Interpretation New Zealand

Naumai

Recently I attended TRENZin my capacity as GM at Sanctuary Mountain.

It had been  a number of years since I had attended this international trade show. The time at TRENZ was a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends, develop new business opportunities and appreciate the breadth and scale of tourism in New Zealand.

However I was struck by the sameness of the product on offer and in many cases the same product (although packaged differently) in a number of different locations around the country. How many variations of zip-lines do we really need in a country as small as NZ?!

Wouldn’t it be great if each of our regions was able to truly focus on their points of difference, the attributes and experiences that can only be found in that region.

Not only would that enhance the range of products on ‘offer” but would also further drive our visitors into the regions. Imagine marketing NZ as a series of sub-themes (highlighting regional differences) based around 100% NZ.

The further development of initiatives such as airbnb add a distinctive NZ and local flavour, and a point of difference to an already crowded accommodation market place.

Not doing so runs the risk of further enhancing  a sense of sameness in tourism – that can be found anywhere in the world. Hotels of course can be a classic example of global quality, but blandness, that permeates much of the industry.

Ka kite ano

Malcolm