Selling hospitality as career choice
Following a bumper award season for Hawke’s Bay tourism operators and Hawke’s Bay Tourism itself, Hawke’s Bay Tourism Industry Association and Art Deco Trust chairman (and Hawke’s Bay Tourism deputy chairman and Art Deco Masonic Hotel coowner) Neil Barber talks to Hawke’s reporter Andrew Ashton about what tourism-related businesses need to do to push on.
What excites you most about the way the tourism industry is shaping up?
Hawke’s Bay has matured into a sophisticated food and wine destination. A region with a reputation for sunshine and friendly people. A region that people not only want to visit but also want to live in and, more importantly, visitor numbers and visitor spending have never been better. This is exciting.
Visitors in the past have been attracted to the traditional tourism hot spots of Auckland, Rotorua, Queenstown and Christchurch. These regions are coming under pressure and market supply and demand leads to increased prices.
Now, visitors are asking the question: where else can we visit? Emerging destinations such as Hawke’s Bay, Northland, Taranaki and Nelson Marlborough now come into play. This, too, is exciting.
Locally, new tourism products are developing like Napier Maori Tours, and established products like Craggy Range, Black Barn and Elephant Hill are refining their offerings.
Our region is becoming ever more accessible with the introduction of new airlines such as Jetstar and Origin Air. This is also exciting.
What is the tourist attraction that impressed you the most during your travels, and why?
In May we visited the Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct in southern France. It is the highest of all elevated Roman aqueducts, and one of the best preserved and was added to Unesco’s list of World Heritage sites in 1985 because of its historical importance.
In 2000, they built a new visitor centre, removed traffic and buildings from the bridge and the immediate vicinity. The infrastructure they have created is amazing, with extensive carparking, toilet facilities, museum and education centre, restaurants and shops, informational signage, pristine pathways, disabled access, health and safety features, unprecedented access and not least exceptional views.
An adult entry pass was 8.50 (NZ$15), which also covered the cost of parking (a nice touch). Everything was done so well and so professionally that you did not begrudge the entry fee. ensure access to places and attractions but also increase the number of pay-to-play venues and attractions?
This is always going to be a tricky question, how to get a balance.
There is little doubt that people appreciate free access to sights and attractions which can help keep the cost of a holiday down, which can be especially pertinent to families. The Napier City Council is on the right track with its Marine Parade revitalisation. Here you find a good balance between free amenities such as the cycle and walkways, family barbecue areas, manicured gardens, toilet facilities, and ocean-viewing platform and attractions with entry fees such as the National Aquarium, Bay Skate Park, Par 2 Golf and Ocean Spa complex.
I also think there is an element of people not always appreciating or, more to the point, valuing what is free. If you have to pay for something and make an either/or choice, especially if that attraction lives up to expectations, you are left with a “feel-good” feeling. If people see a clear link with their entry fee and the amenities made available and the fee is reasonable they will be satisfied and will recommend to others.
Are you confident Hawke’s Bay is ensuring its fair (or more than fair) share of both domestic and international visitors? the specific aim of increasing visitor numbers to Hawke’s Bay.
A measure of their success is that for the year ended June 2018, annual expenditure on tourism for Hawke’s Bay increased to $639m. This represents year-to-year growth of 5 per cent (source: Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment).
Experience has shown us, though, the moment that you scale back regional marketing you have an immediate and adverse effect on visitor numbers and visitor spending.