Domestic Market Heats Up
While the summer period generally signals boom time for most Kiwi destinations, the balmy season’s arrival is conversely eyed with caution in the capital. December and January generally see the corporate market all but shut down, meaning Wellington’s hotels and restaurants have beds and seats to fill. As well as promote Wellington’s destination brand year-round, our job is to underpin this with tactical activity and events promotion that pushes the quieter seasons such as early summer and the depths of winter.
Summer in the City
With a Kids Stay Free campaign running, Game Masters on at Te Papa and plenty of other events on the summer schedule, the weather wasn’t the only thing hitting record temperature in Wellington this summer. December and January were both record months in terms of commercial guest nights, with an 8.7% growth in the domestic market across the two-month period. Wellington quadrupled the average national growth in December and our partner Hotel Monitor indicated a 7.76% increase in total rooms sold over the Kids Stay Free campaign stay period (15 Dec – 31 Jan). Strong out-of-town crowds for Nitro Circus Live and Hertz Sevens also then saw February hold strong, where usually we’d see a decent dip in year not featuring the biennial New Zealand Festival.
The weather wasn’t the only thing hot in Wellington this summer, with record commercial guest nights kicking off the balmy season.
The Winter Forecast
Winter in Wellington isn’t known for its fine weather, but the forecast for tourism is looking very fine thanks to heavy showers of cultural events. From May right through to August there is an incredible performance programme, with NZ Opera’s Madame Butterfly, Wellington Jazz Festival on Cuba, Phantom of the Opera, The TelstraClear Season of Swan Lake, a series of NZSO concerts and Warhol: Immortal at Te Papa. Plus there’s a Bledisloe Cup match and Visa Wellington On a Plate in the mix, before spring brings with it the World of WearableArt Awards Show season.
We are currently planning an online cultural events promotion for winter, along with a TV and online campaign for Warhol: Immortal with Te Papa. The programme for Visa Wellington On a Plate will launch on June 10 and promises to be tastier than ever.
The hottest little jazz festival will be one of many events heating up the coolest little capital this winter.
Where to from there?
We are also now getting set to develop the next generation of domestic brand campaign (currently Spoil Yourself in Wellington), with a Request for Proposal (RFP) for creative development and execution currently out in the market. As well as development of the next brand campaign, this process is focused on at the same time integrating solutions to our tactical challenges of Weekends, Winter, Summer and Easter - with a view to a three-year plan. Concurrent to this, we are undertaking updated research into the Domestic tourism market, with a national online survey and focus groups in Auckland and Christchurch. The climate in two of our major domestic target markets has changed significantly since Spoil Yourself in Wellington was developed in 2008. Our research is exploring how these changes in climate have – or, as the case may be, have not - affected the challenges and opportunities for Wellington as the country’s leading domestic short break destination. We are also examining triggers to action and campaign recall of both Wellington and competitor activity. So watch this space!
Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics: Part 2
This week, in honour of the fact that one of our colleagues recently tied the knot, we thought we’d bring you something old, and something new…(sorry nothing borrowed or blue on this occassion). The old, but very important, dataset being referred to is the Commercial Accommodation Survey. The new, and with huge potential, is the Regional Tourism Indicators dataset.
If you are able to say “I do” understand these datasets then you will be a long way down the aisle to understanding and making the most of what they have to offer.
Commercial Accommodation Survey
The accommodation sector is an important (and significant) component of the tourism industry. Accordingly Statistics New Zealand’s Accommodation Survey is a robust and important measure of commercial accommodation in New Zealand. The Accommodation Survey is a monthly survey of (most) short-term commercial accommodation in New Zealand. Because it is a census survey theoretically it captures 100% of eligible accommodation providers (hotels, motels, backpackers, holiday parks). In reality is captures about 75-80%, however it is still perhaps the second-most accurate national dataset available.
Unlike the IVA and IVS the Accommodation Survey provides a direct domestic and international guest nights comparison – great for comparing both sides of the coin! On the Accommodation Survey page there are three spreadsheets to choose from – Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO) Area by Accommodation Type; Territorial Authority (TA) by Total Accommodation; and Origin of Guests Information by Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO). The first (RTO) pivot table provides the Total Guest Nights variable. This is what to use to measure an area’s total guest nights on a month, quarter or 12 month basis. In the “All variables for one RO” tab you can choose any RTO (regional) area and/or the Accommodation Type, if you wish to look at Hotel versus Motel in an area, from the drop down boxes. Again, in the Origin of Guests Information by Regional Tourism Organisation spreadsheet the “Origin data selected RTO” tab provides a breakdown of the total guest nights into domestic and international. However it doesn’t let you break origin guest nights down by accommodation type unfortunately.
