Hamilton should keep its i-SITE shop
Hamilton and Waikato Tourism chief executive Jason Dawson this week said as New Zealand’s fourth largest city, Hamilton needed an i-SITE shop.
‘‘Hamilton and Waikato is an emerging visitor destination with visitor numbers, expenditure and length of stay significantly increasing,’’ he said.
‘‘I-SITE visitor information centres provide an essential link in the international and domestic visitor journey, and also are an important part of the distribution channel for tourism businesses.
‘‘They help to ensure international and domestic visitors are doing and spending more while they travel around New Zealand.’’
The i-SITE New Zealand brand was owned and managed by Tourism New Zealand, Dawson said.
They heavily market it internationally as the ‘‘front door’’ to tourism when visiting the country.
He said visitors seem to prefer the face-to-face, word of mouth recommendations they receive at an i-SITE.
‘‘Many of our visitors will wait until they arrive in New Zealand to book parts of their holiday, including local transport, accommodation and activities.’’
Almost 11 million travel brochures were delivered last year through the region’s i-SITEs and airports, Dawson said.
‘‘Forty per cent of visitors still used brochures as a main source of information for bookings, and i-SITEs are key part of that distribution network.’’
Dawson said he uses i-SITE shops around the region to buy gifts for overseas visitors, purchase tickets to events, and collect brochures and book activities for visiting friends and family.
‘‘I’ve even used them to help book accommodation and activities for a weekend in Wellington too,’’ he said.
According to Tourism New Zealand research, more than 60 per cent of travellers were aware of i-SITE services. There are 80 i-SITE shops nationwide.
In 2016/17, the Hamilton i-SITE provided advice to more than 43,000 customers, made 710 accommodation bookings and sold over $360,000 worth of event tickets.
It operated 364 days a year, with a rostered staff of nine.
In a Hamilton Press poll on Neighbourly, 37 per cent of voters wanted the i-SITE to remain in its original location; however, 33 per cent wanted it moved into council reception, and 20 per cent wanted to see it at a tourist destination, such as the Hamilton Gardens.
William Nicholson from Hamilton central voted for a change.
‘‘I reckon it should move, however not into the council or Gardens, it should move to the transport centre, that way it will be convenient to tourists and locals.
‘‘Having all the information in the transport centre will benefit everyone not just the council.’’
Dawson said a move depends on whether the new location fits set criteria.
‘‘There are certain criteria which need to be met to be an i-SITE, such as coach and visitor parking availability, a high profile site and preferably central city, free wi-fi and somewhere it can operate seven days a week,’’ he said.