Commerce Committee 2010/11 financial review of the New Zealand Tourism Board Additional written questions 103 114 Q103. What action has been taken or is planned to address the Auditor-General s recommended improvements to the Board s service performance information and associated systems and controls. A. In 2010/11 Tourism New Zealand improved its Service performance information and associated systems and controls rating and now has a Good rating. The comment from the Office of the Auditor General in relation to this rating was that there is now strong alignment between the performance framework included in the external accountability documents and the framework used to support operational decisions within the Board. Appropriate policies, systems, and controls were in place and operating effectively. We reviewed significant performance measures and results. Service performance results were appropriately supported and reflected in the Statement of Service Performance. Tourism New Zealand will continue to seek to make further improvements to both the performance framework included in its accountability documents and the systems used to collect and analyse performance information. Q104. What evidence does Tourism New Zealand have to show that its strategy to target Active Considerers is proving effective? A. The Active Considerer Monitor (a market research study conducted in New Zealand s key tourism markets) highlights how Tourism New Zealand s strategy of targeting people with an intention to visit New Zealand is the right one. The Active Considerer Monitor has several measures in place that show the effectiveness of TNZ s marketing activities in each key market. These measures include advertising awareness, New Zealand s brand image associations and preference (for a New Zealand holiday ahead of other destinations). All of these measures are used by the TNZ to gauge the success of the specific market strategy and tie into the overarching strategy of targeting the Active Considerer. Q105. We note that a new version of Tourism New Zealand s website, newzealand.com, was launched in June 2011. Has user satisfaction been measured and has it improved since the new website was launched. A. In a newzealand.com benchmark survey carried out with website users in December 2011, 82% of respondents said they found the website very useful or useful overall and 52% said they would be extremely likely to recommend the site to others. The website s overall score on the System Usability Scale (SUS), an international benchmarking study of 2000 websites across all sectors, was 70/100.
Q106. Does Tourism New Zealand have any measures to show how the website is helping its conversion rate of Active Considerers to actual visitors? A. newzealand.com generates leads for the more than 6000 businesses and partners listed on the site. Very few of these businesses track or report the customer journey from newzealand.com referral to eventual booking, so Tourism New Zealand measures the effectiveness of conversion on newzealand.com through the proportion of website visits that generate referrals. In 2011 the overall referral rate was 12.4%. In addition, we use the Visitor Experience Monitor (VEM), an annual survey of 4,500 international visitors that have visited New Zealand primarily for holiday or to visit friends and relatives (VFR). In the 2010/11 survey, 25% of respondents said they had used newzealand.com before visiting New Zealand. Q107. We note the success Tourism New Zealand had in 2010/11 with partnerships, particularly the increase in international inbound capacity. What further partnership work is Tourism engaged in, and what increases in capacity does it aim to achieve in 2011/12? A. Partnering provide an opportunity for Tourism New Zealand to extend its marketing reach and effectiveness. Partnerships with the aviation sector are used to assist the aviation sector to sustain and grow air capacity. At present, Tourism New Zealand has formal Memorandums of Understanding with Air New Zealand, Jetstar, China Southern Airlines and Singapore Airlines. Tourism New Zealand also partners where specific marketing opportunities have been identified, for example with Thai Airlines, Korean Airlines, Emirates and Pacific Blue/Virgin airlines. Airline activity is focused on maintaining and increasing capacity on existing routes as well as supporting increased capacity on new routes. In 2010/11, international inbound capacity to New Zealand grew from 6,218,900 to 6,469,148 seats during the 2010/11 year. This equates to an additional 250,248 seats or a 4% growth. In the current 2011/12 year, capacity increases have included; China Southern increasing from frequency from three times per week to daily flights, Air New Zealand/ Virgin increasing trans-tasman capacity and Jetstar support for a new Singapore service. Q108. We note the work Tourism New Zealand is doing with key emerging markets such as China, including the special Approved Destination Status Monitoring Unit. What feedback has the Unit had from Chinese visitors to New Zealand? A. Tourism New Zealand's annual Visitor Experience Monitor (VEM) is a survey of 4,500 international tourists who came to New Zealand for a holiday or to visit friends and family. The VEM asks how satisfied international visitors are with different aspects of their New Zealand holiday, and is used to assess behavioural patterns pre, post and during travel within New Zealand. Since 2008/2009 the VEM has recorded an increase in Chinese visitor satisfaction from 8.6 in 2008/2009 to 8.8 out of 10 in 2010/2011. This compares to overall visitor satisfaction of Korean visitors at 8.2 and overall satisfaction of UK, German and US visitors at 9.3.
