Between the lines: Tourism needs more cash to make millions

By SIMON HENDERY

Tourism New Zealand chief George Hickton invited a couple of hundred of his industry mates to Auckland a few weeks ago and played them a video.

The 15-minute promo for the newly branded "100% Pure" New Zealand was a pumping good watch: loud music, crisp scenery, jetboats, geysers, mountains - it rocked.

"Kinda makes you want to go there, doesn't it?" Mr Hickton beamed afterwards. He was right.

During what the Tourism Board terms "the troubles" - that turbulent period in 1998-99 involving the Prime and Tourism Ministers of the time and an advertising man - the board took its eye off the ball somewhat. But it now has its focus back.

The 100% Pure campaign is in place and visitor numbers are up. The value of the dollar is still a concern. The board will be justified in asking the Government for more money to pay for international marketing next year.

Its $52 million marketing budget may seem generous at first glance. But when it is broken down into a few million for each of our key markets - enough, say, to run a short television ad campaign on the west coast of the United States - it seems pathetic considering the significance of tourism to our economic health.

Mr Hickton says that apart from adequate funding, the big issue of next year will be the development of the much-touted national tourism strategy.

The strategy, a draft of which is due out about March, will give us a steer on the future direction of the industry and will look at the impact international and domestic tourism will have environmentally, socially and economically.

The strategy is a positive initiative and should provide much-needed muscle and consistency to squeeze even more foreign exchange potential out of one of our biggest-earning sectors.

Tourism industry participants are willing to work together and they realise that cooperation is the way to get ahead.

This has been demonstrated by local initiatives to develop regional strategies on ventures such as wine tourism. The ideas now need to be meshed together at a national level.

Prime Minister Helen Clark has expressed concern that the 100% Pure campaign does not adequately present New Zealand as a sophisticated, upmarket nation. But Tourism New Zealand research reveals that potential travellers to these shores, when they conjure up an image of the country in their mind's eye, tend to think of mountains and open spaces.

In a finding that surprised the board, the potential visitors rated the cultural aspects of our society lowly. The board believes its role is to sell the country by maximising the potential of these dominant open-space perceptions, rather than trying in vain to change them.

Mr Hickton's 100 per cent natural paradise ought to attract a few more New Zealanders to holiday at home, too.