i-Site services count 'more than ever'

September 30th, 2016
[by David Armstrong]

Although i-Sites are facing huge challenges in a digital world, they still have a vital role in providing the first impression of a town to many visitors, says new NRDA boss Mark Rawson (pictured).

He was speaking to about 25 tourism and accommodation providers at the annual general meeting last night of Tasman Bay Promotions Association, the owners of Motueka i-Site.

The Nelson Regional Development Agency (NRDA) was formed a few months ago as a merger between Nelson Tasman Tourism and Nelson Economic Development Agency. Mark was recruited from a similar role looking after the tourism industry in Rotorua.

"The personal interaction with visitors provided by i-Sites still counts, probably more than ever", even while many visitors use the Internet for direct booking, he said.

The meeting heard that while most New Zealand i-Sites are not quite commercially viable and are supported by local government councils, Motueka i-Site has managed to break even over the past year, despite funding having been stopped from TDC.

In her report to the AGM, i-Site manager Lois Walker said this was largely due to the skill and dedication of her small staff, plus determined efforts to minimise costs.

"Visitor numbers over the last decade have almost doubled, as has our turnover," Lois said. "Even so, we've only just managed to successfully come through our first year of operating totally without external funding.

"Last season's voucher sales broke $2 million for the first time, and more than half were for water activities within the Abel Tasman National Park.

"We estimate that 30% to 50% of all people receiving help from our team insisted on finally booking online themselves or carried on directly to the operator.

"There were also many visitors who had queries about the region and local services, and this assistance of course also produces no [financial] return.

"Their appreciation ranks us consistently in the top 10 of 81 i-Sites, but sadly that recognition doesn't translate into improvement in our bottom line.

"Contrary to the view that we should be able to go it alone or sink, we believe we deserve our exemplary community service to be fairly acknowledged by [Tasman District] Council."

Statistics presented showed that for the 2 year almost 95,000 people came to the Motueka i-Site, just 2% down on the previous year, but resulting sales were almost $250,000 ahead.

As guest speaker, Mark Rawson outlined some of the things he has been learning about the Nelson region during the first few months of his tenure.

Preferring to use the term "visitors" rather than "tourists", he said one big difference between Nelson and Rotorua is that more than half of the visitors here are Kiwis.

This is leading him to believe that more of the regional marketing needs to go toward attracting more New Zealanders, and particular those from Auckland and Wellington, to visit the area.

In particular, we need to tell the story of what he sees as our biggest assets - our foods and beverages. "The seafood and horticultural products of the Nelson region make us special."

"Our goals should not be the best of the best, but to be the only ones doing what we do." This is fed by, and feeds further into, the story of our regional identity.

He also noted that the number of Australians visiting the Nelson region has been declining in recent years. He believes that for them we don't need to be selling our beaches, but rather our mountain biking offerings, which are unique and very popular among Australians.

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