Latest News from Tourism New Zealand

Traditional media is dying but that’s an opportunity for the tourism industry according to Jane Dent, Tourism New Zealand General Manager International PR.

Speaking at the Inbound Tour Operators Council (ITOC) annual conference in Gisborne this week, Jane Dent told a crowd of about 200 people that with the demise of traditional media, international media outlets are desperate for content and Tourism New Zealand has moved in to meet that demand.

She said in the last year, in the United States alone, about 120 newspapers have closed or gone entirely online. More than 24,000 journalists and media professionals have lost their jobs. In the United Kingdom more than half the newspapers could be shut by 2014.

"But that’s an opportunity for all of us to push our own content into the media," said Jane Dent.

Read more about what we're doing and how you can get involved

Tourism New Zealand will shortly announce a new campaign aimed at the youth market.

The campaign follows new research that has given Tourism New Zealand a greater insight into how the youth market makes decisions about travel.

Speaking at the Inbound Tour Operators Council (ITOC) annual conference in Gisborne, Catherine Bates Tourism New Zealand General Manager Consumer Marketing said the new research showed that New Zealand was still a destination younger travellers aspired to visit.

"What we’ve discovered is that the brand of a destination is very important to this group and that many don’t feel their gap-year or 'big OE' is complete unless they have been to New Zealand.”

Read more about the research and Tourism New Zealand's plans

More than 55,000 invitations have already been sent through Tourism New Zealand's 'Great Kiwi Invite' campaign - just two weeks after its launch.

Of those, 22,900 people have accepted invitations to come down and visit their 'mates' in New Zealand and to enter the draw to win one of 15 pairs of Air New Zealand return flights.

Have you invited your friends and relatives? Sign up online at www.thegreatkiwiinvite.co.nz

Find out more about the campaign at www.tourismnewzealand.com
 

The Inbound Tour Operators Council (ITOC) has welcomed the decision by Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, John Key, to bring some certainty to the long-running dispute regarding GST tax on inbound tours.

The Prime Minister announced on Wednesday that the Government would introduce legislation to clarify GST on facilitation fees charged to inbound tour operators. He said the law changes would make it clear that GST should be applied at the standard rate to all facilitation fees.

Brian Henderson, ITOC President, said tour operators have been subjected to conflicting and confusing interpretations by Inland Revenue for some time about what parts of their businesses were subject to GST.

“Jobs and revenue in our country’s biggest export earner have been at risk due to the uncertainty," he said. "John Key listened to our concerns earlier this year when taking up office and promised to work with officials to resolve the matter in time for our conference. While he’s delivered on that promise and given some certainty to the future treatment of GST we now await the details to see exactly how we will be affected."

However, he said that international competitiveness remains a concern for New Zealand-based inbound tour operators. "A number of inbound tour operators offering New Zealand packages are based offshore. Some have New Zealand-based staff but all their tour accounts are maintained offshore meaning they do not apply GST to their service fees. New Zealand-based inbound tour operators cannot compete fairly with their offshore-based competitors as we now have to apply GST while they don’t."

The Tourism Industry Association (TIA) said the law change was a pragmatic step on a complex issue. "We had serious concerns that a vital channel in the distribution system was being put under undue pressure, at a time when global economic conditions were already creating major business challenges,” said TIA Chief Executive Tim Cossar.

“The announcement by Prime Minister John Key is pragmatic and will have the benefit of giving inbound tour operators certainty in their business planning.”

ITOC will continue to work with the IRD to clarify the implications of the Act, with the support of TIA.

Read ITOC's media release
Read TIA's media release