Where is the best location for a visitor centre?

The question has been raised as to whether the Martinborough i-SITE Visitor Centre is in the best town given that visitors entering Martinborough had already driven through one or more other Wairarapa towns.

An additional observation suggests that visitors to Martinborough will have already made up their minds of what they will do while in the Wairarapa.

This signals an excellent time to have a look at why we have our i-SITE Visitor Centres where they are. In assessing where a visitor centre should be located I have had a look at:

• Other i-SITE locations in New Zealand
• Wairarapa product
• Consumer motivators
• Capacity to accommodate

As the Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO) for the Wairarapa, Destination Wairarapa is charged with bringing more visitors to the region and getting them to spend more during their stay. One of the mechanisms used by Destination Wairarapa to get visitors to stay longer and spend more is the two i-SITE Visitor Centres located in Masterton and Martinborough. These i-SITE Visitor Centres are operated these in a professional manner with paid staff and targets for increased revenue through the visitors and locals which enter them.

The i-SITE Visitor Centres are effectively operating as agents for the tourism operators located in the Wairarapa and throughout New Zealand. Through sales questioning techniques the staff are able to ascertain the current and future needs of visitors and sell them products which will meet their needs and enhance their overall New Zealand experience.

Apart from the obvious service provided to international and domestic travelers, the i-SITE Visitor Centres are also there for locals needing to make travel bookings elsewhere in New Zealand. Several corporate organisations also use the services of the i-SITE Visitor Centre for the personal service they receive and their understanding that a booking through a Wairarapa i-SITE Visitor Centre helps keep some revenue in the region through the commissions derived from each sale.

DESTINATION WAIRARAPA MARKETING

Through the many media and the many messages Destination Wairarapa uses to try and attract leisure visitors, there are considerably fewer themes. Hanmer Springs, for example, uses Hot Springs in its messaging, even though there are many more things to do there.

Destination Wairarapa’s key themes are:

•      Wine and Food
•      The Coast
•      The Outdoors – Rimutaka Cycle Trail
•      Towns and Villages
•      Events

Destination Wairarapa believes that these are the main things which will attract visitors to the region. We all know there are many artists, shopping, museums, war memorabilia, vintage aircraft, gardens, Stonehenge Aotearoa, golf, surfing, fishing… The i-SITE Visitor Centres help direct people to these additional things to see and do.

NEW ZEALAND i-SITE VISITOR CENTRES

i-SITE is a product of Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) and each outlet must operate in accordance with the TNZ prescribed standards. There are currently more than 80 i-SITE Visitor Centres located throughout New Zealand.

This number of outlets adds value to each individual site knowing that there are locals all over New Zealand who can assist with questions asked by their clients. It would not be unusual, for instance, for an i-SITE staff member in Wellington to contact the Martinborough i-SITE Visitor Centre to answer a question or get advice on behalf of a client they have in front of them.

All of these i-SITE Visitor Centres are located in destinations which attract the greatest volume of visitors. Martinborough is unusual, but not alone, in being a destination which is pretty much at a terminus. That is Martinborough is not on SH2 and you must choose to go there.

Other i-SITE Visitor Centres in a similar geographical cul-de-sac include: 

• Waiheke Island
• Motueka
• Akaroa
• Te Anau
• Hanmer Springs
• Methven

VISITOR MOTIVATORS

i-SITEs are located where they are because they can capture the most possible visitors and assist them to spend more money and stay longer. Visitors do go to a place because they have seen something which attracts them. But they do not necessarily know of everything to do in that place and this is where the i-SITE Visitor Centres can assist.

Hanmer Springs for instance would have the vast majority of people going there because they have seen the wonderful photos of the hot springs. However you can be sure that the Hanmer i-SITE Visitor Centre books many people on the rafting, jet boating, bungy jump, whale watching and cycling tours and points them to the golf course, vineyards at Amberley or the other lesser known hot springs closer to Lewis Pass.

