Air New Zealand’s - ARRIVAL NZ Programmes.
Rotorua will now be included in the ARRIVAL NZ programme line up!
Thanks to Destination Rotorua for their continued support in making this happen!

The first ‘ARRIVAL NZ – Rotorua’ programme will be on board Air New Zealand from 1st December 2010 and runs until 31st May 2011. The ‘ARRIVAL NZ – Rotorua’ programme is your first media opportunity to target inbound travelers. The 10 minute Rotorua programme aims to tell a story about Rotorua and the surrounding Central Park region. It will educate viewers on everything from Maori culture to transport options, services, activities, attractions, accommodation, shopping and dining experiences all within this fantastic part of the country!

If you would like to find out more about promoting within the ‘ARRIVAL NZ – Rotorua’ programme, please contact Nicola – Nicola@destinationtelevision.co.nz or phone 021 361 186. 

Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand Australia Campaign

AIR NEW ZEALAND’s Rotorua advertising campaign will be in market Sunday 25 July for 7 days. The travel periods are 14 August – 18 September and 12 October – 11 December 2010. Air New Zealand’s promoting a $199 one way fare level and a couple of holiday deals plus $1 deals. Here’s an example of a double page strip advertisement. These will feature alongside the Rotorua feature in Sydney’s Sunday’s newspaper.

Air New Zealand Holidays

In addition to the print campaign there will be supporting Online Activity. Here is a screenshot of the eDM which will be deployed by a third party. We have purchased lists from the Australian Lifestyle Survey targeting people (approx 6000 NSW residents) who are considering visiting NZ in the next 12 months, interested in long weekends/short breaks, like action/adventure, nature/camping, luxury etc. The eDM will have links to airnz.com.au, rotoruanz.com.au and airnz.com.au/holidays.

International Update

DRTM General Manager, Don Gunn, is currently in Shanghai on sales calls. He is also travelling in China with the Bay of Plenty delegation. Then onto London for TNZ UK product managers update and Frontliner’s training. Don returns to the office August 3.

Domestic Update

Domestic Update: For any clarification of any of the information in this section please contact craig@rotoruanz.com

Media Schedule

Domestic advertising for the previous month have included the following online activity:

• Banner ads promoting Rotorua on:
• MSN and MSN e-newsletter direct mail out
• Vorb website
• Spoke website
• Endurance Sport website
• Rotorua ‘Thrill Me / Pamper Me’ wallpaper skin on View Auckland website

Been There - AA

In case you haven’t heard AA Tourism have now ventured into the traveler rating review space and introduced their new programme Been There to their website.
This feature allows validated guests to comment and share their traveling experiences with others and provide a rating review out of 10. Once again this is something worth keeping an eye on to understand consumer experiences and be able to address or leverage off any opportunities that may arise.

2010- 2011 Activity Plan

The final touches are currently being put in place for the Rotorua Domestic & Events activity plan for the next 12 months. Once this in place we can send a copy out to you and would encourage you to match against your domestic activity to perhaps utilise opportunities where we are promoting to your target markets.

Domestic E-newsletter

The winter edition of the Rotorua domestic e-newsletter has been sent to our database covering winter events, hot deals, new products and city updates.

C&I Update

C&I Update: For any clarification of any of the information in this section please contact
denise@rotoruanz.com

The past few months have been busy for the Rotorua Convention Bureau.

As with most years, Meetings 2010 has been one of the biggest dates on the bureau’s calendar. Meetings is New Zealand’s only national business tourism event for the conference, events, exhibition and incentive travel industry. It offers buyers a one-stop-shop business solution and the chance to learn about new products.

This year’s event, held in Auckland on June 23 and 24, was a huge success for the bureau. It received a large number of quotes and familiarisation (famil) requests from New Zealand and Australian businesses.

“Trans-Tasman flights have put us into the playing field out of Australia for conferences and incentives,” bureau manager Denise Siviter said. “We had two full appointment streams, as well as additional meetings with clients who could not get an appointment with us during the request period and a number of day buyers who were keen to get an update.”

