Business travellers given a voice in new commuter survey

Business travellers given a voice in new commuter survey

Hawke’s Bay business travellers are being asked to share their experiences and suggestions in a new online commuter survey to give those who travel for business a voice.

The survey has been created by Business Hawke’s Bay as part of its Business Connectivity Programme, a year-long project to enhance business connectivity between Hawke’s Bay, the rest of New Zealand, and beyond.

“Ultimately this project is about growing the pie, and ensuring we have sustainable choices in the region for air travellers,” says Carolyn Neville, BHB business connectivity project manager. ““With choice in the air travel space, more businesses are now able to connect with other businesses, to develop and maintain the personal connections that are so important to business growth and success.

“The project looks at how business-led economic growth could be positively impacted and stimulated by business travel brought about by choices in air travel, and extended regional services. In turn, this business growth could lead to new jobs, contracts and sales opportunities,” she says.

Business travellers are being encouraged to sign up for the survey at a new website - hawkesbaylandingpad.co.nz (or hblp.co.nz).

The aim of the survey is to collect customer experience information from business travellers to identify a range of opportunities. The survey link will be emailed out monthly from the end of June through until Christmas, as part of an enews aimed at business travellers. Participants have the opportunity to enter into a sponsored monthly prize draw for Hawke’s Bay wine, craft beers, or experiences.

Airlines, Hawke’s Bay Airport, the local tourism industry and business travel support service providers are all contributing to the enews with updates that are of interest to either business travellers or local businesses who are hosting clients or suppliers in the region.

The survey and enews are just the beginning of a number of initiatives that Mrs Neville has identified since joining BHB at the beginning of March. With an open brief, she has met with hundreds of local business people to scope the needs and opportunities for growing the number of business travellers.

“It was a case of finding common threads, and evaluating the patterns and trends, to identify the requirements of business travellers and then validating those.”

Now she is into the implementation phase of the project, and the new website is another initiative to support business travellers. Mrs Neville, whose professional background includes regular business travel during her time within the tourism industry, is planning helpful informative features on the site based on what business travellers need to make it easy to do business in Hawke’s Bay or Auckland.

Other project initiatives are being developed and will be rolled out as they are ready, says Mrs Neville. “We’re not just looking at the needs of local business people who are travelling to do business, we are also working on ways to make it easier for those outside the region to do business with and in Hawke’s Bay.”

The Business Connectivity project is being jointly funded by Hastings District Council and Napier City Council for 12 months.

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