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Hundreds of delegates attended Thursday evening’s event to enjoy some of the best food and beverage from Canterbury and the West Coast as well as performances from local artists.

The day began with the TRENZ Talks event, which featured a series of speakers presenting on global trends and their impacts on tourism.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa said TRENZ was expected to have generated $174 of economic impact a minute over the past four days, with ongoing benefits to Christchurch and New Zealand tourism.

“It’s been a busy few days with people renewing existing relationships or forming new ones all of which will help our tourism industry prosper,” TIA chief executive Rebecca Ingram said.

“We’ve had some great discussions and tourism in Aotearoa New Zealand has a very bright future.”

Images courtesy of Tourism Industry Aotearoa and Tourism Ticker. Click to enlarge:

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The event marks the return of TRENZ’s full programme since pre-Covid 2019, with more than 330 international buyers from 25 markets present.

The Ticker will be uploading images daily from the event, provided mainly by Tourism Industry Aotearoa:

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Northland and Auckland are the big winners from the Government’s new $50m Regional Events Fund, with the two regions combined securing a total of $19m.

The fund, which was established out of the Government’s Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme, has been allocated to nine regional marketing alliances and Tourism Industry Aotearoa’s TRENZ.

Source: Minister of Tourism

The Northland & Auckland alliance secured the vast bulk of the funding, which the Government said was calculated on the share of international visitor spending prior to Covid-19.

The Southern Lakes alliance – comprised of Wānaka, Queenstown, Central Otago and Fiordland – secured $8.5m. The Canterbury & West Coast grouping – which included Christchurch, Aoraki, Mackenzie, Hurunui, West Coast and Kaikoura – was granted $7m.

“One of the ways we are supporting all regions’ economic recovery, but particularly those who have been impacted by the downturn in international visitors, is by boosting domestic tourism through investment in the New Zealand events sector,” tourism minister Kelvin Davis said today.

“We are supporting the events sector as Tourism New Zealand advice indicates that up to one third of domestic travel is primarily driven by people looking to take part in events.”

The funding would be distributed to the regional tourism organisation groupings along the boundaries of the nine existing international marketing alliances (IMA). This was to encourage collaboration between regions and ensure accountability over how the money was spent, said the Government.

TIA’s annual TRENZ event was also granted $2m.

“This funding will allow the event manager Tourism Industry Aotearoa, in close partnership with Tourism New Zealand, to evolve TRENZ so it can continue to flourish in 2021 and beyond,” Davis said.

Each IMA grouping would need to produce an investment plan prior to funds being released. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, with input from Regional Tourism New Zealand, would oversee the process.

Investment plans were expected by early November with funding agreements to be in place by December.

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Around 1500 delegates were expected to attend the event, which was to be held from 18-21 May and hosted at Christchurch’s Horncastle Arena.

TIA made the decision yesterday following the Government’s call on Monday for large events to be cancelled to combat the spread of Covid-19.

The requirement for almost all overseas arrivals to self-isolate for 14 days would have prevented overseas buyers from attending the event if the restriction was still in place by 18 May. Around 380 travel and tourism buyers from 30 overseas markets attended last year’s TRENZ at Rotorua.

“Only a short time ago we remained optimistic that May was far enough away to confidently proceed with TRENZ 2020,” said TIA chief executive Chris Roberts.

“However, the New Zealand Government has made the call that all large public events and gatherings should be cancelled as part of New Zealand’s national response to Covid-19. We have been working through the details with the host region and our insurers and can now confirm that TRENZ 2020 is cancelled.

“We know that this will come as an enormous disappointment both to the delegates who were due to attend the show and the team who delivers it every year. However, the health and welfare of New Zealanders and visitors must remain the priority for all.”

Roberts said TIA was aware of the impact that cancelling TRENZ would have on operators and it was investigating other ways to support the industry.

TIA did not reveal where next year’s event would be held.

TRENZ was held in Christchurch in 2000, 2005 and 2006, but damage from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes took the city out of the potential hosting role until this year.

ChristchurchNZ’s general manager of destination and attraction, Loren Heaphy, said: “While we are bitterly disappointed that Christchurch will not play host to TRENZ in 2020, we respect the decision of the New Zealand government and the Tourism Industry New Zealand Trust, as the owner of TRENZ, and understand that the health and safety of delegates and the public must remain the utmost priority.”

TRENZ was forecast to have an economic impact on Christchurch city of $1m from the actual event and more than $9m in longterm benefit.

“We had an incredible line up of famils, networking events and surprises planned for delegates, and we hope we will be able to welcome TRENZ to Christchurch in the future, so we are able to showcase our city of exploration to this highly influential group of tourism professionals,” said Heaphy.

