Tourists visiting the Auckland region will be the first to have
the chance to send home a video message from Tourism New Zealand's
mobile recording studio as it hits the road this week.
The 'Have Your Say' mobile studio has started its tour visiting
Devonport on Monday and the Auckland Museum on Tuesday.
It will visit around 40 towns around New Zealand between January
and April with the aim of recording around 3,000 'raves' from
overseas visitors.
The initiative is the next phase in Tourism New Zealand's 'What
do you Say UK?' marketing campaign, which launched in the UK last
September. It is based on research that found word-of-mouth
recommendations are among the strongest motivators for British
travellers when they are thinking about a holiday in New
Zealand.
Visitor raves recorded in the mobile studio are emailed out
immediately to friends and family, and broadcast on a special 'Have Your Say' YouTube channel.
Tourism New Zealand is working with the regional tourism
organisations to maximise the visibility of the mobile studio as it
makes its way around the country.
Tourism Auckland Chief Executive Graeme Osborne says he strongly
supports the initiative, which will be a great way of lifting
Tourism New Zealand's profile domestically.
"Capturing personalised visitor feedback through the mobile
studio and promoting these recommendations online through social
networking websites is a bold and innovative concept," he says.
"With 34 per cent of international visitor nights being spent in
Auckland, and with Auckland welcoming 70 per cent of international
arrivals to New Zealand, it makes perfect sense for the country's
largest city to be both the first and final stops for the mobile
recording studio. Of course, we are delighted with that
decision."
After visiting Piha beach on the west coast later this week, the
mobile studio - a distinctively branded converted shipping
container on the back of a flat-bed truck - will travel up to
Northland.
The studio will spend several days in the Northland region,
visiting Tutukaka (15-16 January), Paihia (17 January), Waitangi
(18 January), Cape Reinga (19 January) and Waipoua (20
January).
With international visitor numbers expected to be down by 10 per
cent this summer, it is hoped the initiative will help keep New
Zealand's profile high in the UK, New Zealand's second largest
tourist market.
Graeme Osborne says the economic downturn has seen visitors to
the Auckland region booking later and looking to trusted sources
for holiday recommendations.
"Innovations such as the mobile recording studio align
conveniently with this changed pattern in visitor decision making
and offer a fresh approach to influencing travel decisions during
this challenging economic period.
"While our five i-SITE's are seeing a marginal reduction in door
count, visitors are actually spending more which is very
positive."