Tourism New Zealand to lead development of China service delivery toolkit

18 June 2013

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) are pleased to announce that Tourism New Zealand will be leading the development of a China service delivery �toolkit�, to enable the tourism sector to better meet the needs of our fastest growing and second most valuable tourism market.

MBIE Tourism Policy Manager Robyn Henderson says that the idea for the toolkit came out of the China Market Review, released earlier this year by Prime Minister John Key.

�Tourism accounts for 16.8% of our exports and China is our fastest growing tourism market. One of the purposes of the China Market Review was to identify future strategies to ensure New Zealand captures greater value from the China market.�

�Improving service delivery is a basic but essential element of this, and the development of a service delivery toolkit was a key recommendation from the Review.�

Tourism New Zealand�s Industry Relations Manager Paul Yeo is leading the project and says the toolkit will give businesses and tourism providers basic, easy to assimilate information on the needs of the Chinese visitor market.

�The first step is to consult with those active in this space to assist with the design and implementation of the toolkit to ensure it is both relevant and fit for purpose for industry use.

�The toolkit will draw largely on existing research and understanding, but we may commission additional small-scale research or produce material where gaps are found.

�The toolkit, which is likely to have a significant on-line component, will be packaged in such a way that any business or tourism provider in New Zealand can access what they need � we want to ensure maximum uptake from the sector.�

The first stage of the toolkit is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year.