Tourism tactics change

Tourism New Zealand has tweaked its marketing mix to reflect the increasing reality of economic factors that are affecting tourism markets.

Chief executive George Hickton said it had all but pulled out of Japan and Korea, preferring to focus marketing resources in countries that were not mired in an ‘‘economic mudpool’’.

Tourism New Zealand has tweaked its marketing mix to reflect the increasing reality of economic factors that are affecting tourism markets.

Chief executive George Hickton said it had all but pulled out of Japan and Korea, preferring to focus marketing resources in countries that were not mired in an ‘‘economic mudpool’’.

Mr Hickton said Tourism NZ envisaged little growth in countries with severe economic problems such as Japan and Korea, and had moved its resources to aim at more promising prospects.

The organisation was redeploying marketing spending to where it could get the best results, he said.

“Britain and the United States are in the middle, and then there are markets where we see a great amount of potential, such as China, Canada and Australia.”

Mr Hickton said that though travellers would not necessarily stop flying long distances, it was likely they would look at where they went more carefully and choose to travel less frequently and stay for longer.

Tourism NZ’s immediate goals were to put more effort into persuading Australians to come to New Zealand for the weekend, to urge British travellers to come down-under now instead of waiting, and to focus on wooing travellers from China.

Recent off-season marketing efforts by the organisation had helped prompt visits to New Zealand from an extra 242,000 Australians, travelling in the autumn, spring and winter and spending about $44 million.

“That is what the industry wants,” he said.

stuff.co.nz

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Linda Hohnholz

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