Morena
It was great to be back on board the expedition ship Coral Adventurer for a recent eleven days journey in Aotearoa.
As we cruised from Te Whanganui a Tara/Wellington to Piopiotahi/Milford Sound, it was time to korero the stories of Aotearoa, particularly our conservation successes and failures.
Sharing these types of stories can be challenging. There are many different interpretive techniques that can be used to ensure guests are both entertained, learn, challenged and have fun. We often see guides who don’t do this. Rather they concentrate on content: not the delivery.
In our view delivery is more important that content. Sure you need to know your “stuff” but it is how its is delivered that will make the experience memorable. This is especially so if the weather conditions are challenging, the birds are not singing or the dolphins aren’t where they are supposed to be! How you deliver an experience in those condition puts you into mastering interpretation – or not.
We’ve taken groups through thigh deep water, eaten some plants that taste like asparagus, compared salmon to politicians and danced on a ships tender. Now thats entertainment!
As Simon McArthur put it “Interpretation is not information. Great interpretation leaves people moved, their assumptions challenged and their interest in learning stimulated. Good interpretation is still thought about at breakfast the next morning, or over the dinner table the next week.“
There were of course many other conversations during the days onboard about life in America and life in Aotearoa.
Thanks to our American guests https://www.olivia.com/ for being such a fun group.
Ka kite ano
Malcolm
Coral Adventurer at sea
Morena
We have previously discussed the importance of storytelling in a number of previous blogs (https://www.interpretationnz.co.nz/nzx-the-art-of-the-story/).
Stories are the key component of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs which focuses on human motivation. Maslow later went on to expand his thinking and added: Cognitive – people generally want to learn and know things about their world and their places in it. Aesthetic – interacting with beauty and creative form. Transcendence – the drive to look beyond the physical self in search of meaning.
The role, power and relevance of Maslow’s thinking is also backed by facts. Steve Ballantyne noted a few in his blog at https://www.brandiq.co.nz/why-stories-stick-2/.
We especially like the following: “Neuroscience has proven that stories are over 20 times more memorable than facts. That’s because more areas of the brain are actively engaged when we are processing a story vs facts and data.”
“When deeply engrossed in a great story, our brains release hormones (dopamine, oxytocin and cortisol) which can create empathy and emotional engagement and help with embedding memories.”
All too often, we encounter lousy storytelling—a list of facts and meaningless words held together by a fragile thread.
Disengagement with the storyteller and the experience follow very quickly. If your storytelling isn’t delivering talk to us about how we can shift your storytelling to new heights.
Ka kite
Malcolm
Storytelling in action
Morena
The art of the story is a conversation starter which is often discussed, but is just as often given lip service by many in the tourism sector.
There are just as many definitions of storytelling as there are stories! We like this version from the National Storytelling Network (with our modifications): Storytelling is the interactive art of using words and actions to spark visitor engagement and change.
We believe there are five key elements of storytelling. These are:
Of course storytelling can be combined with other art experiences which run the whole gambit of the genre.
We recently experienced a “how not to tell a story” tourism activity. Our guide did manage to partly deliver some limited form of functional interaction. The other elements of effective storytelling were not even touched on. This was a missed opportunity for a business which is at the premium end of the market.
Are your stories delivering what your visitors want? Talk to us about we can work with you to deliver an effective story experience for your initiative.
Ka kite ano
Story telling in action at Sanctuary Mountain
Nau mai!
Late, last summer in Coastal Otago; hoiho and visitors mixing in a small area of reserve land in a natural landscape. No interpreters present, and “common sense” guidelines being ignored by some.
With increasing number of visitors travelling to more remote places the potential threat to endangered wildlife is incrementally increasing. What drive visitors to seek wildlife interactions?
Considering the importance of this question there is a lack of recent research that suggests motivations and potential mitigation of any issue. One key study undertaken(in New Zealand and Australia) by CRC Tourism sets some important benchmarks in understanding, and thereby managing, visitors expectations.
