International Tourism on the Agenda

As Hauraki Coromandel emerges from tough times, the rest of New Zealand is also looking to return to the pre Covid heydays. The tourism sector has hit the headlines recently being heralded as an industry that can help stimulate an economic recovery.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa CEO, Rebecca Ingram, considers that combined factors such as the International Visitor Levy, conservation and infrastructure, destination management, funding of Regional Tourism Organisations, the role of local government, data, sustainability and major events are all exciting opportunities. "The growth agenda sets the stage for a new golden period for New Zealand tourism." (Source: Tourism Ticker).

International travellers are the key target, particularly our friends across the Tasman. We are also seeing more engagement from local businesses in the trade marketing space. If you're looking to secure and grow your international business a good place to begin is the eXplore show.

eXplore Show - Central North Island

Destination Hauraki Coromandel (DHC) are fielding an increasing number of enquiries from tourism businesses wanting to grow their international client base. Registrations for eXplore close on the 18th of February.

We highly recommend the eXplore trade show if your business is:

new to the market
looking to grow international visitors
has new product features
is facing strong competition
looking to build trade contacts and forward bookings
keen to maintain trade relationships as core business

The event is targeted at the main travel partners ranging from the Product Buyer/Decision Makers at Inbound and Wholesale Companies through to frontline staff from isites, retail travel agencies and inbound/wholesale companies. Tourism NZ staff from the trade and media teams plus corporate and education sector buyers will also be in attendance.

eXplore has previously had buyers fly into the event from around the country and Australia, and for 2025 we will also be inviting buyers travelling to NZ for TRENZ from our key markets Australia, USA and UK/Germany.

There is no better opportunity to engage with so many quality buyers and influencers in one place, in one day. A targeted and receptive audience!

View the prospectus and register here.

If you have any questions please contact us. DHC commits to this event every year and would love you to join us.

TRENZ applications have now closed, so if you missed out on that, this is your next best option.

Australia Trade Roadshow - "North"

North Island Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) are planning two trade shows in Sydney and Melbourne in early September 2025. This activity would target frontline and product manager travel sellers in our biggest international market. If you'd like to welcome more Australian visitors and would like to consider this event please register an expression of interest here.

Please note the cost would be approximately $2500 per operator, this does not include flights or accommodation. Registrations close on the 12 of February.

www.thecoromandel.com/trade

This section of our website is specifically for the travel trade. If your business is featured in the accommodation, activities or transport categories this will mean that you are 'export ready.' This means that you offer quality experiences, consistently. You will be commission friendly, offering anywhere between 10 - 30% commission to travel sellers who sell your product, primarily offshore.

Please check to see if you are listed and whether the details are up to date. Contact DHC if you'd like to make changes to your trade listing.

Looking back - recent spend data

Spend data for December 2024 has been released. Hauraki Coromandel saw a 3.6% increase on the same time last year (STLY), slightly below the 4.5% national average. The return of international travellers has driven the increase right across the country. November was much the same for our region with slight increases for domestic and international spend.

Pāuanui, Tairua and Southern Mercury Bay saw the greatest increases in spend for November and December when compared to STLY.

Please note the spend data, provided by Worldline only reflects electronic card transactions and not cash or online bookings. Therefore the absolute total spend would be much greater. This data allows users to monitor trends in the market.

Reminder - DOC Webinars on proposed changes to conservation legislation

Last year the Department of Conservation (DOC) opened public consultation on modernising how it manages its land. This includes streamlining the concessions process and exploring potential access charges for some public conservation areas. 

DOC will be hosting two webinars for the tourism industry to discuss the current proposals and to respond to any questions.

Charging for access to some public conservation land
Wednesday 29 January, 1.30pm – 2.30pm
Discussion document
Modernising conservation land management
Friday 31 January, 10.00am – 11.00am
Discussion document

To receive an invitation for the webinars, please email which session you would like to attend to - LandLegislation@doc.govt.nz