I read this article in the Business Blogs http://businessblogs.co.nz/2010/01/19/untapped-markets-for-new-zealand-tourism-young-families/ asking why we don't promote New Zealand more as a family travel destination to our closest neighbours Australia. I guess sometimes these things are left up to us "little guys" who are passionate enough to do it on our own, but wouldn't it be great if we had a bit more support?
Over the last eight years I have been promoting family travel in New Zealand via my websites because I am so proud of what New Zealand has to offer. When recently my company launched a new online family travel site http://www.kidsfriendlytravel.com/ I wasn't surprised at how many businesses are family-friendly from accommodation to adventure activities like AJ Hackett's Ledge Swing which cater for children as young as ten years old.
However, like Bella Katz said in her above article, I too believe New Zealand is missing out as we aren't promoting New Zealand enough to this niche market.
For those who might doubt this, the first bookings on http://www.kidsfriendlytravel.com/ didn't come from New Zealand but Australia, UK and Sweden. Families may not generally be big spenders, but are some of the best networkers I know and make great ambassadors for New Zealand.
So what do these families discover when they come to NZ?
They are discovering accommodation like Mokoia Downs, in Rotorua. While most of us think of bed and breakfast accommodation as something for couples, there are a surprising number of B&Bs that welcome families like Mokoia Downs.
Mokoia Downs is a small country estate set in five acres of idyllic, secluded farmland. The grounds are perfect for both relaxation and recreation, and as well as the many beautiful spots where guests can wander or linger there is an abundance of space for children and teenagers to explore and play in.
With a swimming pool and outdoor entertainment area for families to enjoy their grounds also contain a number of antiques which will excite the natural curiosity of children as well as adults.
The lodge itself is spacious, stylish and exceptionally comfortable, and families have the full use of it during their stay with them. Not only do they have television (and DVD player) in all the rooms, a wide range of films available can be viewed on a larger screen with full surround sound in their cinema studio. This studio was originally built as a Dance venue, and is also a perfect indoor venue for children to play in, a wonderful idea for those wet days!
This is just one of many accommodation operators that are providing families with a real Kiwi experience. Then there are the many activities that overseas families can enjoy, like the amazing glow worms caves at Te Anau or the sheep shows at Sheepworld at Warkworth.
So while it would be great to have the big guns promote family travel to New Zealand, I am happy to do my bit as it would be great for our country to get more families from Australia and globally discovered just how awesome this country is to visit with kids.
I realise you are discussing marketing to inbound families and particularly Australians but with the 2010 domestic tourism research released by what was the Ministry of Tourism, we have now started applying that to our domestic marketing.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably the most extensive and thankfully, useful, research undertaken on domestic tourism. As the outdoors playground for Wellington; the coolest little capital in the world, families are a big market for us.
This new research has helped us to look at what we tell families, which families we tell and how we tell them. We have always known that families are key for us but we were a bit shocked to see how counter we were to the research. Things are a changin'.
I too found the 2010 domestic tourism research interesting and it backed what we had thought all along.
ReplyDeleteFamilies do like travelling and although they might not be the biggest spenders, they still do bring tourist dollars in to the regions they visit.
In addition families, especially the "mum" network are very good at telling others about places they visit. In fact nearly 42% of our followers on Twitter are mums!