Interview

‘Our focus is the high-end niche traveller’

Tourism New Zealand recently re-launched its Kiwi Specialist Programme, an online training module for travel operators seeking to sell the destination. Steena Joy met with Kiran Nambiar, country manager (India), Tourism New Zealand to find out what's different about the revised module and the NTO's plans for the Indian market.

Kiran Nambiar

How different is the new training module of the Kiwi Specialist Programme vis-a-vis the one launched in November 2004?

The new Kiwi Specialist Programme has been closely aligned across all markets to establish a standard global approach and consistent criteria. The new Kiwi Specialist Programme entitles our partners to a two-year certification period as against the one year validation of the last programme. To achieve Kiwi Specialist status, consultants must successfully complete eight out of 10 available modules. The first module (How to Sell NZ) is compulsory and any seven may be attempted from the remaining nine regional modules.

Since its inception in November 2004, the online training modules have been well received and have equipped travel operators with updated information on New Zealand's offerings. Tour operators can look forward to benefiting immensely from the revised modules, through increased knowledge and the ability to design better services and options to sell destination New Zealand. There are no registration fees or application forms for enrolling to it. They have to simply visit traveltrade.newzealand.com to enroll.

What has been the growth of Indian outbound to New Zealand?

For the year ended February 2007, there has been a 15 per cent increase in tourist arrivals from India, which is 20,476 visitors. This is despite the fact that there are no direct flights to NZ. In the next four or five years, once the direct links are in place we expect this growth to touch 30 per cent. The civil aviation agreements with the Indian government are already in place and Air New Zealand will get delivery of its first Boeing 787 in 2010 and then we hope to have a direct air link with India.

More importantly, not only has there been an increase in number of visitors to New Zealand, there has been an increase in the value of visitors - which means travellers are now spending more while in NZ. They are choosing boutique accommodation, participating in activities, etc. The stay has also seen an increase from 10 nights to an average of 13 nights. There has been a definitive and noticeable shift at the trend from package tours to FITs with the latter being on the increase. Approximately 30 per cent of the outbound travel to New Zealand from India comes in package tours, while nearly 70 per cent as FITs.

When and where will the Kiwi Link India trade show be held this year?

Tourism New Zealand organises the Kiwi Link India trade show every year. Now in its fourth year, the show aims to raise awareness and educate travel trade from India about New Zealand. This year Kiwi Link India will be held in the first week of September. We will cover New Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. We expect about 20 New Zealand companies to participate this year. These companies will include inbound operators, New Zealand Regional Tourism Organisations, activities, attractions and hotel chains.

Can you tell us about the self-drive holiday options in NZ available to Indian tourists?

Self drive is one of the best ways to explore New Zealand. They are popular with the Indian visitors for several reasons: the Indian driving license is recognised in New Zealand, New Zealanders drive on the same side as India, all vehicles are equipped with right hang drive, all road signs are in English and there is absolutely no traffic in New Zealand!

You can legally drive in New Zealand for up to 12 months if you have either a current driver's license from your home country, or an International Driving Permit (IDP).

How has NZ developed as a destination for MICE?

Direct air links are crucial, which at the moment are not available. Most of our marketing activities are towards increasing value from FIT leisure travellers to New Zealand. However, in the past year we have seen encouraging growth in incentive tours. These tours usually have a group size of between 25 to 150 pax and include extremely high-end arrangements. Participants that qualify for an incentive trip to New Zealand are usually the platinum target achievers and top one per cent of the corporate ladder. For 2007, we have incentive groups between 50 to 600 pax travelling to New Zealand.

Are you planning any new promotions in the Indian market?

Tourism New Zealand's marketing strategy in India is in sync with the global one, which focuses on reaching out to the high-end niche traveller who is looking for newer experiences - 'interactive traveller' as we would like to term it. He is a person who is well travelled, looking for a unique experience in vacations, loves nature, and consumes many of the products New Zealand has to offer.

Our communications strategy is run throughout the year and designed to directly target the consumer through a combination of advertising and feature stories in the media. Intensification of our communications is as per seasonal requirements. Media activities are heavily focused on promoting concepts that would appeal specifically to the Indian traveller such as self-drive, luxury activities (including luxury lodges, relaxing spa treatments, romantic heli-picnics to secluded locations, heli hikes, wine trails); adventure sports and other exciting options. We also focus a lot on internet promotions, driving traffic and creating awareness about our website. Internet is a good opportunity for us to target the profile of travellers we aim at.