“As Covid-19 continues to impact the global tourism industry, we wish to express Christchurch’s solidarity for our travel trade partners who are working hard to support thousands of displaced visitors to New Zealand. Our focus will now be on supporting our local operators through this new and unprecedented world event.”

Information and advice on Covid-19 can be found at the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Tourism Industry Aotearoa’s websites.

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Of course, strategies are meaningless without action, so how the government goes about trying to achieve its aims will be what matters in the years ahead.

Here are the Ticker‘s five takeaways:

Destination management

The country’s regional tourism organisations are taking on more destination management work and those that are part of economic development agencies have always had an element of that activity in their remit.

The strategy will “guide the development of the regional destination management plans” and, interestingly, the government “will identify priority regions to work with directly and develop guidelines to be shared with other regions”.

The government wants to improve the industry’s understanding of destination management, help build capability in the space, and support the development and implementation of destination management plans. The strategy notes “enabling access to sustainable funding sources and investment (IVL – MBIE, DOC)” to support such activity. So, will some IVL cash be dedicated to supporting destination management? We certainly hope so.

Funding

Providing long-term sustainable funding sources for the sector is a priority for the government but it notes only three potential mechanisms: the International Visitor and Conservation Levy, more revenue raising from the Department of Conservation, and whatever the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into local government funding comes up with in terms of tourism.

The Commission, due to report in November, could make a number of recommendations, and the government’s response will be watched closely.

Data and insight

Poor data is a bugbear for the industry and better quality data and insight is another top priority for the government. There’s a lot of change under way with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s data offering with datasets or surveys recently discontinued, under review, or being amended so it will be interesting to see what comes out of the current shakeout. Could industry be looking at a smaller but better data provision from the ministry?

And how will it all connect with Tourism New Zealand’s relatively new work in the space?  The strategy notes the need to “identify future trends and global megatrends that could impact on the New Zealand- Aotearoa tourism system (MBIE, TNZ)”. That could be valuable new insight for operators and regional tourism organisations investing in overseas markets but, as always with data, bringing it all together into an easily accessible, useable form will be the key.

Strong iwi partnerships 

The strategy stresses its support for Māori tourism but will any new mechanisms be created for that support to flow? Will NZ Māori Tourism play a bigger development role in the years ahead or will MBIE take on more capability building in the space?

What’s not in the strategy

No mention of referendums – not that we expected any – but it is worth noting that the government’s desire for Queenstown to run a bed tax poll sits uneasily alongside the principles and ambitions of the new strategy. Tourism minister Kelvin Davis says Queenstown is a special case but we disagree, it should, in fact, be treated as a case study of how an effective tourism strategy deals with pressure in the system.

Also, there’s no mention of visitor-generated GST as a possible source of revenue for the sector so unless the Productivity Commission recommends it, the government might feel justified in ignoring industry pleas for some of it be returned.

Lastly, implementing the strategy will require resourcing and we think there’s more than enough new work there to justify increased budgets for MBIE’s tourism team and Tourism NZ. DOC received a big budget boost last year – will the government’s other tourism-related agencies get more cash too?

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Tourism minister Kelvin Davis and conservation minister Eugenie Sage launched the New Zealand-Aotearoa Tourism Strategy  at TRENZ yesterday morning.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa’s chief executive, Chris Roberts, said the government’s plan closely aligned and complemented the TIA’s Tourism 2025 & Beyond – A Sustainable Growth Framework.

“Like the industry, the government wants tourism growth to be productive, sustainable and inclusive. We can only achieve that by steering the waka in the same direction,” said Roberts.

“The government has correctly identified it is both an actor in the tourism system, through providing infrastructure such as roads, broadband and public amenities; and a steward, looking across the whole tourism system to make sure it is working effectively.”

There was a need for better coordination and planning across all of government, and strengthened partnerships with iwi, local government, businesses and communities, added Roberts.

“Working together, we can ensure the many benefits of tourism are realised, while managing the impacts.”

Regional Tourism NZ’s executive officer, Charlie Ives, welcomed the new strategy and said a plan for the future of NZ’s biggest export industry was overdue.

“Tourism has grown over 40% in the last five years and we just couldn’t keep kicking the can down the road without taking a strategic look at how we can ensure New Zealand gets the best value out of this growth industry into the long-term future,” he said.

“We have been calling for a consistent approach to tourism for some time after years and years of fragmentation, so we are delighted with the launch of this strategy.”

Ives said more of New Zealand could benefit from tourism “as long as we spread the visitors out to all 30 of our regions”.