The Accommodation Survey is used by PWT as a measure of performance on a monthly basis because of its relative robustness. However its time-lag of release (approximately six weeks after the month end) is a drawback for reporting and analysis.
Regional Tourism Indicators
The Regional Tourism Indicators (RTI) is a new dataset established by the Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment (MBIE). The ‘RTIs’ use an index to measure changes in credit and debit card spend by international and domestic visitors to regions.
The International data is sourced from Paymark via Marketview. Paymark is one of two clearing houses in New Zealand and approximately 70% of New Zealand retailers use the Paymark network. International data covers all transactions made in Paymarks’s network (74,000 active merchants) by holders of international cards.
The Domestic data is sourced from BNZ via Marketview. BNZ has around 20 percent share of the New Zealand card market. The BNZ cardholder base is geographically distributed broadly in line with the New Zealand population. The domestic data excludes corporate credit cards because their location is attributed to the head office rather than the location of the card user; therefore it is not possible to determine when the transaction is away from the normal location of the cardholder, and hence classified as domestic travel.
Regional Tourism Indicators Domestic Spend Index
The important things to remember with the RTIs is that 1) the data is a sample only (albeit a very comprehensive sample), and not a total, and 2) it is an index of spending activity. Thus, the data provided does not say international visitors spent, for example, $100million dollars in December. Rather, because it is a sample and is indexed from an benchmark, it shows us that compared to the benchmark – which is 100 as at 2008 – spend has increased or decreased by X%. If we look at Wellington RTO’s International spend for March 2013 (116) we can see that compared to March 2012 (120) spend has declined 3.9% month on month.
While the new RTIs only provide a basic measure of spend by region, they are nonetheless a timely, highly accurate dataset, available on a monthly basis.
Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics: Part 1
“Lies, damned lies, and statistics” is a phrase describing the persuasive power of numbers. Tourism data is not always easy to find, and when you do, understanding it can lead to a headache! As Mark Twain once said “Figures often beguile me”.
We are often asked to provide numbers on tourism in Wellington. But often, as the phrase above illustrates, the numbers are only part of the story. This is the first of two posts which aim to summarise the main sources of tourism data in New Zealand and explains what is the most useful, and the weaknesses inherent in all of them!
International Visitor Arrivals
Statistics New Zealand’s International Visitor Arrivals (IVA) are based on electronic arrival and departure records for each international passenger*. Because all of the arrival and departure records are counted, it makes this dataset one of the most accurate in the tourism industry. With a time lag of about three weeks, it is also one of the timeliest.
This dataset provides a lot of (useful) data, and can be confusing to understand. As a guide, what we often default to is Table 5, which provides a simple snapshot of short-term arrivals to New Zealand, as well as the totals for regional ports of entry. Have a look at the latest results. Table 6 provides the same data, but on a “12 months to” basis.
*It should be noted that the IVA data does not include any cruise passenger figures. Cruise passengers are either counted in the main arrivals data if they fly into New Zealand for their cruise. For those cruises that start overseas they are simply treated as ‘in transit’.
International Visitor Survey
The tourism industry is full of acronyms, and tourism datasets are no exception! One fundamental thing to understand, if you are using these datasets, is the difference between the IVA and IVS! The IVA (above) measures arrivals into the country (via a port of entry). The International Visitor Survey (IVS) on the other hand measures visitation within New Zealand. For example, while visitors fly direct to Wellington airport, visitors (who are already in New Zealand) also arrive by ferry, trains and automobiles (to name a few). The IVS attempts to calculate how many visitors visit a destination in total.
The IVS is a quarterly, sample-based survey that interviews international visitors in the departure lounges of the country’s three main airports (Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington). An annual sample of 5,200 international visitors is asked where they went during their travels, how long they stayed in each place and how much they spent (as an example). It must be noted that the IVS was designed to provide accurate data at the national level. The small sample sizes from an RTO (regional tourism organisation boundary) point of view means that by breaking down the analysis by country of origin can be highly inaccurate! But if you want to know how many visitor nights were spent in New Zealand in total, then you will be able to trust the numbers.
Next Up: Part 2
In Part 2 we will discuss the Commercial Accommodation Monitor and introduce you to the new Regional Tourism Indicators.
Wellington cruises through summer…
By Selena Murray
… But only with the help of the Wellington City Ambassadors (WCA)!
