31 July 2008

Positively Wellington Tourism taking a positive new direction

Wellington’s tourism board will be coming into a new era later this year with the appointment of a new CEO, David Perks. The announcement comes at a pivotal time for Positively Wellington Tourism, who has to seriously reconsider its marketing strategy to one of the country’s biggest tourism markets, Australia.

David Perks, currently the General Manager at Copthorne Hotel and Resort Bay of Islands, will take over the position as CEO of Positively Wellington in September. 

Mr Perks is coming into the role at a time that Tourism Minister Damien O'Connor says is challenging for the New Zealand tourism industry.  Although recent figures from Statistics New Zealand showed nationwide tourism expenditure and business tourism revenue is at its highest level ever, the growth of tourists to the country seems to be lagging. 

A survey conducted by Positively Wellington showed there is good growth in the number of visitors to the city from Australia, however many preferred long-stay touring trips around the country rather than a short-stay to Wellington, reports the Dominion Post. 

"We have seen good growth out of this market since engaging in consumer marketing but there is still a long way to go,” said Positively Wellington Chief Executive Tim Cossar. 

The survey also showed recent marketing campaigns failed to have an affect on the Australian market, as Australian participants said they had "virtually no recall of the Wellington elements" in the campaign.

The survey participants involved 25 to 40 year old single professionals and 25 to 60 year olds who were partnered without dependents. 

Australia and New Zealand have a reciprocal visa waiver agreement which means nationals from either country can visit, live and work in both countries without applying for a visa.  For other countries part of the visa waiver agreement, a New Zealand tourist visa is not necessary to visit the country for a period less than three months.  For all other nationals, a New Zealand visitor’s visa allows a multiple entry nine month visa.

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The New Zealand Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people emigrate to New Zealand.

Article by Jessica Bird, New Zealand Visa Bureau.