Tourism chief sets new challenges

Seven weeks into his role as the new Destination Rotorua Marketing general manager, Oscar Nathan is optimistic about where the local tourism industry is heading, but says the coming year will be tough.

Feedback from this week's tourism forum suggests to Nathan that the Rotorua Tourism Committee strategies and focus points, being implemented by his organisation, are heading down the right path.

Personally, he sees the three key issues for the destination as:

Connectivity - accessibility to the industry and the wider community

Reputation - making sure Rotorua is being seen for the right reasons

Return on investment - jobs and growth to attract and retain good people to deliver good quality service

"The challenge is how do we get ourselves, as a destination, to a place we have never been before? The tourism industry, the wider business community and the community at large needs to find a direction that galvanises us and this is the year to do that."

But it will not be an easy year, following a summer that was "patchy, at best".

"There are issues swirling around, particularly our ability to attract more of the international visitor spend. This is a New Zealand issue as well as a Rotorua issue."

He sees collaboration between the Rotorua District Council, the community and the tourism industry as essential to making visitors experiences equal to, or better than, expected.

As a former chairman of Maori in Tourism Rotorua, he is also keen to generate more iwi involvement in the sector.

Delivering on promises is something he is very big on.

"The worst thing we could do is get people here with false promises and not deliver. If we are going to focus on 'world class', we need to step up."

Nathan says it is about providing top levels of service, safety and experiences, not specifically catering to five-star, high-end visitors.

And he wants Rotorua to partner with other destinations to achieve this.

"We have spent too many years focusing on ourselves and on being the cream of New Zealand visitor experiences."

The focus now needs to be on who the city's target markets are and how best to reach them in tandem with other centres. As deputy chairman of the Tourism Industry Association, Nathan's industry connections will boost Rotorua's profile and help give it some standing and influence at a national level.

When it comes to influencing visitors, technology will play a role, but he said the sea of information now available through social media and the internet meant the challenge lay not in getting Rotorua's message out there, but in making it stand out from the crowd.

He is keen on using QR codes to inform visitors of current deals and events through brochures and interpretive signs.

The codes can be read by smart phones, enabling them to download updated electronic information.

 

"Within the next 12 to 18 months, I would like to see every visitor brochure promoting our destination with a QR code on it. It gives life beyond the printed material."

Nathan also wants better distribution of information within the sector about events bringing people to Rotorua, so operators can be prepared, and systems in place that can be quickly activated if an unexpected influx does occur.