Welcoming visitors back to The Coromandel in Orange

As we are striving to understand all the implications of the traffic light system, the next phase of New Zealand's COVID-19 response, the announcement that Kiwis will be able to travel to The Coromandel for Christmas and summer holidays is the news we had all been waiting to hear.

With the good news came a raft of uncertainty and questions around under what conditions our businesses could operate in the Orange level, and how they should best prepare. To ensure you have the most up to date information, please refer to the official source at https://www.business.govt.nz/covid-19/covid-19-protection-framework

Accommodation providers:  https://www.business.govt.nz/covid-19/covid-19-protection-framework/accommodation-services/

Activity operators:  https://www.business.govt.nz/covid-19/covid-19-protection-framework/entertainment-recreation-and-exercise/

Hospitality businesses: https://www.business.govt.nz/covid-19/covid-19-protection-framework/food-and-drink-services/

Worksafe has guidelines for employers: https://www.worksafe.govt.nz/managing-health-and-safety/novel-coronavirus-covid/how-to-decide-what-work-requires-a-vaccinated-employee/

Tourism Industry Aotearoa has published some comprehensive guidelines that you can download.

Guidelines for accommodation providers

Guidelines for tourism activities

Reigniting summer bookings

Having held off on the conversion elements of our marketing campaign, and re-booked billboards and busbacks in Auckland, our marketing manager, Megan is deploying our marketing assets to give our region the widest coverage possible, now that confidence is returning to our drive market.

Destination Coromandel started a second iteration of the"Where Kiwis Holiday" campaign in September.  It was off to a slow start given the uncertainty around travel restrictions in Auckland and Waikato, but we reached out to keep The Coromandel in people's minds and connected with Kiwis further afield who are able to book a summer holiday with more confidence. As always, the focus is on driving bookings for businesses and is aligned closely with paid activity by Tourism New Zealand.

We have restarted our digital marketing and out-of-home advertising in Auckland, and we have elements in print regionally and locally over summer for Kiwis to do something while they're here. We must make sure we are supporting your marketing efforts (especially as marketing budgets will be scant) by showcasing your products and product packages.

Many of the packages listed on our site run until the end of December, but you can list ongoing specials with Tourism New Zealand (tag them "summer") which will also display on www.thecoromandel.com. Both TNZ and Destination Coromandel will be running paid activity through till February to give legs to later summer bookings, so it's worth setting this up before guests start arriving.

New Zealand Motorhome Caravan Association Local Deals

As a motorhome-friendly region, NZMCA is  offering an opportunity for businesses in The Coromandel to market to NZMCA members nationwide via their most used tools: NZMCA app and member’s portal. The promotion will launch mid-January 2022, and there is a bonus to sign up before Christmas.  www.nzmca.org.nz

Please keep in touch with how you are going and what your plans are as you make them.