Surveys asked visitors to rate how important opportunities to see wildlife are in their holiday travel decisions. Overall:
Those interviewed were asked how could the wildlife experience be improved. Key responses included:
Across a range of sites in both countries people seeking wildlife interactions were likely to be/have: older, have higher levels of education, stay longer, travel further, spend more, higher education levels and incomes, independent travellers, younger, female, younger, independent, use the internet for information, stay longer in the region.
Key themes around visitor satisfaction with wildlife experiences was higher for visitors who: learnt more about wildlife, rated their most memorable wildlife encounter as exciting, rated their most memorable wildlife encounter as natural ,place greater importance on seeing wildlife on holiday, are tour participants, are female, seek wildlife encounters in natural, environment, desire wildlife encounters with knowledgeable guides or staff present, and saw an animal for the first time in real life.
There is guidance in this research. Clues and actions we could take to better manage the interactions noted in the first paragraph.
In previous blogs we have touched on the importance of interpretation as the key facilitator of empowering better wildlife interactions, the need for companies to improve their social license to operate, and threats to our rare and endangered wildlife.
Wildlife interactions are a key plank of tourism in New Zealand /Aotearoa. We need enhanced research on wildlife interactions and agreed approaches to enhancing the visitor experience, and protecting the uncertain future of many of our natural taonga, across the country.
We need big picture, long term, balanced, decision making.
Ka kite ano
Malcolm
Four week old “Pounamu” born and bred on Maungatautari
Naumai
A recent night sky experience has led us to reflect on the collective difference in NZ inc. By this we mean what are the unique selling points and subsequent tourism products of the region or place?
A quick search of night sky tours found at least seven “planetarium” , over fifteen “tours”, and at least 24 local astronomical societies that operate observatories on a few nights each month. We are certainly not decrying our night sky experiences. New Zealand is one of the best places in the world to see the night sky. The fact that the world’s largest Dark Sky Reserve and the world’s only Dark Sky Sanctuary on an island can be found here support this.
Another search could just as easily find different versions of essentially the same product, from zip-lines to jet boat tours, repeated throughout Aotearoa.
We first commented on the wider issue in 2011 and again in 2012.
We are a small country with a wide range of differentiation (landscape, culture, food, wine etc) between regions. Our collective differences are potentially our strength.
One can only hope that the Provincial Growth Fund recognises this when making it’s deliberations.
There are hints that perhaps the rise in international visitor numbers is starting to slow. We must continue to grow, differentiate and create points of difference in our tourism product.
These should be regionally based, unique and reflect the culture and stories of that place. Not simply repeats of a similar experience found elsewhere in the country.
How many night sky experiences do we need?
Ka kite ano
Owaka in the Catlins, and it’s famous teapot collection
Naumai
It is always a privilege to “share” Aotearoa / New Zealand. It matters little if the audience is domestic or international , hitting the road to explore our place in the world is one of life’s pleasures.
This summer was however different. Tasked with sharing the southern part of the South Island with a group of international visitors (including over the Chinese New Year period) I reflected on what one might find.
Reading and listening to media headlines I was expecting a constant stream of polluting freedom campers, over priced food and lodging, little space, tired operators, and people literally everywhere – even in my normally quiet haunts and secluded places!
The trip took in every destination and more, between Christchurch and Bluff via the Catlins, Manapouri, Te Anau Queenstown and Wanaka.
So summing up the trip was a great success, we achieved most things we promised our visitors and more. We saw rare and endangered wildlife, meet some fantastic locals, enjoyed great food and wine and the whole gambit of southern landscapes.
That of course is the official version.
My overwhelming impression after ten days on the road in the southern South Island, is of too many people in too many locations. I mean literally no one used to go to Slope Point (the most southern point of mainland NZ) , a full car park at Bluff mid afternoon (great views) and absolutely no where to turn in Wanaka around 4pm.
