World Cup Countdown: Long game looms for those hoping to cash in

Murray McCully. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Businesses have been told they must be prepared to play the long game to take advantage of the Rugby World Cup.

Business leaders are confident most firms of all sizes are on track to cash in on the Cup, which they hope will speed the fragile recovery from recession.

While hoteliers in key venue cities, well-located bars and restaurants and transport operators are best placed for a revenue boost, the wider business community is being advised to build long-term relationships with the influx of high-level business people.

Rugby World Cup minister Murray McCully has stressed the legacy value of hosting the tournament.

"I think the extra activity around the event will be helpful, but my own view has always been a long-term one. I think the immediate economic impact is minor by comparison toh the long-term value you can create," he said.

Despite mixed economic data and signs corporate packages are selling slowly, the organisation set up to help companies capitalise on opportunities, New Zealand 2011, is confident the mood of business has lifted following the Christchurch earthquake.

Director Leon Grice said the 100-day milestone and the new wave of ticket-selling would act as catalysts for those who were slow getting on board.


Figures this year from Tourism NZ and event organisers estimate 85,000 visitors from overseas will make the trip. The average length of stay for these visitors is around 23 days, half of them will be here before the tournament starts and about 20 per cent will remain after the final. Most will come from Australia, 32,000 from Europe, nearly 5000 will come from the Americas and 5000 from Africa.

Their average age is mid-to-late 40s and around 30 per cent of the visitors will be women.

Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett sensed increased urgency as the 100-day mark loomed. He, too, cautioned against expectations of an immediate business bonanza. "It's all very well for the guy with the hotel or running the restaurant. Their return is going to happen now, [but] for a lot of us it's a long game."

Many visiting business people will be at formal corporate events because their trips to New Zealand are written off against tax in their home countries.

One part of NZ 2011's work is the Business Club, a corporate match-making service where visitors are buddied with local businesses at events ranging from fishing to fashion shows.

Mr Grice said 2500 New Zealand businesses and 1900 visitors had registered.

NZ 2011 is also co-ordinating the REAL New Zealand Festival, which will feature more than 1000 events, and an accompanying showcase will show off New Zealand businesses from 16 sectors including marine, aviation, agribusiness, food and wine.





Tourism Industry Association chief executive Tim Cossar said his sector's challenge was to deal with uncertainty caused by late bookings that were endemic in the travel business.

"A lot of it won't play out until the last few weeks," he said.

The industry also had to emphasise that the "country full" sign would not be up.

"One of the things we have to put into perspective is if you look at a peak month for tourism like February or March we're hosting 250,000 visitors, so 85,000 visitors on their own is not necessarily anything new to the industry. What is new will be the bottlenecks in particular areas," he said.

"Most operators would say during the Cup there's still capacity available. What it does tend to do is make the domestic market sluggish so you get dislocation or displacement."

Business accounting software firm MYOB's latest survey of small business had found a slump in confidence, despite the World Cup on the horizon.

The survey showed less than a quarter - 23 per cent - of businesses expect the economy to recover in the next 12 months, while just 5 per cent expect a recovery in the next six months.

MYOB general manager Julian Smith said businesses were happier about their own prospects though and advised all firms to assess what the Cup could mean to them.

"It's about mindset and confidence. Even if you think you've got no products or services that would be of interest to a visitor you've got to think what can you do for your team, what can you do for your clients?" he said.

"You've got to be open to the fact that you may not sell more during the Rugby World Cup, but you may well make business connections. It's about letting people know you're open for business."

Get involved

The ANZ's tips include:

* Think about your relationships - you may not be an international operator but your customers may be. How can you collaborate so you all achieve success?

* Plan for the longer term. Use the RWC 2011 not just as a short-term cash injection, but as a long-term sustainable growth opportunity.

* Make sure your marketing strategy works for international customers. Think about where the national team fans will be.

* Have a follow-up plan to convert one-off sales into regular customers.

* Be prepared to adapt your plans according to economic developments that might affect visitor numbers and how much they spend.

* Know how you are going to fund short-term opportunities while minimising the impact on the longer term cash cycles.