The Tourism Chat Show

What will travel look like post-coronavirus? Making the most of what’s on our doorstep, planning dream trips and greater flexibility than ever before are likely to become part of our future as we try to support an industry that’s been on its knees since the pandemic began in early 2020.

Today we’re digging deep into some of the stats from one of our largest travel websites – The NZ Pocket Guide.  And we’re joined by founder Robin Censure.

There has been a bit of talk around the industry about some of the changes we’re starting to see in traveller booking patterns so we thought we’d go directly to the source to see what you’re seeing on the NZ Pocket Guide.

While it is almost a certainty that travel will be back, the virus will forever change the tourism landscape. No longer will people be inclined to “tick” all the boxes by traveling willy-nilly everywhere or purchase the most exciting travel accessories find. Instead, tourism will become a more mindful, deliberate experience punctuated by increased flexibility and more personalised experiences.

We’ve had a few of the inbound operators on the show and heard what they had to say, so let’s see what travellers are doing online too.

Are trip lengths increasing or decreasing? 

How far in advance are people booking these days? 

How much are they spending? 

What planning are they doing? 

How are they searching for info? 

We delve into these questions and a whole lot more in this insightful chat with Robin who is extremely generous in sharing stats from his website. 

If you wish to touch base with Robin to discuss how he could help your business, you can find him here -  [email protected]

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This is an independent podcast by tourism strategist Michelle Caldwell and her great industry buddy Lisa Chambers. We are absolutely dedicated to bringing you the best tourism business stories and sharing marketing tips and strategies to your ears each week! The best way you can support Destinate NZ is by subscribing, leaving a (rave!) review, (five star!) rating and spreading the word on social media with your friends, family, and colleagues- we love you for that! 🥰

Resources and Links to connect with Destinate NZ

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and receive our free 101 Ways to Destinate your Tourism Business here

Say hi to us on social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinateNZ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Destinate_NZ

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/DestinateNZ

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/destinate-nz

Michelle Caldwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellekcaldwell/

Website: www.destinatenz.com

Destinate NZ is on @buymeacoffee! 🎉

You can support us by buying a coffee ☕️ here — https://www.buymeacoffee.com/DestinateNZ

This episode goes live as the first planes out of Australia land, loaded with Aussie visitors!  The borders are open! 

As one of Australia's leading travel wholesalers and NZ specialist, we wanted to invite Nick onto the show to hear how bookings are looking for the upcoming ski season, as well as further out to summer. 

Nick shares who the first NZ Supplier visit was from, and how motivated his team is to learn all about NZ products once again. 

It's a wide ranging interview covering booking patterns, travel and tourism history, challenges in restarting a business and much more. 

Thanks for listening. 

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This is an independent podcast by tourism strategist Michelle Caldwell and her great industry buddy Lisa Chambers. We are absolutely dedicated to bringing you the best tourism business stories and sharing marketing tips and strategies to your ears each week! The best way you can support Destinate NZ is by subscribing, leaving a (rave!) review, (five star!) rating and spreading the word on social media with your friends, family, and colleagues- we love you for that! 🥰

Resources and Links to connect with Destinate NZ

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and receive our free 101 Ways to Destinate your Tourism Business here

Say hi to us on social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinateNZ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Destinate_NZ

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/DestinateNZ

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/destinate-nz

Michelle Caldwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellekcaldwell/

Website: www.destinatenz.com

Destinate NZ is on @buymeacoffee! 🎉

You can support us by buying a coffee ☕️ here — https://www.buymeacoffee.com/DestinateNZ

Trenz Connect is currently on so we thought it would be perfect timing to share our four E's of putting your best foot forward online. 

The past two years has seen an exponential rise in the use of online video conferencing for meetings, sales calls and trainings.  But it's sometimes easy to forget best practice and things can become a little too relaxed. 

Michelle & Chambers are back together to present to you this episode that starts off by discussing Michelle's recent visit to Australia, what she has noticed and how things were in SE Queensland, and an update on how Chambers is going in Cairns. 

Remember, if you have a topic you want us to tackle in a future Ask Destinate episode, please drop us a line via the podcast website page. 