Q109. What are the main areas that the New Zealand tourism industry needs to address to improve its services to Chinese visitors? A. According to the Asia Market Survey undertaken by Tourism New Zealand in May 2011, the main areas that the New Zealand tourism industry needs to address to improve services to Chinese visitors relate to service, food, accommodation and experiencing the natural environment: Service: Service levels are not what Chinese visitors are used to and they expect more. Options to consider include: Keep it simple and easy, with clear and precise information, times, expectations and options Be available and responsive Provide assistance with equipment or requirements Food: New Zealand is under delivering on food experiences. Being good hosts and sharing our food culture is an important part of the New Zealand holiday experience. Options to consider include: Make food that Chinese visitors are familiar with available to them Provide better information on what New Zealand food is develop a top ten kiwi food must experience list (e.g. kumara, New Zealand honey, kiwi fruit etc) or make visitors aware that the food they are eating is part of New Zealand s unique food story Provide visitors tasting experiences make smaller tasting plates/samples of kiwi cuisine available Accommodation: Accommodation experiences are highly variable and there is a perception that New Zealand lacks high end hotels and accommodation. Options to consider include: Provide more than one power convertor plug and fast low cost internet connection Consider having menus and hotel service manuals translated so that they can understand and access important information Provide more service and activity information be proactive in communications, Concierge should be well informed of activities that are on, or sights that visitors should visit. Experiencing the natural environment: While the Chinese visitor comes to New Zealand to get close to nature, the experience does not always meet expectations. They have read or heard about getting close to nature in New Zealand however the reality means they haven t experienced it firsthand. They also lack experience of wide open spaces, so they are often underprepared for the experience they want. Q110. What other work is Tourism New Zealand undertaking to support the New Zealand tourism industry to meet the needs of the growing numbers of Chinese visitors?
A. Tourism New Zealand s Shanghai office supports the New Zealand tourism industry by undertaking in-country trade events to provide the industry with a better understanding of Chinese visitors. This includes a 2012 China Mission trade event where New Zealand operators meet with Chinese travel sellers; and the ILTM (International Luxury Travel Mart) where Tourism New Zealand brings together New Zealand operators and Chinese travel trade. These types of events are useful not only for better understanding but also for building key contacts in the Chinese market. Tourism New Zealand also undertakes an ongoing programme of product development, product training and famils for Chinese travel sellers, to ensure New Zealand tourism product is relevant for the Chinese consumer and positively represents the New Zealand holiday experience on behalf of the industry. From a communications point of view, Tourism New Zealand s campaign and public relations activities, including the international media programme, are designed to build preference for and conversion to New Zealand by driving Chinese consumers to newzeland.com and/or to partner booking sites/offices. New Zealand operators are able to list their businesses on newzealand.com, upload content and promote deals for their businesses. Tourism New Zealand also provides visitor data and market guides to the industry through its corporate website. The industry can access the latest information about China including market characteristics, latest visitor data, and information on what Tourism New Zealand is doing in China. There is also a range of research available from Tourism New Zealand and other providers which can assist industry in their business planning. Tourism New Zealand has recently renamed the China ADS Monitoring Unit as the China Market Development Unit to better reflect the work that it undertakes. The China Market Development Unit monitors the ADS scheme developed in 2007 and is responsible for administering the ADS Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct sets out procedures and standards that tour operators and tour guides voluntarily comply with to make sure that Chinese visitors have a quality experience in New Zealand. Tourism New Zealand s work involves: approving New Zealand-based tour operators and tour guides to work within the China ADS system; monitoring conduct, performance and quality standards in line with the ADS Code of Conduct; monitoring compliance on the part of ADS approved Chinese travel sellers with Tourism New Zealand requirements and, managing administrative matters relating to Chinese group tour operators and guides and Chinese visitors to New Zealand. Q111. Has Tourism New Zealand conducted a review of the visitor experience during the Rugby World Cup? A. RWC 2011 was a resounding success on and off the field, with high acclaim from teams, supporters, international media and the 133,200 visitors who enjoyed a six week long national party. Tourism New Zealand s marketing efforts were focused on raising awareness of New Zealand as host of the RWC 2011 and converting interest in New Zealand into travel. From 1 July 2011, all international visitors answered a question on their immigration arrival card as to whether they were visiting for the RWC 2011. Final international visitor