WHAT IS A WCA?
WCA is a volunteer programme implemented in 2011 by Positively Wellington Tourism (PWT) – the Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO) – and Wellington i-SITE, to welcome cruise passengers to Wellington over the busy summer cruise seasons. The volunteers, aka “The Wellington Incredibles”, are defined by their stand-out uniforms and assist our visitors in showcasing all that Wellington has to offer. A significant increase in the number of cruise ship visitors over the last few years has meant that PWT had to find a way of looking after the experience of those visitors. It’s been fantastic to see just how many locals are happy to sacrifice their time to meet and greet our visitors, ensuring that everyone has the very best experience during their brief stay in our city.
Enjoying the end of season 12/13 function at the Wellington Museum of City and Sea
THE PACKAGE:
Local knowledge is so important to our WCAs and we try to enhance this by providing experiences for each of them at each of the city’s key attractions, including; Te Papa Museum Game Masters, Wellington Zoo, Zealandia, and Carter Observatory. Volunteers are also invited to participate in familiarisation training and ‘get to know each other’ sessions at some of the city’s popular attractions or during tours:
- A close encounter with a Cheetah at Wellington Zoo
- Wellington Museum of City and Sea
Wellington City Ambassadors after surviving an enjoyable close encounter with the cheetahs at Wellington Zoo
CRUISE SEASON FACTS & FIGURES:
The 2012 – 13 season, will see Wellington welcoming around 90 ships carrying an average of 1860 passengers. On fifteen days, we’ve had two ships in port at once and on one very busy day, we had three, including the largest ship of the season, the “Voyager of the Seas”, carrying 3138 passengers, plus crew!
To find out more, or if you’d like to become a cruise volunteer, please contact Selena Murray on +64 4 915 7294.
Diamond Princess and Aurora at CentrePort on another beautiful Wellington day!
Campaign Corner: Fill Your Head with Space & Happiness in the Air
While we use our blog to try help you plan your activity courtesy of things like dates for your diary, and share results of campaigns such as Wellington Wishing Well and Spoiling Auckland, we also like to spread word about what other people are doing. Here’s a couple of things we’ve come across recently that we think are pretty great:
Carter Observatory wants to fill your head with space
Take a bunch of people, put them in a state-of-the-art planetarium, wire their heads up to WellingtonHospital’s high-tech EEG brain scanning machine, and turn on the stars. Carter Observatory’s latest campaign – the handiwork of Clemenger BBDO – is literally a bit of a brainwave.
If you’d like to fill your head with space, Carter Observatory is open daily from 10am with late nights on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Wellington stars on prime time US tele
As you might have read on Stuff.co.nz recently, two Wellington creative types won an advertising competition that saw this incredible advertisement for the coolest little capital in the world (well, moreso Coke) shown on US television during American Idol – the country’s second highest-rated show. ‘Happiness in the Air’ is the work of Hugh Mitton and Lee Kupferman, and sees cans of Coke floated from Mount Victoria with red balloons and caught by gleeful lovers around the city. Have a watch:
Coca-Cola “Happiness in the Air” from MOFILM on Vimeo.
Seen anything that’s a bit clever or that’s inspired you recently? Share them with us in the comments if you fancy.
Dates for the Diary: How 2013’s Events Calendar is Shaping Up
As reported last week, November’s events calendar helped push a near 13% increase in weekend rooms sold in our partner hotels.
Weekday growth – up 2.3% – was more modest for the month, but finished on a high with average occupancy at 99.7% on the night of the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and 95% from Monday 26 – Thursday 29 November.
The world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey capped off a blockbuster line-up of events this November.
These figures reinforce what we already know: a varied and strategic schedule of events is pivotal to driving weekend and off season visitation, particularly from the domestic market. November is always a strong month for hoteliers, but the weekend performance was clearly a lot more positive due to a string of sell out concerts and shows such as Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Giselle and the diamond anniversary tour of The Mousetrap.
In 2011 there was Rugby World Cup and this year there was The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey World Premiere. I have heard people say, ‘there’s nothing big’ coming up in 2013. But rest assured, the calendar is already looking very strong, and will continue to be added to.
Here’s a few things we already know about the year ahead:
January: Working on it
It’s no secret January is a problem month for Wellington, as locals and New Zealand as a whole pack up to visit the family, the beach and the bach. This is certainly something we at Positively Wellington Tourism continue to be aware of and work on, with this year’s Kids Stay Free campaign pushing travel in late December and January. As well as our usual set of attractions, the first month of 2013 offers many reasons to stop by. Among the highlights are the Game Masters and Angels & Aristocrats exhibitions at Te Papa, Cliff Richard at TSB Arena and Pinot 2013.