Thanks for listening. 

_______________________________________________

This is an independent podcast by tourism strategist Michelle Caldwell and her great industry buddy Lisa Chambers. We are absolutely dedicated to bringing you the best tourism business stories and sharing marketing tips and strategies to your ears each week! The best way you can support Destinate NZ is by subscribing, leaving a (rave!) review, (five star!) rating and spreading the word on social media with your friends, family, and colleagues- we love you for that! 🥰

Resources and Links to connect with Destinate NZ

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and receive our free 101 Ways to Destinate your Tourism Business here

Say hi to us on social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinateNZ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Destinate_NZ

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/DestinateNZ

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/destinate-nz

Michelle Caldwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellekcaldwell/

Website: www.destinatenz.com

Destinate NZ is on @buymeacoffee! 🎉

You can support us by buying a coffee ☕️ here — https://www.buymeacoffee.com/DestinateNZ

Some of the best Covid success stories have come out of collaboration. When communities work together, they become stronger and this is very evident on Waiheke Island where they joined together very early on in the pandemic to target the domestic traveller and help keep Waiheke Island on the map. 

Join us as we chat with Ecozip Founding Director, Gavin Oliver this week. Gavin has been a guest speaker on many webinars throughout zoom and offers a great perspective on how to keep it all together when things seem out of control.

He also shares how Waiheke Island collaborated like never before to achieve some cut-through and great results in the domestic space. 

For more info on Ecozip: https://www.ecozipadventures.co.nz/

______________________________________________________

This is an independent podcast by tourism strategist Michelle Caldwell and her great industry buddy Lisa Chambers. We are absolutely dedicated to bringing you the best tourism business stories and sharing marketing tips and strategies to your ears each week! The best way you can support Destinate NZ is by subscribing, leaving a (rave!) review, (five star!) rating and spreading the word on social media with your friends, family, and colleagues- we love you for that! 🥰

Resources and Links to connect with Destinate NZ

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and receive our free 101 Ways to Destinate your Tourism Business here

Say hi to us on social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinateNZ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Destinate_NZ

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/DestinateNZ

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/destinate-nz

Michelle Caldwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellekcaldwell/

Website: www.destinatenz.com

Destinate NZ is on @buymeacoffee! 🎉

You can support us by buying a coffee ☕️ here — https://www.buymeacoffee.com/DestinateNZ

This is part two in a two part series chatting with some of the leading Inbound Operators in NZ. 

Today we are joined by Mark Badland from Pacific Destinationz, Tim Reid from Southern World and John Gregory from Terra Nova Tours. 

Are you ready for the international market to return?  What does your business need to do now before borders reopen? 

Listen in to these two episodes to learn and understand how you can be part of the tourism reset and rebuild when we are reconnected with the world. 

If you would like a hand with your sales and marketing efforts, please drop me a line to see how I can help. 

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This is an independent podcast by tourism strategist Michelle Caldwell and her great industry buddy Lisa Chambers. We are absolutely dedicated to bringing you the best tourism business stories and sharing marketing tips and strategies to your ears each week! The best way you can support Destinate NZ is by subscribing, leaving a (rave!) review, (five star!) rating and spreading the word on social media with your friends, family, and colleagues- we love you for that! 🥰

Resources and Links to connect with Destinate NZ

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and receive our free 101 Ways to Destinate your Tourism Business here

Say hi to us on social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinateNZ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Destinate_NZ

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/DestinateNZ

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/destinate-nz

Michelle Caldwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellekcaldwell/

Website: www.destinatenz.com

Destinate NZ is on @buymeacoffee! 🎉

You can support us by buying a coffee ☕️ here — https://www.buymeacoffee.com/DestinateNZ

This is part one of a two part series where we interview a panel of some of the top inbound operators in New Zealand.  They share the feedback they've received from their international markets and discuss what the demand will be when the borders open.  

They also talk about what product or regions they think will do well, and give advice to the tourism industry about getting involved and ensuring your experiences are loaded into reservations systems ready to be booked. 

Today we are joined by Anna Black from General Travel, Scott Mehrtens from Leisure Time Group and Geoff Yee from GSN Pacific Tours. 