The majority of people going to Martinborough are there because they have heard about the vineyards, seen the beautiful pictures of the village and/or read about the events. Like Hanmer Springs, these visitors are also helped to enjoy the other lesser known experiences like a cycle hire, a horse ride, a walk, a trip to the south coast or a spa treatment. They will also be assisted to get further into the Wairarapa to Featherston, Greytown, Carterton, Masterton and then beyond that to their next destination.

A town that a visitor passes through en-route to their destination is of less attraction to stop for information as the visitor isn’t yet to their destination and therefore hasn’t yet satisfied the thing that motivated them on this travel in the first place. En-route to their destination they still have that beautiful picture which they saw in a magazine and more importantly they have a corresponding image in their minds of how they will fit into that picture. Until they arrive at their destination, that picture and corresponding image is the sole emotionally motivating driver.

After the visitor has satisfied that emotional motivator, the i-SITE Visitor Centre is the place to find that next emotional motivator which will keep the visitor in the region longer and help them to spend more money.

WAIRARAPA VISITOR CAPACITY

It is clear that i-SITE Visitor Centres are located in destinations that attract visitors so as to maximise their experience in the destination. The status of a place as a destination is important when considering whether to have an i-SITE Visitor Centre located there. But consideration for the destination’s capacity to accommodate visitors there is just as important. In considering the best locations for Wairarapa i-SITE Visitor Centres, the capacity to accommodate visitors must be assessed.

The main options for visitor centre locations in the Wairarapa are:

• Featherston
• Martinborough
• Greytown
• Carterton
• Masterton

These towns have the following guest room volumes:

• Featherston - 61
• Martinborough - 261
• Greytown - 75
• Carterton/Gladstone - 57
• Masterton - 344

Featherston

A wonderful town full of potential as the Rimutaka Cycle Trail grows. But at the moment the town is not a destination and does not have the capacity to hold visitors and create opportunities for them to do other activities and make that additional spend.

Greytown

A destination in itself, Greytown would be a strong candidate for an i-SITE Visitor Centre. But once again the capacity to hold visitors just isn’t there. Many visitors go to Greytown but they are day visitors or are staying in other Wairarapa locations.

Carterton

Again a town with great potential for more visitors given that they have one of the top attractions in Paua World and Stonehenge is a strong visitor attraction too. The Carterton Events Centre is the best in the region but again, the capacity to hold visitors in town is not there.

So to answer the question and observations...

Is Martinborough the best town for an i-SITE Visitor Centre?

Yes Martinborough is the most suitable town because:

• It is a destination
• It has the capacity to accommodate visitors

And therefore has the best opportunity to capture visitors in the i-SITE Visitor Centre to assist them with doing something else and staying longer in the Wairarapa.

Visitors to Martinborough will have already made up their minds of what they will do while in the Wairarapa.

It is true for all visitors that they will know of at least one thing that is motivating them to go to Martinborough. That image of vineyards and the beautiful town is in their minds and they can see themselves doing that. But most visitors will not know about many of the other things to do around Martinborough. And the vast majority will not know about the other towns and activities in the Wairarapa.

Until the visitor has satisfied that motivating factor of vineyards, village or event, it is pointless to try and give them a new motivator. But it is vital that the i-SITE Visitor Centre is there and able to give that new motivator when the visitor is ready.

Visitors have driven through one or more other Wairarapa towns on their way to Martinborough.

It is true that visitors will have driven through one or more towns on their way to Martinborough. Visitors drive through those towns en-route to Martinborough because those towns are not the destination and these visitors need to:

• satisfy their emotional motivator to go to that destination, and
• have the opportunity to satisfy that emotion, then
• have the opportunity to stay in the destination, then
• have the opportunity to find that next emotional motivator, through an
• i-SITE Visitor Centre

David Hancock is general manager of Destination Wairarapa, the regional tourism organisation for Wairarapa, New Zealand and would be delighted to receive comments on this or any other topic.
http://www.wairarapanz.com