Shotover Jet ‘s royal spin creates real business
Shotover Jet has long been an iconic tourism activity with numerous awards and many famous visitors. In 2014 the
business took another ‘step up’ in hosting the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. That jet boat ride can now be seen to have
created substantial additional business for the company.
As one of only two activities enjoyed by the Duke and Duchess in Queenstown, Shotover Jet became a ‘poster child’ for
the town and adventure activities generally.
The scale and value of the stories written and images taken – given blanket coverage all around the world -- was
enhanced by the visit to Queenstown coinciding with one of the very few spells of sunny weather the royal couple
experienced on their New Zealand tour.
“Images of people having fun are infectious, and this was certainly proved at Shotover Jet that day,” says Ngāi Tahu
Tourism Queenstown General Manager David Kennedy. “We’re still being sent clippings and links from all over the world.
This has certainly been an outstanding global outcome for Queenstown and New Zealand.”
A key media angle in the days immediately following the visit was how much impact the royal visit would have on visitor
numbers, a question that was difficult to answer with the New Zealand and Australian school holidays and holiday
weekends all kicking off a busy period.
“But looking back on the figures now, even counting the effect of holidays our overall business following the royal
visit was much busier than expected,” says David. “This was supported by a higher than normal number of people booking
ahead online, indicating that the effect of the royal visit was to put Shotover Jet higher up the ‘Must Do’ list.
“However all indicators are that the real benefit is going to extend for much longer, with increased inquiry from tour
operators worldwide based on customer recognition of Shotover Jet and our famous ‘Big Red’ boats. That, of course, will
be much harder to measure.
“The end result is Shotover Jet has reaffirmed its ‘World Famous’ tag, and that’s also of huge benefit to Queenstown and
New Zealand generally.”
ENDS