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Home / Hawkes Bay Today / Business

Tourism trio cast net wide

By Christine Allen
Northern Advocate·
17 Dec, 2014 04:00 AM3 mins to read

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Paul Davis and Karly Bent, kick back in Whangarei's Town Basin, a spot they say is just one of Northland's many gems. Photo / John Stone

Paul Davis and Karly Bent, kick back in Whangarei's Town Basin, a spot they say is just one of Northland's many gems. Photo / John Stone

A new tourism team has been appointed for Northland and is hoping that 2015 will see some major upgrades in the region's tourism tools.

Before the trio - Paul Davis, Karly Bent and Sarah Yeates - get stuck into the new year, they have been travelling throughout the region to find out what tourism operators want from the group.

The team is a branch of Northland Inc, the region's economic development agency.

Heading the team is Whangarei District Council's promotion and tourism manager and general manager for Regional Promotions at Northland Inc, Paul Davis.

He said the thread that was woven through Northland and pulled the tourism pieces together was the Twin Coast Discovery Touring Route, an 800km circular route that has been in existence for 20 years but needs upgrading.

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The route takes in the Kauri Coast and Hokianga, the top of the North from Rawene to Cape Reinga, the Bay of Islands and Whangarei and surrounds, which includes Tutukaka and Waipu.

When tourists arrive in Northland, they want to fall into the region's story and the 800km route helps visitors join the dots to see the bigger picture, he said.

"We want to bring that touring route up to date and hopefully, introduce an app too," he added.

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Stage one of the team's plan involves a review of what the region already has and what operators think is needed.

"We have been travelling around the region to get feedback from operators with a view to developing a plan."

Stage two kick-starts the action, which could include upgrading the route's hubs and information sites, with improvement options including more interactive sites.

The region is also seeing a shift in visitor trends, he said.

"The last 12 months has been better for Northland, and New Zealand."

According to the latest Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's (MBIE) Northland visitor numbers, the region saw a 10.7 per cent lift in guest nights in September, compared with the same month in 2013.

That was up 2.7 per cent for the Far North (53,227 nights), down 13.7 per cent (3330 nights) for Kaipara but up 34.3 per cent (28,797 nights) for Whangarei.

"We are more likely to see Australian, American, UK and European visitors visiting Northland now," he said.

He said, however, the domestic market was just as important. "These are people who will visit repeatedly and have a disposable income.

"For example, providing Aucklanders with a good reason to travel up is a key objective for operators."

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Tourism specialist and Northlander Karly Bent will be handling media and trade on the team.

The Kerikeri woman joined the team in October having spent four years at Tourism New Zealand in Auckland.

Ms Bent also worked for an Auckland PR agency, focusing on tourism, on top of working as a journalist for industry magazines.

While with Tourism New Zealand, she worked in the international media team, and the major events team on projects including The Hobbit New Zealand movie premiere.

She will be telling people about what Northland has to offer and providing those links to domestic and international media.

Northland Inc's Sarah Yeates completes the tourism trio as marketing and communications manager.

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In November the team hosted 90 Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) staff from its Auckland, Wellington and Sydney offices.

The group visited Hokianga and the Bay of Islands for its annual staff forum.

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