Duo ride surfing safari wave

By SIMON HENDERY tourism writer

Surfer Damon Jones used to head the training department of a US-based multinational company.

Now he teaches people to surf and his office is whichever Auckland beach is offering the best waves on a given day.

"My business attire went from a suit to a pair of boardies [board shorts]," 31-year-old Jones says.

He and business partner Judd Stratful, 30, set up New Zealand Surf Tours last summer - offering day and weekend beach visits mainly to foreign backpackers.

"The majority of our market are non-surfers - people who just want to give it a try, give it a bash for a day."

Although being paid to surf sounds like some people's pipe dream, Jones says the business was only established once they were convinced there was a market.

"If the numbers didn't stack up we wouldn't do it. But the opportunity is there."

Interest in the venture from local wannabe surfers has led to expansion - Jones and Stratful have just established Auckland's first certified "surf school" which offers day-long and weekend training sessions.

"The reason we started the surf school was that we were starting to get [Kiwis] wanting to learn how to surf," says Jones.

"We've put a different package together for the surf school - we get more surfing in and it's a structured learning environment, where the surf and beach tour is actually a fun day at the beach where they get to learn how to surf, have a barbeque and stop off at a pub."

A one-day surf tour, with board, wetsuit and other equipment provided, costs $125. The weekend surf school costs $220, or $170 for those who have their own equipment.

Of initial responses to the new school, 70 per cent have come from women, a phenomenon Jones says may be due to interest in Blue Crush, a new "surfer girl" movie being released this summer.

Jones and Stratful's surf school is one of only five in the country certified by Surfing New Zealand and Water Safety New Zealand (the others are based in Raglan, Mt Maunganui, Taranaki and Kaitaia).

Jones and Stratful have built the course curriculum around Surfing NZ and Surfing Australia training programmes which in turn are based on an international training standard.

Certification required the pair to meet requirements in several areas including first aid, coaching certification, and lifesaving skills.

The business has grown to employ two other staff, and Jones and Stratful hope within a few weeks to employ two more, who will take over much of the responsibilities for the surf school.

This month NZ Surf Tours will add five-day, Auckland-to-Northland surf trips to its offering.

The $600-per-head trips, catering for up to a dozen surfers at a time, will give tourists the chance to get off the beaten tourist track, see a bit of the country, and practise their surfing.

"People get the [surfing] buzz for a day but then they want to get better and the best way is to get into it every day," says Jones.

"These five-day products have worked well in Australia but nobody's doing it here yet."

To cater for the more affluent end of the tourism market, NZ Surf Tours also works with Auckland helicopter firm Helilink to offer "heli-surfing" packages.

Jones says one enthusiastic (and deep-pocketed) surfer spent $30,000 over 10 days with Helilink last year.

Jones and Stratful say a constructive relationship with graphic design company Artbeat Creative has played a big part in getting their business off the ground.

As a tourism product aimed at young image-conscious travellers, a strong and consistent visual image of the company's brochures and website has been important.

"If people like what they see [in the brochure or on the internet] they inquire," says Jones.

Information from Tourism New Zealand (the Government's tourism board) about setting up a new tourism business was also useful.

"But at the end of the day, like anything else it's about relationship building," says Jones.

"People usually buy you before they buy your product - relationships are huge in this business."

* The Tourism Industry Association, which has 3500 tourism operators as members, last month launched a CD rom toolkit for new and growing tourism businesses.

NZ Surf Tours

Tourism New Zealand
Tourism Industry Associaton