Test driving Hutt Valley's newest adventure tourism product

Hutt Valley had lost two big ticket tourism operators to be replaced by several smaller businesses operating in niche markets.  But we have also had a new larger operator start up and everyone who touches it is smiling from ear to ear.

The south coast of the eastern side of Wellington harbour is some of the most rugged coastline in the country.  New Zealand's first lighthouse at Pencarrow Head and the most intact mainland lighthouse complex at Baring Head, stand as testiment to the dangers the coast has served up to shipping over the years.  If you follow the coast road from the inner harbour around to the south coast you pass the memorial to the Wahine disaster; possibly New Zealand's most famous seafaring tragedy.

The rugged valleys and mountain ranges that stretch inland from this spectacular coastline are now open to explore on professional quad bike expeditions.  Based at Orongorongo Station at the mouth of the Orongorongo River, you are immediately introduced to a world you wouldn't believe is just 45 minutes from Hutt City, Wellington and its industry and suburbs.

This is rugged country and the quad bikes have plenty of power so safety is paramount.  After a helmet fitting and footwear if necessary, a briefing of go and stop buttons and levers, then a short practice on flat terrain and we were off on what was going to be a 90-minute ride up onto the top of a ridge and back.

The thrill of riding through scrub, across a river bed and up farm tracks heading towards the tops is immediate.  We paused for a short break to look down onto Turakirae Head.  The perspective our height gave us of the earthquake scars was unique.  We could clearly see the scars of earthquakes 600, 400 and 250 years ago; our guide points out that we are overdue for another big one!  We promise to sort out our survival kits when we get home and rev our engines in the hope that signals 'can we go now?'

Reaching the tops is special.  The views to the South Island up the Wainuiomata Valley and Orongorongo Valley and across the harbour to Wellington are simply unbeatable.  Our guide announced that this was the turn around point for the 90-minute ride.  We thought that bringing us to this magnificent view and then cutting us off was not going to work so we extended our ride time there and then.  More valleys, views and river crossings and another hour had us finally satisfied.

There are flatter ride options around the coast to the Turakirae Head seal colony and longer, tougher options of up to two days with an overnight camp.  In my head I've already signed some mates up for the two dayer - boys and toys!

I totally recommend a couple of hours out on this exceptional piece of Wellington which too few people know about. http://www.wellingtonadventures.co.nz/

David Hancock is the visitor development manager for Hutt City, Wellington, New Zealand and would be delighted to receive comments on this or any other topic.
http://www.huttvalleynz.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HuttCity.Wellington

New tourism businesses testing the waters

Capital outlay for infrastructure plus the investment in marketing and personnel and the working capital required while being hit by low seasons leaves many opportunities for great tourism products being left unrealised.  Two large scale Hutt City tourism operations have closed their doors this year but three smaller operators have started up using niche markets to test the waters before they decide whether to take the plunge.

Cruise Ships
The growth of cruise ships coming into Wellington has created a demand for new product.  To meet this demand Hutt City recruited some experienced tourism people to operate tours throughout the cruise season with the possibility of expanding into the full tourism market.  It was easy to see the potential for garden tours, after all, Hutt City was the first garden city in New Zealand.  Jackson Street, Petone was also a given with the local and international media attention this icon is receiving.

The development of the garden and Jackson Street products has been quick and pain free for the operators.  The core products exist and there was not too much more involved other than developing the interpretations of the stories which would be told to their clients.  The cruise ship ground handlers are happy to see nothing more than an A4 summary of the itinerary, content, inclusions and price; so no need for brochure production or even a website although this would be preferable.

The Jackson Street and garden tours are moving into their second season now and their operators are pleased with the results.  This engagement with the cruise market has given them the confidence to expand their operation into the wider tourism market and grow at a rate that is comfortable for them.


Special Interest Groups
Another business set up for a school boy rugby niche is moving into its third year.  An observation that Japan sends hundreds of school boys to New Zealand each year to play and learn more about rugby prompted Rugby & Beyond to set up as a service for them.  The Japanese market has been added to with South Africa, China and more on the way.  Rugby & Beyond are now also going off shore to provide the service to players who can't afford the cost of a team's travel to New Zealand.


Using Regional & Collective Marketing
These fledgling tourism operators have made the most of regional and association marketing to get their foot in the door.  Their RTO and conference bureau want their products to succeed and are only too happy to help keep their story alive and see their products grow.


I would like nothing more than to see major tourism operations open in Hutt City and I will continue to throw positive energy at that - here's our latest new big product http://www.wellingtonadventures.co.nz/  But we will continue to push for the easy entry cruise and special interest markets which are working well to expand our product line up.



David Hancock is the visitor development manager for Hutt City, Wellington, New Zealand and would be delighted to receive comments on this or any other topic.
http://www.huttvalleynz.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HuttCity.Wellington

Using Other Cities International Relations

Last post I mentioned how Hutt City is using its international relations to not only encourage global tolerance and all the niceties of sister cities and other global associations but to develop economic benefits for the city.  We are doing far more than that really by looking at the relationships which other cities have which we can leverage.

Neighbouring cities
On our next planned mission to Japan and Korea we have invited businesses from our neighbouring cities.  We have asked local Chambers of Commerce  to promote our April 2011 mission to their members.  These businesses can add a diversity to the group travelling and represent a market that perhaps is not catered for in our own city or complement one that is.

Another benefit is being able to explain to our Japanese and Korean hosts that we are from a geographical area that is far greater in land and population than we otherwise would represent on our own.  You know and I know that while we come from a small city in a small country we do compete at the highest level.  But being able to say that this group of businesses is from an area of 400,000 people gets less snickers than saying we're from a city of 100,000.


Other cities and their international relations
We encourage any of our city's businesses to look beyond the relationships that we have through council which currently extend to Japan, Korea, China and USA  But if you start looking at the relationships of other cities throughout New Zealand you could cover half the globe with qualified contacts at a government level.

No need to stop there.  Companies could try and capitalise on the other relationships of the cities Hutt City has relationships with and it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to work on Australian city relationships too.

Sort of a social media network arrangement; old school style.


Expat networks
This is something I think we can make greater use of and I would like to introduce this to businesses.  Kea New Zealand have an extensive network of New Zealanders who are currently working in cities around the world.  I have heard Ross McConnell, their executive director speak at an economic development conference and I was taken by what Kea are doing.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has had success in working through expat networks and I will pass on the same once we've been down that road. 




David Hancock is the visitor development manager for Hutt City, Wellington, New Zealand and would be delighted to receive comments on this or any other topic.
http://www.huttvalleynz.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HuttCity.Wellington