I am apprehensive when I hear local operators saying that bookings for next year re even higher than this summer, in one case up to a third. What does that mean for tourism’s social license to operate?
Here are some facts:
The number of international visitors coming into NZ averages over 320,000 a month
This is an average yearly growth of over 5.65 for the last ten years
More than one in ten jobs is indirectly generated by tourism
International visitors contribute $ 40 million per day to the economy
And New Zealander’s (2017) views on tourism
96% of us agree tourism is good for NZ 35% think tourism puts too much pressure on NZ 21% think there are too many visitors
Challenges for NZ’s around international visitors include: road congestion, litter and a high risk of motor accidents
In earlier blogs we have discussed the opportunities and challenges for tourism in maintaining and enhancing a social license to operate. Some initiatives such as Tourism Aotearoa’s sustainable tourism are small step in the right direction. But if this years southern experience on the road is next years reality, then we have a serious problem – with no coordinated response in sight.
Ka kite ano
Visitors on the beach – Moeraki Boulders
Naumai
It’s late December and the rata is flowering beautifully on the West Coast, that’s a South Islander’s version of the pohutakawa ‘Christmas tree”!
In Akaroa our lavender fields are bright purple – Akaroa Organics and ready for harvest.
In our last post for the year we’d like to share a recent experience with one of New Zealand’s leading and award winning activity operators. Checking in we were met by two foreign nationals, they were polite but curse. Unfortunately as soon as we were checked in the two staff spent most of the non contact time (about 30 minutes prior to the activity beginning) trying to redesign the retail space in front of the counter so “they could hide from people”. Really? As front line hosts,and the first personal touch-point between visitors and the company, it should be the opposite. What made it so bad was that they were so nonchalant about this, and everyone in the room who spoke good English could understand what they were saying.
Is this really the type of customer experience our award winning companies are delivering?
The actual activity was interesting but really not what it was hyped up to be. Interaction was limited and much of our time was spent looking at machinery. Trying to interpret a static object requires certain skills, especially when those components dominate the overall experience.
The power of marketing!
Have a great Christmas/Kirihimete and a very happy 2018!
Ka kite ano
Naumai
It’s that time of the year again.Hopefully you have your team in place, well trained and ready to go!
Recently we took part in a discussion with Tai Poutini Polytechnic, employers and others associated with tourism on the West Coast. We discussed the opportunities and issues that involve training those involved in tourism.
Much of the discussion was based on the qualities of a guide. How do you take someone that may have all the necessary technical skill (i.e. hard) but needs coaching on the (so called “softer”) skills of guiding i.e. people management ? I think there was general agreement in the group that the biggest need was in the latter. For example how do you mentor an eighteen year old to lead, inspire, entertain and enlighten a 60 year old visitor from another country?
In this blog we look at some some of the qualities we should be training just about anyone involved in tourism, but particularly guides.
Charm / ātahu
Every person in your group is looking for information and more importantly, entertainment, from their guide. Remember we are now an entertainment centric society. A guide should always be constantly looking for opportunities to charm and involve your group in doing things, rather than just listening.
An active C drive / mātau
You may of course be a very charming person but if you don’t have the mātau then your’e on the back foot from the start. Yes you need to know facts, figures and anything else somebody on a tour might ask you. You also need to be prepared to find an answer and get back to people. Make sure you engage with everyone in the group and facilitate discussion between the group.
Stories / tito
Visitors (some) love hearing facts behind the topic of interest e.g. Tane Mahuta, but above all visitors love their guide to share a personal story about the topic. Stories engage people’s minds and more importantly hearts. Facts alone do not.
Organisation and flexibility / nahanaha
You need to be super organised and flexible if you want to be a great guide. The group will have certain expectations about what the are expecting to see. You need to deliver on those, and make sure your timing for pre-booked events is perfect. At the same time you need to be flexible. If an attraction is suddenly closed you need to find an alternative!
