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

Hypothesis to Truth without even trying

My passions change from time to time and it's no real surprise that at the moment I have a passion for all things Wairarapa.  One thing that always drives me, is measuring stuff.  So when I was asked to speak about what's happening in Wairarapa, at the June SKAL Wellington meeting, I decided what better than to combine my too latest loves.

In preparing this talk I found there have been a few things which I thought were facts, the truth, which on applying measurement were actually closer to myth.  Having only been in the region for 18 months, I have listened to the locals and those who have gone before me.  I don't want to be a naturally sceptical person and so absorbed all this knowledge and have continued to profess the same.

It's easy to see how it happens.  We all develop ideas of how or why something is as it is.  The intention is that this is an hypothesis and with measurement we will prove or disprove this educated guess.  But we get busy and others are accepting of our crystal ball analysis and the measurement just seems to be pushed to the back and then becomes unnecessary as the original hypothesis becomes truth and the accepted way things are.

At SKAL I decided to talk about things that everyone knows already about the Wairarapa:

• Wellington, Manawatu and Hawkes Bay are Wairarapa's biggest domestic markets
• the Masterton to Auckland Air NZ service is a business commuter flight for Wairarapa locals
• there's a decline in international guest nights

Wairarapa's biggest domestic markets
The accepted truth is that Wellington, Manawatu and Hawkes Bay, in that order, are the biggest domestic markets for Wairarapa.

Well with the recent access to credit card transaction volume and spend data, we are finally able to have a closer look at the details of this wonderful story.  It's no surprise that Wellington does prove to be far and away the biggest domestic market.  In fact, yes fact, Wellington is three times greater in terms of credit card transaction volume than second placed Manawatu.

But the bronze medal, third most voluminous domestic market for Wairarapa turns out to be Auckland.  Probably not really that surprising being the largest population base in the country.  But their exclusion from the original version of the story is understandable being they're geographically as far removed from Wairarapa as you can get in the North Island.  And would they really drive this far, and down SH2 for leisure?

Yes Hawkes Bay is next but even then there is Canterbury to watch closely which from time to time pips Hawkes Bay on the monthly credit card transaction data.

The Masterton Auckland air service
Everyone knows that the only people using the Masterton to Auckland air service are people who live in Wairarapa.  After all, the flights to Auckland depart at 7.00am and get you to Auckland in time for a days work.  And then they return at 7.00pm in time to get back home for dinner with the family.  And these flight timings couldn't possibly work for people flying to Masterton.

With some recent drive to develop the air services in and out of Masterton we have undertaken some research of travellers on the departing morning flight.  Surveying every departing passenger for a month (it's only an 18 seat Beech) has given a new truth to be told.

Who would have thought that 20% of people travelling on the flight were actually not from Masterton, or even from the Wairarapa.  Not too surprising that most of these non-locals are from Auckland, but also Northland, Hamilton and even Australia and one from Spain.

Now we have a different story to tell and it includes the possibility for inbound leisure flights for Aucklanders on bigger aircraft.

International guest nights are in decline
Yes we've heard from every corner that apart from a recent turn in international guest night volumes, that they are in decline.  Many Wairarapa operators discussing their slow season have declared this truth.

This story could easily have snowballed into legend in Wairarapa except that like every region, we monitor the data to ensure the story de jeur is actually based on data.  The fact is that YE March 2012 and Wairarapa was one of only ten regions to improve international guest nights on the previous year.  Then for the YE March 2013 and Wairarapa was one of only five of those ten to improve again.

April 2013 and we've just had a 45% increase on international guest nights against the previous April.


Building an hypothesis is great fun and quite stimulating but make sure it does not become truth until the data has been analysed and the facts are available for the new story.

How many things do you accept as truth without having seen the data?


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

A Street Full of Windows of Opportunity

I've always believed that if you're going to do something then you might as well be as good at that something as you possibly can be.  At one end of the achievement spectrum is being the best in town and at the other end is being the best in the world.  It frustrates me to see sections of retailers in a street settling for a space behind a glass wall and then sitting back watching the business walk on by.  I think this frustrates me mostly because of the opportunity lost for the rest of the street and the rest of the town.

We've recently appointed two Team Leaders at our Masterton and Martinborough i-SITE Visitor Centres.  These are retail outlets selling any travel product in New Zealand to visitors and locals.  To get our Team Leaders thinking about their own retail displays, I took them for a walk down Masterton's main retail shopping street.

During our walk we looked at:

• what we liked and didn't like
• what worked and didn't work
• our reactions in different types of shops
• how front window displays flowed and connected into the rest of the shop

No matter which retailer we looked at the experience all started with the shop window.  This was:

• the opportunity to capture our attention
• the opportunity to encourage us to stop and look
• the opportunity to capture our imaginations
• the opportunity to say come on in

These retail windows truly are windows of opportunity.  What's more there's a whole street full of windows of opportunity.

What we liked:

• clean, crisp, bright displays of something topical or seasonal
• displays with a bit of story behind them
• posters or backing colours set back from the window and a small relevant display in front

What we didn't like:

• windows used as a store room
• windows that tried to display everything the store sells
• posters on windows that stopped us looking in
• irrelevant displays with no meaning or support for the rest of the display
• handmade signs

Connecting the window to the in-store experience:

• the product in the window then has a display of the product right in front of you as you walk into the store.  'This is where you buy what you've just seen'.

Could a small town strip of retailers set themselves a goal of being the best retail window displays in the country?

• none of what we saw was rocket science
• none of what we saw cost a great deal of money
• it would just take the energy and willingness to change from key retailers
• there would be a critical mass and eventual tipping point at some stage

The benefits would be enormous in just trying to achieve the goal:

• renewed time, effort and energy put into the business
• better window displays would encourage more traffic into the store
• more traffic, more sales - although that's a whole session on its own
• if you're mildly successful the public will get behind the campaign
• if you're moderately successful there will be media opportunities
• media stories will bring visitors to see for themselves
• better displays as retailers challenge themselves with continuous improvement
• and so it goes...

Suddenly that street is no longer a collection of retailers but a whole experience.

I made another observation while I was walking down the street with our two Team Leaders.  We'd stopped out the front of a store discussing the merits of the display before us.  We stood there for some time looking deeper and deeper into the store.  I'm not sure if it was the extended time we spent in front of the store (extended from what they were used to from passers-by) or that we were obviously pointing and talking about the store, but we captured the employees' attention.  Standing at the secure back of the store and the reassuring glass wall between us, the employees started talking and looking back at us.  I can only imagine the relief on their face when we finally moved on.  What a different story this would have been if they'd just come out onto the street to talk to us.


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