It’s one of the great myths of the New Zealand tourism story that we have great scenery. But only in the sense that it implies other countries do not. Or that’s all New Zealand has.
Of course we have eye-wateringly beautiful sites, as anyone whose been here or lived here can attest. But so do many other places in the world. Chocolate box is global. Just like sheep. And fruit.
Many years back when I worked on the strategy that would lead to the 100% Pure programme, I remember a great presentation where we showed people scenes from around the world and asked them to identify where they were. It was sobering for all concerned that many of the places that were “unmistakeably New Zealand” weren’t in fact here at all.
What was here that everyone raved about was the emotional reaction people had to what they saw; the warmth of New Zealanders themselves; and the amazing stories that sat behind what people witnessed.
I think Tourism New Zealand have done a great job with the 100% Pure campaign to date. It’s turned New Zealand into one of the most exciting places brands on the planet against some incredible, and massively funded, competition. But I’m also looking forward to the next, more personalised iteration.
What gives New Zealand its real edge as a tourism destination is not our creativity or our proximity to the dateline or even the fact that we play the world’s toughest rugby (much as those ideas enthral New Zealanders themselves). The real offer, the massive enticement in the external conversation, is NZ’s extraordinary mix of geology, anthropology and mythology. Not one element. All three. That combination of ideas really sings to visitors when it’s brought alive with Kiwi hospitality and honesty. We can make more of that, in my view. A lot more.
It’s something to remember as the crowds disembark here in September for the Rugby World Cup.
This year, if we don’t just want to be another games’ venue in the sports calendar of life, it is time to make the stories even more personal and distinctive – from New Zealand as tellers, for visitors as listeners. Because that is what people want to share. Getting Facebook-friendly is all about the transition from available to remarkable (in the literal sense of getting people to remark to others about things they haven’t seen or felt elsewhere).
That’s not just a tourism thing, of course. Increasingly it’s a mandate for all globally competitive brands. You can’t just participate. You have to distinctualise.