Part of the bureau's strategy this year is to sell Rotorua to conference organisers with pre- and post-famil options. This gives the guests the opportunity to come either a few days before or after their conference to enjoy the hospitality of the Rotorua region.

Upcoming initiatives for the Rotorua Convention Bureau include a famil out of Sydney in late August, in conjunction with Air NZ, and up to three famils for New Zealand conference organisers from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The Australian famil brings 10 key decision makers from the conference and incentive market to Rotorua on August 28. These guests will stay at a top hotel and be thrilled, pampered and freed over three days, as well as having the opportunity to be part of the Rotorua Wearable Creations ‘n Colour Awards.
 
In September the bureau will host a group of key conference and incentive decision makers from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in its annual mega famil which has now got too large to host at one time and will be split into smaller famils giving the clients a more personal touch to their time spent with us . Participants will have the opportunity to meet local tourism operators and enjoy the best of Rotorua’s offerings.

“Familiarisations are a great way for the clients and operators to get together and for the city to show potential clients what we are all about,” Denise says.

“The common feedback is that Rotorua has everything a conference or incentive organiser is looking for. Guests are blown away by the amount of product on offer and often have the problem of trying to fit everything into a few days.”

Great Feedback From A Happy PCO

Took my kids and 7 of my nieces and nephews (argh i know) to Mangakino for a week in the last holidays and the weather was spectacular so one lazy afternoon (after sitting in the sun all day) we decided to head over to Rotorua for the afternoon

I never realised that it was so close or I would have arranged a whole day trip for them!

Anyway we were on a pretty tight budget so we were just going to go to the free thermal park and foot spas... We got lost –kind of – we ended up in Government Gardens and so stopped to ask a guy walking past... I assume from his burly build, fluro vest and his Destination Rotorua tee shirt that he was a council worker. Street maintenance or something along those lines .. I have never in my life meet a council worker so friendly and helpful. He was a credit to Rotorua !! So warm and fuzzys there!!

After Kuirau Park which was heaps of fun for all ages .. my son tried to cook a bamboo shoot while my daughter played in the park and I soaked my toes in the foot spas!!  I was telling them about the Old Baths so we decided to take a look at the Museum.
By this time it was 4:30 and we weren’t actually that hopeful that we would find the Museum open. But the gentleman at the desk welcomed us ... ( last name Buchannan) and offered us a discount as we would only be able to stay there for ½ an hour – it was almost closing time! With 9 kids in tow we really appreciated this. The whole team behind the desk, regardless of the fact that we were the only people there and it was almost closing time, were all friendly and helpful.

The kids loved the music hall and then I forced them to learn some history and took them to the area where they reconstructed the Bath house. It was both beautiful and fascinating, they have done a wonderful job!
But there is more and what a surprise when we ended up on the roof top ... looking out over the whole of Rotorua... with more interesting and easy to read information about Rotorua.  
By the time we had finished exploring it was well after 5pm (about 10 past) but we were not pushed out the door, but were thanked and welcomed back by the friendly staff. We really appreciated it.

I got the impression that Rotorua was a friendly place that took pride in its appearance – everything was well kept and the people were open and friendly and helpful. They seemed proud of their city. It has certainly grown up over the past 15 years ( when I was last there ) Its no longer just a tourist town, but a great place to take the family.

Well done to all the Rotorua City Council and its various outlets – including the Bureau!

Regards
Ceara

Media Result

Rotorua continues to receive great exposure from the Australia journalists that were hosted during the ‘Win your way to Rotorua’ competition earlier in the year. This article from Deborah Dickson-Smith appeared in issue 25 of Out & About with Kids.

View this media result online at rotoruanz.com/media/results

Visitor Activity Statistics

New Zealand Tourism Industry Monitor – July 2010

(Source:  Covec – Tourism Industry Monitor)
Results from the NZ Tourism Industry Monitor indicate New Zealand tourism businesses expect demand to decrease by 0.1% and profitability to increase by 0.2% for the three months commencing 1 July 2010 over the same period of the previous year.  32% of respondents have a positive outlook of demand increasing over this period, while 28% have a neutral outlook and 40% a negative outlook.  The Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Central Plateau regional outlook for growth in demand is in the range of -4% to +1%. 