“While we are seeing pressure of numbers in some areas, every single region in New Zealand has something unique to offer,” he said.

“We need to amplify that message to visitors, so they get out and experience different parts of the country at different times of the year and spread the economic value they bring.”

Nick Hill, chief executive of the country’s largest EDA/RTO, Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development, said there was strong alignment between Auckland’s Destination AKL 2025strategy and key aspects of the government’s new national strategy.

“We believe all regional tourism plans need to feed into a cohesive national strategy, and it’s clear that our strategy does that in crucial areas,” said Hill.

Challenges such as pressure on the country’s sensitive environments and infrastructure needed to be addressed collectively.

“[A] coordinated national approach around future destination management in collaboration with industry is essential, and the new strategy should help to ensure that – reinforced by the accompanying priority on destination management and planning.”

Hill said Auckland’s destination strategy was underpinned by mana whenua aspirations and Māori principles, and he was pleased to see the government’s new strategy place Māori culture at the heart of the country’s tourism offering.

“We are also extremely supportive of the government’s priority about obtaining better data and insights,” he said.

“Evidence-based decision making is crucial, which is why we partnered Tourism Industry Aotearoa last year to obtain insights into the way young people viewed tourism careers.”

Tourism Export Council chief executive Judy Chen said the government’s strategy had been released “just in the nick of time”.

With tourism numbers growing by more than 40% in the past five years and the obvious pressure that brought, it was time for the government to have a relook at the industry and do some planning for the future, said Chen.

“For some time now, our members have been calling for New Zealand’s tourism policy settings to be addressed as they are no longer fit for purpose for the environment we now operate in,” she said.

Our industry has grown exponentially in the past five years, and while that is great news for the New Zealand economy, it has created some obvious pressure points.

“We are delighted that the Government has stepped up its resource of the tourism industry and already started to address pressing issues such as infrastructural requirements through the Tourism Infrastructure Fund,” said Chen.

The government’s new strategy can be downloaded here.

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TRENZ 2020 will be held at Horncastle Arena, Christchurch, from Monday 18 to Thursday 21 May next year.

TRENZ was held in Christchurch in 2000, 2005 and 2006, but damage from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes took the Garden City out of the potential hosting role.

“We made a promise some years ago that we would be back in Christchurch when the city was ready to host us,” said Tourism Industry Aotearoa’s Chris Roberts.

“TRENZ will put a spotlight on a region that needs New Zealand’s support as it continues to grow, and the event’s economic benefits will provide a huge boost to accommodation, food and beverage and entertainment providers in the city.”

Loren Heaphy, general manager of destination and attraction at ChristchurchNZ, said that new developments in Christchurch meant it is more than capable of hosting such a large event as TRENZ.

“New retail and hospitality offerings, as well as a raft of new tourism ventures, have meant Christchurch is no doubt the country’s newest city. Kiwis love to play host, and here in Christchurch we are no different,” said Heaphy.

“Promoting our city and our region, and attracting visitors to Christchurch, is one of ChristchurchNZ’s main focuses, and we can’t wait for the opportunities associated with having TRENZ 2020 in Christchurch.”

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The New Zealand-Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy, launched today at TRENZ by tourism minister Kelvin Davis and conservation minister Eugenie Sage, lists: thriving and sustainable regions; productivity; exceptional visitor experiences; environmental, cultural and heritage protection; and, improving the lives of New Zealanders through tourism as its five key focus areas.

It said that across these five outcomes, the four top actions prioritised for this year and next include: coordination across the tourism system; long-term sustainable funding mechanisms; destination management and planning; and, finally, better data and insight.

The strategy also includes a “work programme to focus the new direction for tourism and make sure it is a success,” according to the minister who said that “tools such as the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, and the response to the Responsible Camping Working Group will help to make this a reality.”

The duo said that the new strategy “sets out a more deliberate and active role for government in tourism, to better manage the challenges of growth and share the benefits of tourism more widely.”

They also called on the support of the sector to make this happen, noting that the ongoing success of the strategy and tourism overall, will rely on strong industry leadership.

Davis said: “We know that we’ll have better tourism outcomes by working closely with the tourism and conservation sectors, and building stronger partnerships with Māori tourism enterprise, iwi, hapū and tangata whenua. We look forward to working together with the industry to achieve our goals.”

He added: “Tourism is a vital part of New Zealand’s ongoing success, supporting national and regional economies, creating jobs and allowing us to celebrate who we are. We must ensure that  we’re set up to continue enjoying these benefits, while better managing the challenges that growth can bring.”

“The Tourism Strategy sets out five key outcomes for tourism in New Zealand to ultimately improve New Zealanders’ lives through tourism, and enrich our country through sustainable tourism growth.”

