Please distribute to all staff

May 20, 2011

No 1 Queen Street

This is Rotorua’s – and your – opportunity to feature in the heart of Auckland’s downtown action during the Rugby World Cup and through the summer season.

DRTM has secured use of the premier venue No 1 Queen Street Café for destinational promotions and key target hospitality.

No.1 Queen Street Café is situated in downtown Auckland in the heart of New Zealand’s busiest and liveliest town square, QEII. The eye-catching, architecturally designed and state of the art glass enclosure is situated in a prime location opposite the ferry building and adjacent to the Britomart train, bus and ferry hub.

During the Rugby World Cup it will also be just a short walk from The Cloud Party Central building on Queens Wharf.

No 1 Queen Street is estimated to be passed by more than 25,000 people each day. This figure is set to grow exponentially during the Rugby World Cup with the influx of international visitors and media, and with the arrival of the cruise ship trade during the busy summer season.

Included in the promotional deal is advertising on digital screens on air transporter buses leaving the airport for downtown Auckland.

A mini Rotorua Information and Booking Centre at No 1 will enable visitors to book accommodation, activities and tours before heading to the region, a particular advantage with the cruise ship trade.

DRTM will use the space for a multi-layered programme of activities, based around changing themes that evoke the unique environment and experiences of Rotorua: and this is where you come in. DRTM is extending the opportunity to local tourism operators to become part of this unique proposition.

Our aim is to showcase to Aucklanders, international visitors and the media the diversity of attractions, services and activities in Rotorua.

There will be opportunities for theming the venue to represent your unique proposition and for presentations but we want to take this further. Where possible we want physical examples for visitors to try. Let your imagine run wild with what your business can provide – globe riding down Queen Street, Duck tours on Auckland Harbour, or sensual spa baths and massages in the café itself. We also have the option to theme QEII square, for example turning the fountain into a geyser. You provide the ideas and we can evaluate practicalities and resource consents.

Involvement with the No 1 Queen Street project will involve a financial commitment from operators, but we believe this exciting initiative offers a phenomenal opportunity to gain exposure to a wide audience that you may otherwise have limited resources to target directly.

There will be a number of different levels of participation and we will be letting you know in the next few weeks the specific opportunities for involvement. If you would like to register your interest in participating in the No 1 Queen Street project in the interim, please email Sam Luther and we will contact you directly.

BGTV

It has been a long time since Rotorua featured in the Air New Zealand in-flight entertainment programmes.

In the past two years Small Town Media took over production of these programmes. Part of their programming includes a travel series called B-Guided TV (BGTV) which, until now, has been targeted at adults. However, they recently launched the first ever kids/family show called BGTV Kids Travel Show.

The feedback on these programmes is very positive, with 30,000 unique passengers flying into NZ watching it every week. This is evidenced by the fact Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown and Marlborough are repeat participants in this great opportunity to influence visitors before they land in New Zealand.

DRTM has now secured an opportunity to feature Rotorua and Rotorua businesses as part of the BGTV programming. Matt Johnson from Small Town Media will be in the region over the next few weeks to meet and talk with interested parties, with a view to pulling together a showcase of some of what we have to offer.

DRTM is supporting this financially to make it accessible to operators so they can get involved. We encourage you to consider being a part of the initial programmes that will be 'in the air' on Air New Zealand flights from October 2011 for a period of eight months.

If you'd like to find out more, check out: smalltownmedia.co.nz and bgtv.co.nz.

Some key stats: across Air New Zealand’s fleet of 48 aircrafts airing the in-flight programme, BGTV is watched by a minimum of 900 passengers each week. BGTV is the only NZ travel show on Air NZ, and hence the exclusive travel show for Air NZ passengers. 

We have the opportunity to have inputs to both the adults and the kids programmes - and we all know the power of kids‘ ‘pester power’.

If you are interested in being involved in this project please contact Samantha Luther in the first instance.