This episode is as good as sitting in a tourism conference listening to our market experts give an update so share this with your colleagues and friends and enjoy the show. 

___________________

This is an independent podcast by tourism strategist Michelle Caldwell and her great industry buddy Lisa Chambers. We are absolutely dedicated to bringing you the best tourism business stories and sharing marketing tips and strategies to your ears each week! The best way you can support Destinate NZ is by subscribing, leaving a (rave!) review, (five star!) rating and spreading the word on social media with your friends, family, and colleagues- we love you for that! 🥰

Resources and Links to connect with Destinate NZ

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and receive our free 101 Ways to Destinate your Tourism Business here

Say hi to us on social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinateNZ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Destinate_NZ

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/DestinateNZ

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/destinate-nz

Michelle Caldwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellekcaldwell/

Website: www.destinatenz.com

Destinate NZ is on @buymeacoffee! 🎉

You can support us by buying a coffee ☕️ here — https://www.buymeacoffee.com/DestinateNZ

It's no secret that tourism has a perception problem when it comes to encouraging youngsters into working in our industry.  There has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes to improve this via the education system, community engagement and industry advocacy. 

The Go with Tourism Workforce Wānanga in November last year brought together great minds from across the Tourism & Hospitality industry, associations, unions, educators and local/central government to develop solutions that will improve and build our workforce. The Action Plan 2 has just been released so we’re joined today by Go with Tourism’s new Programme Director Heidi Gillingham to discuss the outcomes. 

Heidi Gillingham is one of New Zealand’s up-and-coming tourism leaders.

Having been in the industry in one way or another since leaving high school, it’s no surprise that her path in life led her to the adventure capital of the world. Originally from the UK, Queenstown was her home for seven years before relocating to Auckland in 2022.

Heidi progressed to the role of Programme Director for Go with Tourism after spending 18 months as a regional coordinator for the initiative, managing the Education Programme and other youth-oriented initiatives. Her previous work experience includes human resource management, and training and development with Taco Medic, AJ Hackett Bungy and Queenstown Resort College. In 2019, she won the HR New Zealand Emerging Practitioner of the Year Award.

Heidi’s motto is “work hard, play hard”. While she is a strong believer that good results come directly from hard work, she is equally adamant that success is found when one can switch off at the end of the day and enjoy life outside of the ‘office’.

To find a copy of the Action Plan 2 - click here >https://www.gowithtourism.co.nz/knowledge-hub/go-with-tourism-workforce-wananga-2021

Enjoy the show, thanks for listening.  Please leave us a review/rating! 

___________________________________

This is an independent podcast by tourism strategist Michelle Caldwell and her great industry buddy Lisa Chambers. We are absolutely dedicated to bringing you the best tourism business stories and sharing marketing tips and strategies to your ears each week! The best way you can support Destinate NZ is by subscribing, leaving a (rave!) review, (five star!) rating and spreading the word on social media with your friends, family, and colleagues- we love you for that! 🥰

Resources and Links to connect with Destinate NZ

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and receive our free 101 Ways to Destinate your Tourism Business here

Say hi to us on social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinateNZ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Destinate_NZ

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/DestinateNZ

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/destinate-nz

Michelle Caldwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellekcaldwell/

Website: www.destinatenz.com

Destinate NZ is on @buymeacoffee! 🎉

You can support us by buying a coffee ☕️ here — https://www.buymeacoffee.com/DestinateNZ

There are many reasons that market research is important for all businesses, such as lowering business risks, understanding your customers better, simplifying decision making, testing a new product offering, and outselling your customers to name but a few.  We’re joined today by Cristine Angus from Angus & Associates, who are New Zealand’s leading provider of independent research, market intelligence and strategic business planning services for the tourism and leisure industry, and a partner to key public and private organisations in other sectors.

We discuss why market research should be added to your box of business tools to help you run your business.  Cristine’s extensive experience in market research and past 20 years specialising in tourism means that she will provide really valuable tips on how to go about conducting market research and what to look out for. 