Sage emphaised that New Zealand’s natural environment, culture and historic heritage are an important focus for the Tourism Strategy.

She said: “New Zealand’s natural and cultural heritage is at the core of our tourism industry and our national identity. We must build a sustainable visitor industry that protects and cherishes this heritage for future generations.

“As visitor numbers rise we must ensure the tourism industry is part of the solution for our biggest conservation challenges; including climate change, impact of pest species, and habitat loss and degradation.

“Tourism can be a champion for the restoration of the natural environment, and show other industries and sectors how it can be done successfully.”

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The ministry’s New Zealand Tourism Forecasts for 2019 – 2025 put visitor arrival growth at 4% per annum to hit 5.1m visitors in 2025.

This is a downgrade on last year’s forecast of 4.6% annual growth,  which put NZ on track to hit 5.1m visitor in 2024, although it is still a significant jump on current visitor numbers which were 3.9m last year.

More moderate growth in spend is also forecast. This time last year MBIE said visitor spend would reach nearly $15bn by 2024. However, 12 months on it is now forecasting total international spend is expected to reach $15bn a year later – in 2025.

International spend was $11.2bn in 2018, so the forecast is for a 34% increase on this total at a pace of 4.3% a year.

With spend growth forecast to grow at a slightly higher level than the growth of visitor numbers, suggests that spend per visitor will increase, according to MBIE.

The ministry also added that the key factors contributing to the overall growth forecast include strong growth in the US in the short-term, and growth in Asian markets, especially China in the longer-term.

Australia is New Zealand’s largest visitor market, providing 1.5 million visitors in 2018, and is expected to remain so over the period of the forecasts. We expect this market to have an average growth of 2.5 per cent a year to 2025.

Short term growth will be driven by a range of factors, especially available seat capacity, and rising fuel costs affecting ticket prices and demand.

Australia is New Zealand’s largest visitor market, providing more than 1.5m visitors in 2018. The forecasts show that this market will continue to be healthy, and looks set to grow by 19% by 2025.

Australians currently spend $2.6bn annually, with expectations that this will reach $2.9bn in 2025. Last year the forecast was for spend to reach $3bn by 2024.

Growth in the Chinese market has also been downgraded. MBIE said today that China visitor numbers are expected to grow 55% in the forecast period, increasing from 449,000 in 2018 to reach 696,000 by 2025.

Last year the prediction was for 800,000 Chinese visitors spending $3.1bn by 2024, which would have seen China overtake Australia as NZ’s largest market by spend.

Today’s forecast from MBIE said that Australia – currently NZ’s largest market by spend – will keep this title, although Chinese spend will reduce the gap by 2025.

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Releasing new data for 2018, the department said that the estimated growth rate for international visitors to national parks last year was 9%, which compares with a 4% growth rate in overseas visitor arrivals to New Zealand.

This growth was led by a number of locations that saw a huge leap in visitor numbers including Rakiura/Stewart Island’s Ulva Island where there was a 76% hike to 17,000 visit,  and Northland’s Tane Mahuta Walk which was up by 44% to 152,000 visits.

The South Island’s Aoraki Mt Cook National Park’s also saw annual visitor numbers exceed 1m for the first time last year.

Conservation minister, Eugenie Sage said: “Magnificent places such as Aoraki will always draw New Zealanders and international visitors in large numbers.

“With more people wanting to connect with this Tōpuni site, DOC has worked to make sure facilities are adequate, visitors have a safe, high-quality experience, and the outstanding natural and cultural values of the national park are protected.”

Since 2010, DOC has invested over $16.5m in visitor facilities within the national park including a new visitor centre, road improvements, tracks, and more toilets.

An estimated $122,000 was also spent to repair the popular Hooker Valley Track after extreme weather damage in March.

However, there was mixed picture nationally,  with a slowing of visitor growth reflected at “several key conservation areas”.

These included the Milford Sound which received 840,000 visits, and Franz Josef  with 759,000 visits, both delivering 3% growth. The popular Tongariro Alpine Crossing also saw slower growth, recording just a 1%  increase on the prior year with 142,500 visits.

Outside of targeted investment such as that seen at Aoraki, DOC said it continues to increase New Zealand’s conservation effort through targeted biodiversity work and ambitious collaborative projects including Predator Free 2050 and Te Manahuna Aoraki.

“The New Zealand-Aotearoa Tourism Strategy launched today provides for the Government to take a more active and coordinated approach to tourism to make sustainability a core value and mitigate the industry’s impacts,” Sage said.

“To protect the nature and maintain high-quality visitor experiences, DOC is focused on planning for future growth; sharing the stories of our heritage; and doing more effective compliance work.”

