AA Traveller has launched the Great Spot Specials campaign that offers exciting deals with leading TIA members.

The Great Spot Specials website www.aa.co.nz/greatspot makes it simple for New Zealanders to select a place to visit, an activity to do, work out their travel arrangements and book accommodation.

TIA Chief Executive Chris Roberts says the importance of domestic tourism was clearly identified in the industry’s Tourism 2025 growth framework.

“Domestic tourism is officially valued at $18.1 billion, greater than the value of international tourism. We want to see that number grow to $22.6 billion by 2025.

“Increasing domestic travel at off-peak times will help the industry smooth out seasonal peaks and troughs, and improve productivity. If Kiwis are given the right incentives and information, they will visit different regions at different times of the year.”

Domestic tourism also offers huge potential for boosting regional development.

“If we can persuade more New Zealanders to use their discretionary dollars on a domestic travel experience, we will have more successful tourism businesses significantly contributing to the social and economic vitality of New Zealand.

“This will ensure the visitor economy benefits will be realised sooner, helping the tourism industry achieve its Tourism 2025 goal of growing annual tourism revenue from the current $30 billion to $41 billion by 2025.”

Read more about the AA Traveller Great Spot Specials campaign.

“This interactive experience is something we’ve never offered before and builds on our hugely popular Weta Cave Workshop Tour,” says Jake Downing, Weta’s Head of Tourism.

“Guests will discover the genuine Weta Workshop props, models and miniatures behind the popular TV series, from Tracy Island and the Thunderbird hangars to Creighton Ward manor.

“With season 1 and 2 now airing in many global markets including Japan and the UK and billed to air in the US, TRENZ 2016 will help us generate more awareness and interest in the various tourism experiences we offer on Wellington’s Miramar Peninsula and help grow our visitor numbers.”

“My life-long fascination with model making and practical film effects was born of shows like the Thunderbirds, so it has been terrific to have been involved in the design and manufacture of what you’ll see inside.” – Richard Taylor, CEO and Co-founder, Weta Workshop.

www.wetaworkshop.com

“Currently 90% of our clients are New Zealanders. We know we have a world class tourism product and we can’t wait for the rest of the world to find out about us,” says General Manager Paul Chaplow.

“We will be promoting our new RailBike experience to TRENZ buyers. It will appeal to a more adventurous traveller than we currently attract with our Rail Carts. Both products allow visitors to explore rural New Zealand, travelling along a decommissioned railway line.”

The RailBike experience is 40km.

“They are like tandem bikes except you sit side by side rather than one in front of the other – they have independent pedalling systems, three gears and disc brakes, plus a large box to carry clothing and other items for the day,” explains Paul.

“The tour is semi guided with a guide in a RailCart out front. Signage/story boards have been placed at points of interest along the tracks to explain the history associated with the building of the line and the people of the area.”

www.forgottenworldadventuers.co.nz

“Mt Eden, Artisan Village is a private, bespoke ‘shop and dine’ experience in one of the most interesting foodie areas in New Zealand. Well know foodies and chefs we work with include Nici Wickes and Grant Allen, food stylist for Peter Gordon,” says Director Jacqui Wilkinson.

“We also have a well-respected French wine importer who runs a ‘New world versus old world’ wine tasting for us in his beautiful cellar located in Newmarket, Auckland.

“We’ve found that many international visitors from Europe and China find New Zealand wine very difficult to interpret, and this experience really helps them start to appreciate what is on offer here.”

Jacqui says Ponsonby, Made in NZ is a private, premium shopping tour in the coolest shopping district in New Zealand, incorporating Kiwi fashion brands such as Trelise Cooper, World and Workshop.

The new foodie and fashion tours complement the range of tours already on offer, incorporating art, heritage and gardens.

“We’re very focused on discerning, creatively minded travellers who seek more than scenery, thrills and spills. Our key markets are the US, Australia, UK and Europe, and increasingly China and Singapore with new interest from India and South America,” says Jacqui.

www.finearttours.co.nz

The figures show that international visitors were worth $12.8 billion in the 2015 calendar year – a huge increase of $2.6 billion on 2014.

The way this number has been calculated is a little different to the official annual measurement of tourism, the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), which comes out in October each year. The differences are in the way airlines ticket sales and visiting students are treated.

TIA has calculated that the TSA-equivalent number for the year ended December 2015 is $13.9 billion. Add that to the most recent value put on domestic tourism – $18.1 billion – and we have a total tourism industry worth at least $32 billion pa. That puts us well on the way to achieving the Tourism 2025 goal of annual tourism earnings of $41 billion by 2025.