Cristine gives us real insights into the work they’ve done on the domestic market – and even offers some tips for tourism businesses still looking to grow their share. 

What do kiwis think of the borders reopening?  Are the Aussies wanting to come to New Zealand?

We cover all of this and much more in this episode.

Cristine has kindly offered our listeners the opportunity to be sent insights as they are released, you can join their mailing list here> https://www.angusassociates.co.nz/insights/

Thanks for listening!

___________________________________________

This is an independent podcast by tourism strategist Michelle Caldwell and her great industry buddy Lisa Chambers. We are absolutely dedicated to bringing you the best tourism business stories and sharing marketing tips and strategies to your ears each week! The best way you can support Destinate NZ is by subscribing, leaving a (rave!) review, (five star!) rating and spreading the word on social media with your friends, family, and colleagues- we love you for that! 🥰

Destinate NZ is on @buymeacoffee! 🎉

You can support us by donating the cost of a coffee ☕️ here — https://www.buymeacoffee.com/DestinateNZ

Resources and Links to connect with Destinate NZ

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and receive our free 101 Ways to Destinate your Tourism Business here

Say hi to us on social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinateNZ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Destinate_NZ

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/DestinateNZ

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/destinate-nz

Michelle Caldwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellekcaldwell/

Website: www.destinatenz.com

We're back with another Ask Destinate episode and this time, we have a special guest in the studio with us - Kerry Lahood. 

Kerry has a extensive background working in sales across various sectors in the tourism industry so we thought he would be a great person to join us in discussing how to work best with the travel trade. 

In this episode, we share our top tips from nearly 70yrs combined experience working with the travel trade around the world.  What you need to know, how you should prepare and what to expect are all covered off in this episode. 

If you're a tourism operator who hasn't had much exposure to the international travel trade, or if you're new in your sales career, then hopefully you'll pick up some tips on how to break through during your sales calls. 

Thanks for listening. 

________________________________________

This is an independent podcast by tourism strategist Michelle Caldwell and her great industry buddy Lisa Chambers. We are absolutely dedicated to bringing you the best tourism business stories and sharing marketing tips and strategies to your ears each week! The best way you can support Destinate NZ is by subscribing, leaving a (rave!) review, (five star!) rating and spreading the word on social media with your friends, family, and colleagues- we love you for that! 🥰

Destinate NZ is on @buymeacoffee! 🎉

You can support us by donating the cost of a coffee ☕️ here — https://www.buymeacoffee.com/DestinateNZ

Resources and Links to connect with Destinate NZ

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and receive our free 101 Ways to Destinate your Tourism Business here

Say hi to us on social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinateNZ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Destinate_NZ

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/DestinateNZ

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/destinate-nz

Michelle Caldwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellekcaldwell/

Website: www.destinatenz.com

This week we continue our series of checking in with NZ Tourism's source markets to see how they are faring, and what we can expect when the borders reopen. 

We're joined by one of NZ's top Japanese market experts, Tony Boot from BTM Marketing who will share his thoughts on the market, tell us about some trends that are starting to emerge and give operators some tips on how to approach working with the Japanese market. 

We discuss some of the changes that have happened in the wholesale market both here in NZ and in Japan. If the Japanese market is one that you want to target in future, grab some tips for free right here. 

Thanks for listening. 

______________________________

This is an independent podcast by tourism strategist Michelle Caldwell and her great industry buddy Lisa Chambers. We are absolutely dedicated to bringing you the best tourism business stories and sharing marketing tips and strategies to your ears each week! The best way you can support Destinate NZ is by subscribing, leaving a (rave!) review, (five star!) rating and spreading the word on social media with your friends, family, and colleagues- we love you for that! 🥰

Destinate NZ is on @buymeacoffee! 🎉

You can support us by buying a coffee ☕️ here — https://www.buymeacoffee.com/DestinateNZ

Resources and Links to connect with Destinate NZ

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and receive our free 101 Ways to Destinate your Tourism Business here

Say hi to us on social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinateNZ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Destinate_NZ

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/DestinateNZ

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/destinate-nz

Michelle Caldwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellekcaldwell/

Website: www.destinatenz.com