February & March: Always hot
The later summer months are strong for Wellington and New Zealand, with the sell-out Hertz Sevens and popular Jim Beam Homegrown.
April: Exciting developments
As well as continued development of the Handmade weekend, April sees the first ever premiership AFL match staged outside of Australia in on Anzac Day.
June: Big names
As you may have read in The Dominion Post recently, we’ll be seeing Andy Warhol’s works at Te Papa. Phantom of the Opera has also just been announced for a June run at St James Theatre.
August: Taste & test
As well as the fifth course of the ever growing Visa Wellington On a Plate, an All Blacks vs Wallabies match on the 24th will be the perfect antidote to the winter season blues.
September & October: 25 years of WOW
You only have to look at how shifting months last year has thrown the month-on-month Commercial Accommodation Monitor results to see how truly fantastic the World of WearableArt Awards Show is for Wellington. Not that anyone in the tourism, hospitality and retail sectors needs convincing! In 2013 we’ll be celebrating the show’s 25th anniversary.
This is but what we know now. What we also know is that there are new announcements around every corner and look forward to hearing and sharing more as they come through. If you aren’t already, sign up to our Positively Informed and KNOW Wellington e-newsletters to keep in the loop on all the industry and events happenings.
Summer Read Recommendations
If you have a chance to put your feet up this season but still fancy putting the time to good use, here’s a few reading recommendations from our team that both entertain and inform:
The Idea Writers by Teressa Iezzi
Recommended by: Angela Moriarty, Communications Manager
I’m only a couple of chapters in, but already I’m really enjoying this and can’t wait to put my feet up and get into it. While The Idea Writers has been penned with copywriters in mind, it holds a lot of insights that are relevant to anyone interested in marketing, advertising, the new media age, and how the customer experience affects your brand. You’ll have heard a lot of it before I’m sure, but it’s an easy and interesting read that inspires with great examples and will definitely get you thinking about what you can do next.
Map Addict: A Tale of Obsession, Fudge & the Ordnance Survey by Mike Parker
Recommended by: David Perks, CEO
I picked this book up a few months ago without even scanning the pages I knew this was a book for me. I am a Map Addict; I can’t stand the thought of going anywhere without a map. Indeed, for most places I go I will take numerous maps. When I read this book I realised that I really am an addict. For me, maps are a window on what travel is like as a child. I would compulsively draw maps of anywhere, everywhere and places that only existed in my imagination. If you should happen to read this book there’s a story in the first chapter about map acquisition as a child that I really identified with… go read the book and then tell me off!
Working in the travel sector, I like travel books, I like inspirational pictures and blogs and tweets, BUT most of all I like maps. If you like maps it’s well worth looking out for this book. If you like maps and grew up in England in the 70s and 80s, then it’s a must read!
Tell to Win by Peter Guber
Recommended by: Alana McGillivray, Digital Projects Manager
My book recommendation is for a book that I really, really want to read, but haven’t yet had the chance. In fact, I’ve even gone so far as to getting it out of the library, but alas, those pages remained unturned. Tell to Win interests me as there’s a definite shift happening in how destinations, and indeed products, are promoted, moving away from ‘marketing’ to ‘storytelling’. This is the focus of Peter Guber’s book, and below is the snippet about it I came across on the Co.Create Blog that makes me want to read it:
“Guber argues that humans simply aren’t moved to action by ‘data dumps’, dense PowerPoint slides, or spreadsheets packed with figures. But we are beasts of emotion more than logic. We are creatures of story, and the process of changing one mind or the whole world must begin with ‘Once upon a time.’ “
You can find out more about the book on the Forbes Book Review. And if you do get time to read it, I’d love to know what you thought.
A Stadium of 4 million by Martin Snedden
Recommended by: Jessica Stephens, Australia Marketing Manager
I haven’t actually read this yet, but it’s on my list! I’m interested in how a single event brought a country together and, having worked on it during my time with Air New Zealand, I’m keen to read Martin’s overall observations in A Stadium of 4 Million.
My Life in France by Julia Child
Recommended by Sarah Meikle, General Manager, Marketing
My Life in France is an inspiring read penned by Julia Child about her time living in France and studying at Le Cordon Bleu. It’s got me thinking…maybe I should sign up for a course or two and Wellington’s own latest opening of this global institution!
What do you think people should be reading this summer? Post a comment and share your recommendations.
