Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) has made a major addition to its suite of digital marketing channels, with the launch of its first mobile app – ‘Essential New Zealand’.
The free app offers advice to travellers at the go in New Zealand, without the necessity for a WiFi connection, encouraging them to do and spot more while within the country.
Catherine Bates, General Manager Brand and International PR, says; “Essential New Zealand aims to make it easier for visitors to connect to tourism experiences while travelling during the country – notwithstanding where they’re or what they’re doing.
“People on a ship in the course of Milford Sound or pausing at one of many huts at the Tongariro crossing, can use this app to plot their next activity, in preference to wait until they’re back at a hotel or café.
“In turn, the app works to persuade their travel decisions by encouraging them to travel more widely, visiting more regions and collaborating in additional paid visitor activities.”
Designed using robust user research, the free to download app works in tandem with TNZ’s mobile optimised travel website, newzealand.com, to enrich the visitor experience and improve access to information that meets traveller’s needs.
TNZ’s Visitor Experience Monitor showed that the usage of mobile devices while in New Zealand had increased significantly between 2011 and 2012, with travellers using an iPad or laptop up 44 per cent, and use of a smartphone up 28 per cent.
“Travellers are actually engaging with digital media previous to and within the travel process. Mobile is an increasingly important channel for operators, with a 1,000 per cent increase in mobile referrals from newzealand.com earlier year. The app is a vital step to support this increased use, ensuring information is instantly available to travellers across a considerable number of digital channels.
“As a result, the app features over 1,150 activities and travel experiences, highlighting the enduring activities in each region which users can save into their ‘Your Trip’, a longtime tool on newzealand.com.
“By delivering information users are seeking for while they’re in New Zealand, the app will generate highly qualified referrals to tourism businesses, for operators to transform into bookings.
The app also includes full contact details and detailed map locations for each activity and regional i-SITE centres, meaning face-to-face support and advice are available easily if required. When accessed online, users are easily connected with comprehensive accommodation and transport booking information on newzealand.com.
For operators, the app will provide a brand new channel to extend the worth in their free listing on newzealand.com, so that it will remain the important thing planning tool for travellers, connecting them with travel sellers to assist operators grow their tourism business.
In the past year TNZ has received record traffic to newzealand.com, attracting greater than 13.8 million visits. The amount of traffic from mobile devices increased a staggering 250 per cent.
And the app is decided to just recuperate for operators and users alike – with new features already planned in future versions.
“We have already got new features in development for future versions of the app. Essential New Zealand v1.1 will bring all of the content saved in a consumer’s ‘Your Trip’ on newzealand.com into the app, which will access a much broader range of authoritative travel information once they must .
TNZ worked in collaboration with Whybin\TBWA’s Digital Arts Network (DAN) to investigate and design the app as portion of its global agency agreement.
“Our long-standing relationship and the high degree of trust between DAN and TNZ has enabled the curation of Essential New Zealand; a single-minded app which has user research at its core,” says Che Tamahori, Managing Director of DAN.
“It’s a crucial addition to TNZ’s digital communication channels and we’re delighted with the overall product. User testing has suggested that visitors to New Zealand will adore it too!”