Promoting New Zealand Tourism for the love of a good woman
Through July, the young couple, John from Motueka and Sandra from Sweden, will don thermals and become intrepid
explorers as they brave the winter conditions to travel the South Island of New Zealand and promote their new tourism
venture. They met and fell in love while studying tourism courses at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology and have
kept their relationship going over the past two years by travelling back and forth between their countries and using the
web to stay in contact during long months apart. Their venture was inspired by Tourism and the Internet, as the two
things that brought and kept them together.
John is the creator of the innovative new tourism website that looks beyond the basic tourism listing formats that
already exist on the Internet. The website www.onzamap.co.nz recognises the emotions involved with planning a holiday as
well as providing a true image of what's on offer to tourists.
"For gaining the trust of visitors to any website, the 'About Us' section is possibly the strongest tool available" says
John. He tells operators that by submitting a short personal story about themselves and their operation to
www.onzamap.co.nz, they are enabling potential customers to build rapport and trust before they look to find out more by
linking straight to the operators website.
"We all know the importance of a smile and sincere greeting when dealing with customers face to face, so why are we not
trying to do the same thing online when the Internet is becoming the most powerful tool for tourists planning holidays?"
asks John. ONZAMAP Ltd is providing New Zealand tourism/hospitality operators with the chance to reach out to anyone,
anywhere in the world and say "Kia ora, we'd love to have you with us!"
John and Sandra's trip around the South Island has sprung from the personal nature of their website as they feel it's
important to 'practice what they preach'. They want the chance to meet and greet as many of New Zealand's operators as
possible, and share stories over a tea/beer/Milo, as long as it's somewhere warm! They also want to be able to help
others with their business by pledging 10% of any of the company's profits to New Zealand charities.
Their tour begins in Nelson at the Paradiso Backpackers where Sandra spent the Summer working as the receptionist.
Invitations are being given to tour operators from around the region to come and join the couple for a mix of Swedish
and Kiwi treats and the chance to swap personal stories about the growth of local tourism businesses.
The couple are more than happy to list people on their website for a free month to see how it works, but considering a
listing only costs $100 flat for a guaranteed 5 years it becomes a possible option for most operators. John explains,
"It's only $100 because I want it to be an option for all New Zealand operators. I know of the lengths some operators
will go to to be seen, and it's important to me for everyone to feel they can be seen in this exciting new way".
John is also quick to point out that ONZAMAP Ltd is a start up company, and that if there is anyone who thinks they
might have a spare room for any of the dates on their trip, please let him know.
To find out more about John and Sandra, as well as the other benefits of www.onzamap.co.nz, simply log on to the website
and have a look around.
ENDS