Latest news with #WaiAriki
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
'People want to connect with people' - Māori tourism leads the way
Wai Ariki Hot Springs & Spa weaves Māori storytelling and culture into its offerings for visitors. Photo: Supplied Māori tourism is on the rise, and operators say the key to its continued success is offering authentic cultural experiences. A recent report showed Māori tourism contributed $1.2 billion to the economy in 2023, up by nearly 25 percent from $975 million in 2018. Wai Ariki Hot Springs & Spa general manager Debbie Robertson said her business wove storytelling and culture into its offering for visitors. "People want to connect with people and that's what makes it different," she said. "Anyone can go anywhere and sit in... mineral water. It's around the world but what the difference is is the connection to the culture and the people and what we're able to offer." Māori tourism businesses across the motu offered a chance for manuhiri to connect with culture through experiences and helped Aotearoa to stand out, she said. "Many of our people that are offering products across Aotearoa are very humble and they need to elevate their price point," Robertson said. "People will pay to experience what they have and connect with them and our culture, and don't be shy about doing that. Be unapologetically Māori." Ngāi Tahu Tourism general manager Jolanda Cave said Māori tourism was leading the way thanks to more collaboration between operators. "It has to be authentic or it actually isn't going to be an amazing manuhiri experience," she said. "We hold ourselves to account in that space all the time. It's also why it takes time to enhance your product and your delivery and do it well in an authentic way. You can't do it overnight cos then it wouldn't really be an authentic experience." The industry was preparing for big changes in how tomorrow's tourists plan, book and engage on their future holidays. It expected many travellers would be younger, digital-savvy and on the search for special experiences as well as older, well-off retirees. "We're storytellers. We use our voice and we use it well so regardless of how they're travelling whether it's virtually, whether they're still coming to our location, we're still going to be sharing our story in an authentic way, just potentially delivering it in a different means," she said. New Zealand Māori Tourism board chair Dale Stephens said businesses had put in some hard mahi to help the industry grow. The government wanted to ramp up international visitor numbers in a bid to double the value of tourism exports by 2034. But he wanted more of a focus on offering high quality, authentic, immersive experiences, saying visitors wanted to experience life through a different lens. "If we use that as the focal point, making sure that we treat our manuhiri, our guests, as family and wanting to look after them, give them a great experience, and be prepared to welcome them back time and time again, I think that's the real secret for having successful tourism in this country," he said. Stephens did not want to see the return of pre-pandemic pressure points where popular destinations suffered from being overused. "We need to educate the tourism sector that some fantastic tourism opportunities exist away from the main trunk lines and that will spread the load and spread the opportunity across the country." Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Rebecca Ingram said a regular survey of overseas visitors showed culture was a drawcard for travellers. "Thirteen percent of them were inspired to come to New Zealand because of our culture and our heritage and so I see that number continuing to grow as we build the profile and deeper understanding of Māori culture in New Zealand," she said. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had high hopes for the future of Māori tourism. "Māori tourism can do so well and it always has done so well," he said. "I've been offshore with Māori tourism operators on visits in my past life as well, and I reckon they do the best. "They do so well because they just connect culturally and they connect through the culture and they build great relationships and they've got some of our highest quality products." The government's roadmap for the tourism industry was expected to be released soon. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
1News
08-05-2025
- Business
- 1News
Fall in love with Rotorua: Māori tourism puts best foot forward
The country's largest tourism trade event, TRENZ, is underway in Rotorua showcasing some of the best places and experiences the region and country has to offer in a bid to attract more visitors to our shores, and the local Māori tourism industry is putting its best foot forward. Sean Marsh, Te Puia – New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute's sale and marketing general manager, said it was important that international visitors returned home having "fallen in love with Rotorua". Last night, Te Puia hosted the welcoming event where Te Matatini 2025 champions Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue made a surprise performance. "Nearly a thousand people arrived to Rotorua, and it's our job to manaaki them and welcome them in the best way that we know possible," Marsh said. The two-and-a-half day event is touted as the most important industry event on the calendar, connecting Aotearoa to the global tourism trade. Over its duration, the local economy is expected to get a boost of over $3 million in new spending. For Māori tourism businesses such as Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa, it's an invaluable opportunity to make connections. "We envision that in three years' time we will have a large number of international travellers but they don't just show up at the door," said general manager Debbie Robertson. She said they engage with international buyers and travel agents and invite them to experience what makes them unique. "It's very important for Wai Ariki to be successful, not only for the facility, for our people. It's a large investment that we have and something we're proud of." Tourism in Aotearoa injects billions of dollars into the economy. In the year ending June 2024, tourist spending reached $11.6 billion, and according to a recent report, in 2023, Māori tourist businesses contributed $1.2 billion, up from $975 million in pre-Covid 2018. Tanya Robinson, general manager of Whakarewarewa – The Living Māori Village, said they have made a good recovery post-Covid and have an increase in visitors above the national average. "We're thrilled about that because our organisation is also charitable [and] it's great to be able to employ our people to be able to return value to our community, to give back to our taonga heritage buildings, our environment which is where all the funds go that we earn through the business." The village is set in a geothermal landscape and offers a unique insight into Māori living. It's an iconic tourist attraction owned and operated by Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao. They have been in business for over 200 years and are always working to improve on what they offer their guests, said Robinson, and TRENZ allows them the opportunity to promote their experiences. "It's both how we get to know our customers but also how our customers get to know us, what our product is, and to learn about what our offering is." Dale Stephens, New Zealand Māori Tourism chair, said a lot of effort goes into getting things right to "show our best face to our visitors". "The opportunity for us to present all the various elements of tourism, especially our indigenous, our Māori tourism, to buyers from around the world who come and they look at what they can buy and then on sell to tourists who come to New Zealand [is important]." Today, the Government announced the removal of the requirement to certify translations of supporting documents for visitors' visa application. Instead, applicants will need to advise who translated the documents and the qualifications or experience of the translator. Tourism Minister Louise Upston said it was about removing the "friction" of having to certify English translations, bringing the requirements in line with Australia. She said they wanted to make it clear, especially to the China market, that New Zealand was open for business and "keen" for visitors to return. No doubt a welcome announcement for Māori tourism who, Stephens said, are enjoying an increase in Asian buyers coming into the country. "We know that the Asian markets are hugely important culturally to New Zealand, and to Māori tourism especially. We see this as a huge leap forward to us. "We appeal to all countries in the world but we have quite a unique tie with our Asian whānau."