International Visitor Arrivals (IVA) to New Zealand – June 2010

(Source:  Statistics NZ – External Migration)
International visitor arrivals to New Zealand for the month of June 2010 were up 7.9% over June 2009.  Arrivals were up from Australia (up 7.5%), China (up 115.2%), Japan (up 123.9%) and Korea (up 33.6%).  There were fewer arrivals from UK (down 13.1%), USA (down 8.3%), Germany (down 1.8%) and Canada (down 9.1%).    

Rotorua Commercial Accommodation Monitor (CAM) – May 2010

(Source:  Statistics NZ – Commercial Accommodation Monitor)
Visitor nights spent in Rotorua commercial accommodation for the month of May 2010 were down 13.8% over May 2009 (versus -6.1% nationally) - domestic visitor nights were down 21.3% (versus -9.7% nationally) and international visitor nights were down 2.2% (versus 0.0% nationally).  For the same period, all sectors of Rotorua commercial accommodation had negative growth in visitor nights - hotel sector (down 0.4%), motels (down 21.6%), holiday parks (down 26.3%) and backpackers (down 24.8%).    

Rotorua Attraction & Activities Monitor – May 2010

(Source:  APR Consultants  – Rotorua Attraction & Activities Monitor)
Visits to Rotorua Attraction & Activities Monitor participant businesses for the month of May 2010 were up 4.5% over May 2009 - domestic attraction/activity visits were up 1.2% and international attraction/activity visits were up 6.6%.

Upcoming Statistics NZ releases

International Visitor Arrivals to NZ: July 2010 will be released 20 August 2010
Commercial Accommodation Monitor: June 2010 will be released 11 August 2010

Most of the New Zealand tourism monitors can be freely downloaded from tourismresearch.govt.nz

For more information about Rotorua visitor statistics or to subscribe to any of the Rotorua specific tourism monitors please contact Gina on (07) 349 7289 or gina@rotoruaNZ.com

Sustainability

Ecotourism NZ Conference 2010 Rotorua

The biggest event of the year for New Zealand nature-based tourism is now open for registrations. The Ecotourism NZ Conference brings like-minded people together in an atmosphere of warmth and hospitality. It is a chance to celebrate our successes, share ideas, discuss latest issues and explore new opportunities.

When:   2 & 3 September 2010

Where:  Waiariki Institute of Technology, Rotorua

Conference program and registration: ecotourismnz.com

Co-mingled recycling pickup service

Waste Management has been trialling a co-mingled recycling service at Rotorua motels over the past month.  The service has proved so successful that Waste Management are now rolling this service out to all businesses in Rotorua.  No longer do you need to sort your recycling into various waste streams, now glass bottles and jars, aluminum and tin cans, clear/colour plastic bottles and containers (plastic types 1 and 2), plastic milk bottles, newspapers, paper and cardboard can all be tossed into the same wheelie bin.  Picked up weekly, each 240 litre 'co-mingled' bright blue wheelie bin provided by Waste Management costs $25 plus GST per month, or $260 including GST per annum paid in advance. 

Also available from Waste Management is a residential kerbside recycling service at $99 including GST per annum paid in advance for a fortnightly collection of a 140 litre ‘co-mingled’ blue lidded Waste Management wheelie bin.

For more information on Waste Management’s business and/or residential recycling pickup service call (07) 349 0222.

For further information about the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter visit sustainableNZ.com or contact Gina on (07) 349 7289.

Events - August 2010

For more information or to check out the latest events, go to rotoruaNZ.com/events

Dates for the diary

Blue = Destination Rotorua Marketing participation

2010

25 - 29 July, UK IMA Workshops - London

2 - 9 August, Grand Pacific Roadshow - Australia

8 September, PAICE Plus Expo – Sydney

13 - 17 October, Kiwilink Asia - Singapore

December, PCO Conference – Tasmania

Recipient and sender details

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.

David Whorwood
Marketing Manager
Destination Rotorua Marketing
Private Bag 3007, Rotorua
Phone +64 7 349 7280
Fax +64 7 349 4133
marketing@rotoruaNZ.com