Return of international visitors

The visibility of international travellers has been a high point this summer after two very difficult months. Domestic visitor numbers are recovering*, although weekends are still down on last year, until this last weekend when Beach Hop attracted many thousands (31,995 domestic visitors recorded on March 25 2023 up from 13,782 in 2022 when there was no event). We have recorded more than 1500 international visitors in our region at noon every day this month with operators reporting good representation from our most important offshore markets, Australia, US, UK and Europe.

* Visitor numbers courtesy of Data Ventures (derived from mobile phone data).

Marketing Support

If you are marketing a business on social media with a tight budget, these free webinars will cover organic methods of growing your audience and your brand. The webinars are designed for small business owners by Melissa Forziat Events and Marketing in the US.

April 13, 7am - "How to Win at Social Media (even with no budget!)"

April 20, 7am - "Smart Principles of Marketing Messaging"

Inbound Travel Trade meetings

The international travel trade season began last week with the first annual event for inbound travel teams and Regional Tourism Organisations since the pandemic, convened by Regional Tourism New Zealand in Auckland.

While many of the reservation teams are rebuilding, most large inbound agencies have retained their experienced Product Managers who are very familiar with many of our operators and the accommodation and activities on offer in our region. Trade and Media Manager Emma Darragh was able to update the reservation teams on the road situation and was reassured that agencies are focussing on delivering bookings, reinforcing business connections and designing new tours. This means increased opportunity to feature Hauraki Coromandel businesses in trade itineraries and promotions into our offshore markets to independent travellers and tour groups.

"We have heard that visitors are seeking more "experiential" travel and the agents we met confirmed this. They are getting more enquiries for ways in which visitors can get to know the local culture while they are here, " says Emma. "Experiential travel helps increase understanding and preserve the way of life of the destination community. Food (or culinary) tourism is one of the most popular forms."

"As most of our businesses are owner-operated, meeting our locals is often the easy part. What this does mean is that the concept of the tourism industry is broad and all our businesses who offer hospitality and engage with visitors are part of The Coromandel story," explains Emma. "We know that retail spend captures a large part of the visitor dollar, and locally-made homegrown products also feature in explaining who we are and why we are here."

The next event on the international trade calendar is the eXplore Show at Eden Park on April 27 for operators to meet New Zealand-based trade teams directly.  This year Destination Hauraki Coromandel will be joined by Kiwi Dundee Adventures, Orokawa Bay Retreat, Driving Creek and the Gold Discovery Centre.

If you would like to find out more about working with the international travel trade, please contact Emma.