arrivals were 133,200, up 56% on the revised forecast and double the original estimated figure of 65,000. The average length of stay was around 17.3 days. This compares to an average length of stay for the New Zealand tourism industry of 19.8 days (YE Dec 2011). Tourism New Zealand undertook some research with visitors with top line results shows 98% if international visitors were satisfied or highly satisfied with their RWC 2011 experience and 93% want to return to New Zealand. Based on the experience visitors had in New Zealand during RWC 2011, 97% said they would recommend New Zealand as a travel destination to other people. Q112. Does Tourism New Zealand have any indication of what impact the tournament had on Rugby World Cup markets? Does it expect to see any growth from new markets as a result of the tournament? A. Tourism New Zealand research undertaken prior to, during and after the RWC 2011 was hosted in New Zealand, shows a strong level of awareness of New Zealand as the host nation. Market Pre-event Awareness of host nation During Awareness of host nation Post-event Awareness of host nation Australia 44% 71% 67% UK 47% 74% 80% Japan 32% 45% 49% USA 17% 27% 18% Germany 36% 40% 47% Average Total 35% 51% 52% In addition at the conclusion of RWC 2011 an online survey was sent out to 37,345 ticket holders to which 33% responded. The Ministry of Economic Development (MED) coordinated this project in association with RNZ 2011, TNZ and other local tourism organisations. Results of this project showed that 76% of visitors had come specifically for RWC 2011, 13% had altered travels plans to coincide with RWC 2011 and 11% said their travel plans already coincided with RWC 2011. These visitors were asked the same questions on interest to return to New Zealand and whether they would recommend New Zealand as a holiday destination. 92% were either quite or very likely to recommend New Zealand while 86% were quite or very likely to return to New Zealand for a holiday. We have also identified that a higher number of French travellers visiting New Zealand for RWC 2011 achieved good interest in France. We are working to identify opportunities to harness this interest for conversion to travel. Q113. What work is Tourism New Zealand doing to help support the tourism industry in Canterbury? A. Tourism New Zealand s is supporting the recovery through its international media programme and South Island focused campaign work. The introduction of a marketing campaign, targeting the Australian market called the South Island Road Trips, was a significant trans-tasman partnership that commenced in September to promote the South
Island as the ultimate road trip destination. The 15 week campaign generated strong results including over 160,000 visits to newzealand.com. Additionally our IMP team has been working to secure media interest in Christchurch and Canterbury to attract positive stories about the city s progress, from which we have achieved some very good results. Through the Australian and American travel writer conventions, Tourism New Zealand hosted 25 media on famils which specifically included Christchurch and the Canterbury area. Some key results included a feature in the Lonely Planet online, articles in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age (Melbourne), the Boston Globe, Episcopal News Service and San Francisco Chronicle. The international media programme has also directed 34 media through the Christchurch and Canterbury region from a range of key TNZ markets. This media programme of course requires ongoing balance to achieve stories of support. We are mindful that we are an expert source of information, and that we must ensure that care is given to accurately manage the expectations of international visitors to the area. Our progress is hindered, like everyone else s, with the ongoing advent of aftershock activity. Q114. In what ways is Tourism New Zealand working with the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) to market Canterbury as open for business? A. Tourism New Zealand does not work directly with CERA when planning media visits, but works closely with Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism and other tourism industry partners when working to promote Christchurch and the South Island as a holiday destination.