Australian Campaign Update

The DRTM Australian online campaign has been in the market now for five weeks and the results are very positive. The topline results are:

• More than 9 million impressions to date (number of people who have viewed our banners and landing pages); more than 90% are unique visitors;
• More than 5,000 click-throughs to operator deals;
• 110,000 Facebook views by people who have seen the banners or video through friends who have engaged (ie: clicked ‘Like’ or referred on to friends);
• We have also increased signups to the Rotorua Facebook page by 11% over the campaign to date.

There is still well over a month to run on the campaign and we have some big banner takeovers still to happen. We also have a great discounted airfare offer that we have worked on with Value Tours that will hit the market next Monday.

In addition to the DRTM Australian campaign, we have also been included in Tourism New Zealand’s North Island Ski Facebook campaign. This campaign is targeted around letting Australians know that the North Island has some great ski fields – it’s not just the South Island of NZ! The campaign has also yielded some great exposure. This campaign has standalone airfare and land packages, and Rotorua is a key offering.

Mercurio's Menu

As part of DRTM’s focus on the Australian market, we have arranged, with the support of Tourism New Zealand, for famed Australian actor and celebrity cook Paul Mercurio to come to Rotorua. Paul was the star of 1990s film Strictly Ballroom and has been a judge on Dancing with the Stars on both sides of the Tasman. He is currently star of his own immensely popular TV series, Mercurio’s Menu.

Paul will be in Rotorua from Saturday 21 May and for the following few days to film an episode for the latest series of Mercurio’s Menu. He will be escorted during his stay by Rotorua’s own culinary genius, chef Charles Royal. The pair will be scouring the area for local ingredients to cook up some delightful dishes, and to visit several attractions in Rotorua.

This project is another amazing opportunity to showcase Rotorua to one of our key target markets. The show is aimed at the luxury, high-end, with the emphasis on novel, fine dining experiences in Rotorua.

Mercurio’s Menu follows Paul as he travels to different regions of Australia and New Zealand highlighting local cuisine and talking to local chefs.

It is produced by WTFN and airs on Channel Seven and a number of other stations in Australia and New Zealand. Over 11 million viewers across Australia tuned in to watch the first series. Series 2 and 3 continue to reach similar audiences.

More than 874,000 viewers on average watch each episode of Mercurio’s Menu. International distribution is currently at 10 countries across Asia, New Zealand and Europe. Each series comprises 13 episodes, each of which is supported via the dedicated website

mercuriosmenu.com. 

Thanks to all the operators who are assisting so generously with their time and facilities on this important project.

Destination Rotorua Marketing News

As you will have seen in the media and our Industry Newsletter, general manager Don Gunn has decided to move on to pastures new in the private sector of Rotorua’s tourism industry. We thank Don for his dedication and commitment over the past seven+ years, and wish him well in his future ventures.

We are working towards finding a replacement for Don, which as you will appreciate will not happen overnight. In the interim it is business as usual. Please direct any questions and requests through to the manager or coordinator of the specific market channels in the first instance - see the end of this bulletin for contact details.

Tania Bui will be staying on in the capacity of acting general manager and she is your point of contact for any industry or marketing relating queries.

If in doubt, please contact Sam Luther who will be able to direct you to the correct person.

Tania Bui
Acting General Manager
DDI: +64 27 244 4155

James Fitzgerald
International Sales Manager
james@rotoruaNZ.com - DDI: +64 7 351 7108

Craig Hammond
Domestic and Events Coordinator
craig@rotoruaNZ.com - DDI: +64 7 351 7102

Denise Siviter
Rotorua Convention Bureau Manager
denise@rotoruaNZ.com - DDI: +64 7 351 7106

Jane Hope
Media Advisor
jane@rotoruaNZ.com - DDI: +64 7 351 7103

Adrian Hodge
Web Development Co-ordinator
adrian@rotoruaNZ.com - DDI: +64 7 351 7105

Gina George
Research Co-ordinator
gina@rotoruaNZ.com - DDI: +64 7 351 7109

Sam Luther
Administration Officer
sam@rotoruaNZ.com - DDI: +64 7 351 7100

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