New tool to activate domestic tourism

9 November 2016
Media Release
TOURISM INDUSTRY AOTEAROA

New tool to activate domestic tourism

A new and innovative online tool has been developed to help New Zealand’s tourism industry maximise the value it gets out of domestic tourism and encourage Kiwi travellers to visit more regions year round.

DGiT (Domestic Growth Insight Tool) and the extensive insight that sits behind it were revealed to more than 250 industry leaders at today’s Tourism Summit Aotearoa in Wellington.

The tool is the first key initiative to come out of a project to activate domestic tourism, spearheaded by Tourism Industry Aotearoa working with private and public sector partners.

TIA Chief Executive Chris Roberts says DGiT is designed for tourism businesses and regional tourism organisations.

“Free, practical and simple to use, DGiT helps tourism operators to identify which Kiwi travellers to target, when they want to visit, their motivation for travel, what else they want to do and their preferred type of accommodation. It can also suggest the best way to market to them.”

Mr Roberts says domestic tourism is worth $20.2 billion annually to New Zealand – more than international tourism. But until now there’s been a gap in readily available insight about who travels domestically and why.

Colmar Brunton was contracted to develop DGiT and undertake research into domestic tourism. That included surveying 6000 Kiwis about their travel habits.

“From family holidays to day trips, we have a tremendous opportunity to significantly increase the $55 million New Zealanders spend daily on domestic travel,” says Mr Roberts.

“Persuading more New Zealanders to use their discretionary dollars on a domestic travel experience will result in more successful tourism businesses.

Other businesses that sell products and services to visitors will also profit, such as supermarkets, petrol stations, cafes and bars.

“Growing domestic tourism will also help address two of the industry’s biggest challenges – smoothing out seasonal peaks and troughs and stimulating regional dispersal. If Kiwis are given the right incentives and information, they’ll be attracted to travel to new parts of the country and at different times of the year.”

Mr Roberts says domestic travellers are the lifeblood of many tourism businesses before they expand into the international market.

TOURISM INDUSTRY AOTEAROA

Level 4, 79 Boulcott Street, PO Box 1697, Wellington 6140, New Zealand P +64 4 499 0104 www.tia.org.nz E info@tia.org.nz Facebook Twitter LinkedIn “Grow this market and we’ll grow their business capability and ‘export readiness’.

“And the more we activate domestic tourism, the faster we’ll reach the tourism industry’s Tourism 2025 $41 billion aspirational goal.”

DGiT and a new Activating Domestic Tourism website will go live later this month.

KEY FACTS

Tourism in New Zealand is a $95 million per day industry. Tourism delivers around $40 million in foreign exchange to the New Zealand economy each day of the year. Domestic tourism contributes another $55 million in economic activity every day.

Tourism is New Zealand’s biggest export earner, contributing $14.5 billion or 20.7% of New Zealand’s foreign exchange earnings (year ended March 2016).

13.2% of the total number of people employed in New Zealand work directly or indirectly in tourism. That means 332,322 people are working in the visitor economy.

The Tourism 2025 growth framework has a goal of growing total tourism revenue to $41 billion a year by 2025.

Visit www.tia.org.nz for more information

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