Rotorua business takes aim at high-end Chinese market

Two Rotorua businessmen have teamed up to target the growing tourism market among wealthy Chinese and to help others do the same.
Hunter, fisher and ecological researcher Garry Watson has joined his wilderness skills and cultural knowledge with James Liu's understanding of and contacts in China to create ACE Journeys.
"We are providing a cultural connection to the heartbeat of the country," Watson said.
In their own business, the pair are bringing wealthy Chinese business people and foreign students studying in Auckland to the region to go hunting and fishing - something many do not have access to in their home country.
"It totally blows them away."
As a commercial hunter with more than 35 years' experience, Watson spends a day teaching the guests about the environment they are going into, the traditional principals around hunting in New Zealand and how to shoot safely before taking them into the bush.
He is then able to process the meat, velvet, sinew and other parts of the deer killed by the visitor and send it back to China where they will be served as part of an elaborate dinner at which the hunter can share his experience with friends and family. This includes video footage of their hunting expedition.
"We are the only company in New Zealand that can export venison to China, where only royalty have the privilege of shooting deer."
But the hunting is only part of the experience. Watson told The Daily Post there were strong parallels between the Maori and Chinese cultures, from language structures and the sense of family to the similarity between tikanga and feng shui.
"In this business, it's not just about creating a product, it's about understanding how to create a point of difference and a point of connection with the Chinese."
Watson said, with the long-standing connections Liu has in China and Hong Kong, ACE Journeys was already making this happen and they were keen to help others make those same connections.
Liu's insight into the Chinese market and the business relationships he has built up are a resource he hopes other Rotorua tourism operators will use.
He said the "scatter gun" approach to marketing was ineffective in China due to its size.
"You need to choose a target and make one, directed shot. China is just too big - even one city is too big. You need to choose one market within that city."
He said identifying and building relationships with the right people in that market would open doors and save considerable time.
Choosing and targeting a specific part of the Chinese travel market requires some understanding of the culture and the way people do business. For example, Liu said they would not sign any documents at a first meeeting.
But there is also a wider message he wants to package up with visitors' outdoors experiences here in Rotorua.
"It's not just about the tourism. If they can see the wonderful environment we have here and how important it is to our lives, maybe they will go back to China and look at what they have and think about how to care for their environment as well."