DOC said current numbers show that around 3.9m New Zealanders – roughly 80% of the population –  visit public conservation areas (from national parks to marine reserves) at least once a year, alongside around 1.8m international visitors.

Sage added: “It’s not just the number of visitors but the rapid rate of growth in those numbers that has put pressure on some of New Zealand’s most iconic places.

“International visitor arrivals to New Zealand have grown by 43 percent in the last five years. Visits to Otago’s Blue Pools are estimated to have risen from 3,400 to 102,000 in just three years. Visits to Ben Lomond Track have just about doubled in that time.

“This year, while visitor numbers are still on the increase, there has been a general slowing of international visitor growth.”

“With these increased visitor numbers, a major part of the Government’s proactive approach to managing tourism is to encourage visitors to enjoy and respect New Zealand,” says Eugenie Sage.

“DOC’s ‘Visit the Kiwi way’ campaign highlighted the need to have as little impact as possible on wild spaces and natural areas. The campaign reached over 3.4 million cumulative screens and its simple, inclusive approach was well-received by the public.”

“The soon-to-be implemented International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy will help ensure tourism contributes to protecting and restoring nature which we all depend on,” Sage concluded.

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Providing stability and continuity while helping to guide evolution and change at Tourism New Zealand will be the top priority for new board chair Jamie Tuuta.

Tuuta was appointed to the top job earlier this month after becoming acting chair since the departure of Dame Kerry Prendergast at the end of March. He joined the board in March 2013 making him one of its  longest serving members.

Speaking to the Ticker at TRENZ in Rotorua, Tuuta said he wanted to ensure TNZ played a part in enriching the lives of New Zealanders.

“It’s an honour and privilege to be part of an organisation that plays a vital role for New Zealand. But with that is extreme responsibility and obligation to ensure we do it right and do it well,” he says.

“It’s not easy but it requires us to lead, not in an arrogant way, but in a way that speaks to who we are. It’s amazing to be part of that.”

Tuuta brings to the post a wealth of governance experience as the chair of Māori Television, Te Ohu Kaimoana, the body set up to oversee Māori fisheries assets throughout New Zealand, and the conservation project Taranaki Mounga.

He was the Māori Trustee and chief executive of Te Tumu Paeroa, an organisation responsible for managing nearly 100,000 hectares of land and more than $100m worth of assets and investments and is currently a director of Moana New Zealand, an export fishing company, and Taranaki Whānui Ltd, an iwi investment entity.

Hailing from Urenui, north of New Plymouth, and affiliated with a number of Taranaki iwi, the Waikato University trained lawyer received the Young Māori Business Leader Award at the Aotearoa NZ Māori Business Leaders Awards in 2015. That followed his winning of the Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leadership Award in 2010.

“I’m a big believer in ensuring you have a breadth of experiences and have been exposed to various sectors because it can bring different perspectives about things that may not be available in the tourism sector,” says Tuuta.

Now, he will be leveraging all of that experience to help guide Tourism New Zealand through the next stage of its evolution.

“From a governance board level, it’s about continuity, it’s about stability as we move to this next phase of our evolution,” he says.

Tourism New Zealand chief executive Stephen England-Hall announced last year that the 100% Pure NZ brand campaign would see more people and cutural elements included. The presentation in June of TNZ’s next 100% Pure NZ campaign will show how that shift has affected the promotion.

“This year will mark the further evolution of that, which really speaks to those three core elements that we think makes New Zealand a unique proposition, not only to our international visitors but also to New Zealanders: people, place and culture,” says Tuuta.

“This year marks 20 years since the launch of 100% Pure New Zealand, and there’s been much discussion over the 20 year period about the brand but it’s fair to say it’s been one of the most successful – if not the most successful – tourism brand campaign globally.”

Such enduring success means significant changes to the brand can only happen over time, including adding more cultural components.

“It’s got to resonate and speak to our markets but it also has to hold true and speak to our people here in NZ,” says Tuuta.

“Culture is something we should celebrate as New Zealanders in general, and you are starting to see that in terms of the values that are being adopted, but what we need to do is understand when we are looking to promote NZ in other markets is, what is the best way to do that?”

It’s a journey, adds Tuuta.

“TNZ like many firms and companies are on a journey on how to embrace Māori culture, the values and how they live and breath them. And it’s not about tokenism, it’s about how to be true to them. We’ve come a long way as an organisation and we have further work to do but it’s exciting,” he says.

“I’ve been part of the board for five years now and I’ve witnessed the evolution and the success and I’m immensely proud to be part of the ogrganisastion.”

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