Humour / whakataka
Your visitors are on holiday; they want to be entertained. That includes the use of humour. It’s a skill to be developed but can ease a difficult situation, reassure visitors, make them laugh and add real value to a situation. While jokes are part of this, the most important part is you as the leader facilitating the humour in an appropriate way.
Empathy / aroha
You can be assured that somewhere, sometime, when you have a group something will happen to someone in the group. It may be lost luggage, bad news from back home, a cultural issue,or any myriad of issues. In this situation aroha will get you a long way, make your guests feel valued and can assist in solving the issue.
You can read some other interesting views of the qualities that make a great guide, and a tourism host, here and here!
Ka kite ano
Malcolm
Guiding at Maungatautari
Naumai
Visiting Dunedin is always a great experience. Next time you are there, visit the Dunedin Chinese Gardens. The Gardens reflect the contribution people from China have made, and continue to make, to Dunedin. This is an authentic experience with the picturesque and peaceful surroundings reflecting the spirit of the place and the concept of “keeping the clouds and borrowing the moon”.
Most Chinese festivals are observed by eating a particular food as a custom, and the Dragon Boat Festival is no exception. Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in reed leaves, is the special food eaten to celebrate the day. It has various fillings. In north China, people favor the jujubes as the filling, while the south sweetened bean paste, fresh meat, or egg yolk.
The Dunedin Chinese Garden recently celebrated the legend of Qu Yuan, and integral part of world-wide Dragon Boat festivals. A fun family day was held with different events based around this fascinating legend. As part of celebrating the legend, the Garden’s also offered visitors the chance to try Zongzi.
Our order taken we sat in the Tea House listening to melodious singing from Tai Chi exponents. The pork Zongzi arrived but on unwrapping the glutinous rice was cold and uncooked. A new dish eventually arrived but again fell well short of an authentic warm dish. The staff did recognise the issue with a free gift which helped, but the experience failed to maximize the cultural opportunity and link to the event.
In the competitive field of visitor experiences you get one chance to make a great impression. This is even more so when you are dealing with cultural experiences. The opportunity to introduce visitors to authentic cultural based food was missed – the experience reflecting negatively on our otherwise good experience.
Ka kite ano
Zongzi
Naumai
There is no doubt that the pace of change in New Zealand tourism is continuing to grow: everywhere you look there are more visitors out there experiencing what NZ has to offer. A recent trip to the West Coast confirmed that. Even a site like Oparara http://www.karameainfo.co.nz/oparara-basin/ was very busy.
Some of the tourism issues have or are being well debated. Issues such as freshwater, overcrowding at key sites, climate change and visitor levy’s are all part of the current “conversation”.
On a broader level, but very closely aligned with increasing tourism, a number of issues were highlighted last year by Jan Wright, Commissioner for the Environment. Wright raised four key issues: climate change, slow progress in marine protection, lack of trees on unstable hill country, and concerns over the future of our wildlife.
She made the interesting point that environmental issues, rather than separate domains (air, land, marine, climate and fresh water), should form the basis of the shared story. This more holistic approach makes common sense.
Wright’s comments reflect the split in the key debates, and lack of an holistic approach, being canvassed over NZ tourism, the environment and business.
Mayor Goff’s accommodation tax being one such initiative.
A wider, holstic example is the recent study identifying Rakiura’s Port Pegasus for a potential new salmon farming enterprise http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/90883538/Stewart-Island-chosen-for-possible-new-aquaculture-project . This central-government funded programme involves Ngai Tahu, the Department of Conservation, the Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry of Primary Industries and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Sorry – where is tourism in that mix? Its unbelievable that tourism opportunities are currently heavily restricted in Pegasus yet an industry with doubtful environmental credentials is being supported.
NZ tourism is entering a sensitive phase, particularly in regard to the potential effects on local communities of such growth and the shutting out of potential added value tourism opportunities.
Ka kite ano
Malcolm
Visitors on Rakiura/Stewart Island