Tourism Business Magazine

From our March 2007 issue: The internet is now the number one information source for domestic tourists, according to the Regional Visitor Monitor (RVM) research released by the Ministry of Tourism at the end of February.

The ministry says the internet has now surpassed family and friends, as a source of information for regional trip planning.  Over half of all domestic travellers interviewed (51 percent) had used the internet to plan their trip to their destination region for the last quarter of 2006, up from 38 percent in the first quarter of 2006.

"We believe this is a definite trend emerging here," says Bruce Bassett, Ministry of Tourism research manager. "Information from family and friends and travel books are also highly important, but now the Internet is king for kiwis."

International visitors surveyed were also increasing their use of the internet to research their destination region. Nearly half (49 percent) of the international respondents said the web was a source of information for the last quarter of 2006, up from 37 percent in the first quarter.

However, for international travellers the internet is still less significant than guide books and word of mouth. Since January 2006, 6775 respondents have been surveyed and Bassett said that the research implied that serious consideration needed to be put into web design and strategy by the tourism industry, particularly for those targeting the domestic market.

Wine Microsoft Word Document: 24.0 KB, 4 seconds @ 56kbps

"We knew the internet was a key tool for travel planning and booking, but to be seeing this growth over the period of one year sends a clear message to marketers and operators. Your website had better be up to scratch if you want to win a tourist's business."

www.tourismresearch.govt.nz

Wine

As predicted yesterday, a good part of the day was spent sampling the fine wine of the Marlborough region.  But then, it is my birthday today and given my passion for wine it was a near perfect day.

Favourites of the day, Lawsons Dry Hills, especially the noble Riesling, and anything from Seresin.  Look for them in your local supermarket – much of it is exported, especially to the UK.

So tonight, we’re sitting outside on the front lawn of our lovely cottage drinking a 2007 Seresin Memento Riesling, finishing later with a 2005 Lawsons late harvest Riesling. Better have some foods at some stage ;-)