The new-look awards programme has been scaled up from just three awards to eight individual awards plus an award for a hotel showing real innovation to help neutralise its impact on the environment.

“These are the New Zealand hotel sector’s premier awards. They send a clear signal to smart young New Zealanders that the hotel sector offers many diverse jobs and an exciting career path,” says Sally Attfield, Hotel Sector Manager of the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) which co-hosts the awards with Horwath HTL.

“This is vital given the additional staff who are going to be needed to support the hotel sector’s growth as international visitor arrivals to New Zealand accelerate.”

The hotel sector is a major contributor to New Zealand’s tourism industry, with more visitors staying in hotels than any other commercial accommodation. TIA’s 140 hotel members collectively employ 10,500 staff nationally, and generate annual revenues in excess of $1 billion.

Stephen Hamilton, Director, Horwath HTL, says New Zealand’s hotel sector is enjoying record results and much of that is down to individuals who go the extra mile to deliver an outstanding guest experience which in turn grows profitability.

“These awards celebrate excellence and showcase a sector that is a vital contributor to the wider tourism industry, now the country’s number one export earner with ambitious growth goals to grow annual turnover from the current $30 billion to $41 billion by 2025.

“We are expecting a high number of entries in the awards, given the upbeat mood of many hotels around the country following a fantastic year of business.”

Entry forms and the Awards criteria can be found on the New Zealand Hotel Industry Conference website www.nzhotelconference.com – click on the Awards tab.

Award Categories

Senior Hotel Executive, sponsored by AHS Hospitality

Outstanding Young Hotel Executive, sponsored by ServiceIQ

Administration Employee of the Year

Concierge of the Year

Front Office Services Employee of the Year

Housekeeper Employee of the Year

Revenue Manager of the Year

Sales & Marketing Employee of the Year

Environmental Initiative of the Year

The New Zealand Hotel Industry Awards winners will be announced at a gala dinner at The Langham, Auckland on 2 June 2016, the culmination of the 2016 New Zealand Hotel Industry Conference.

TIA Hotel Sector
TIA’s Hotel Sector represents the interests of almost 140 members throughout New Zealand, including international chain, large independent and privately owned hotels. TIA hotel sector members employ 10,500 staff nationally, with annual revenues of more than $1.05 billion.

Horwath HTL
Horwath HTL Ltd is part of the global Horwath HTL hotel and tourism consulting group network comprising 45 offices in 38 countries. Horwath HTL is part of Crowe Horwath International, one of the 10 largest global networks of independent accounting and advisory firms with over 560 offices in over 100 countries worldwide.

Local government and infrastructure needs are two extremely important topics for our tourism industry right now.

The Rotorua Daily Post reports the museum is looking for people who are good communicators and have a passion for the stories of the region.

Currently the museum’s team of dedicated volunteer guides offer hourly tours of the museum to visitors from New Zealand and all over the world.

Museum director Stewart Brown said the guides provide an important interface between the museum and its visitors and perform a key service.

More than 100,000 people visit Rotorua Museum every year and many of them will experience true ‘manaakitanga’ (traditional hospitality) from our enthusiastic and committed group of volunteers.

Each guide attends a comprehensive training programme, one morning a week for 16 weeks, with the opportunity to take part in ongoing training.

Rotorua Museum is an exhibitor at TRENZ 2016, Rotorua, 10-13 May.

Young Maori with a link to Ngati Whakaue and a passion for tourism are being encouraged to apply for a special scholarship offering both on the job experience and fully paid training.

The Rotorua Daily Post reports the partnership between Ngati Whakaue Education Endowment Trust and Sudima Hotels and Resorts sees a person receive up to one year’s paid work experience at Sudima Lake Rotorua and a full scholarship to any New Zealand tertiary institute to complete a minimum degree level qualification in hotel or hospitality management.

Sudima director of human resources Maree Judd said the scholarship, which began in 2014, was a great opportunity for Maori to pursue a career in tourism.

She said it was already reaping rewards with the first recipient from 2014 proving an “absolute superstar” and in his second year of a university degree. This year’s scholarship was launched on Friday and Ms Judd said she saw it as a great way to showcase the hotel and what the scholarship had to offer.

“The programme has been extremely successful for the last two years and we see this as a pivotal programme in years to come across the wider Rotorua community enabling more local talent to start a career in hotel.”

While the scholarship had been previously aimed at school leavers Ms Judd said they had widened it this year recognising that there were likely to be people with “some life experience” who would benefit.

I noted with interest recent comments in the media that the Conservation Authority is investigating different charging mechanisms in response to tourism growth.