CASE STUDY – CREATIVE TOURISM NEW ZEALAND

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fuel4arts.com arts + markets + audiences …tools & ideas to take your work further Where does the concept of 'Creative Tourism' come from? 3 years ago I attended a lecture by Greg Richards, an authority on cultural tourism, and the author of a number of books and articles on the subject. He argued that cultural tourism, even as demand grew, risked causing dissatisfaction because of its failure to engage. It needed to become more creative, he said. A metaphorical light flashed: Creative Tourism, great expression, I thought. We got together after the lecture and decided to try to develop the concept, Greg in academic circles, me in New Zealand, the country to which I was about to migrate. Creative Tourism in New Zealand So, having subsequently settled in the Nelson/Tasman region at the top of New Zealand's South Island, how could I put the Creative Tourism idea into practice? Following initial discussions with the Regional Tourist Office I met Nelson Bays Arts Marketing Network (NBAM), the region's well-respected arts marketing agency. Ali Boswijk, its Chief Executive, was attracted by the possibility of Creative Tourism providing a new income stream for local artists. She had some public funding available for cluster development and agreed to incubate the project for a 'pilot period' so that the key features of supply and demand could be better understood. We held an inaugural meeting last December to discuss the possibility of forming a network amongst local artists to offer workshops. World of WearableArt and The Suter te Aratoi o Whakatu, two of Nelson's flagship arts organisations, together with a number of other established organisations and interested individuals, agreed to become members. An embryonic organisation, Creative Tourism New Zealand (CTNZ), emerged and was launched on 1 May 2003 by Dame Cheryll Sotheran, the founder of Wellington's Te Papa museum. CTNZ now has 23 Members offering a range of workshops and learning experiences that reflect the diverse culture of this part of New Zealand: from harakeke (flax) weaving to woolcraft, from bone carving to bronze casting, from ceramics to native plant propagation, from seafood cookery to wood working. Workshops last from 2 hours to 4 days. Some include meals, most ask participants to bring their own sandwiches. Costs range from $55 to $650. All the workshops are small, with a maximum of twelve participants and usually less. Workshops can be booked directly with Members or through the local Visitor Information Office in Motueka. The latter is providing this booking service for free during the pilot period partly because they hope to sell other services to potential creative tourists but mainly because they see the long-term potential of an additional aspect of tourism for region. CTNZ Members meet bi-monthly to discuss progress. These meetings bring together artists and crafts people and help the bonds between them. Each Member has been asked to recommend accommodation nearby, places where they feel that participants on their workshops will enjoy staying. This has involved a further 30 plus people who want to see CTNZ succeed. Published at www.fuel4arts.com with permission from the Author, September 2003 Page 2 of 5 © Creative Tourism New Zealand and Australia Council for the Arts, 2003
fuel4arts.com arts + markets + audiences …tools & ideas to take your work further NBAM's role was, and still is, invaluable. At the start, when Creative Tourism was just an idea, they contributed credibility and contacts to potential Members. They continue to provide marketing contacts and support. But they also provide an existing organisational framework as decisions about an appropriate long-term legal structure for CTNZ have not yet had to be made. Segmentation - Who Are Creative Tourists? Are tourists flocking to attend? Not yet, but the signs are encouraging and the New Zealand summer, when we expect most participants, lies ahead. We have already established that marketing a mix of workshops under the Creative Tourism ‘brand’, attracts more interest than most individuals can achieve by themselves. We also think that Creative Tourism will appeal to three groups. The first group of potential creative tourists are the baby-boomers and newly retired. Having achieved a level of material comfort, often at a price of focusing predominantly on work, they are frequently looking for intellectual stimulus and fresh opportunities to find out about things which have always interested them but which they have never got round to doing. The second group are the under 30s, often students, backpackers, perhaps visiting New Zealand on a ‘gap year’. Creative Tourism appeals to those with open minds who are still finding their way in life particularly after they have survived a range of physical travel adventures and are starting to look for experiences that stretch the mind as well as the body! And, thirdly, New Zealanders themselves of all ages are interested to learn more about different aspects of their country’s culture. Encouragingly, Tourism New Zealand recently completed market research which has led to a profile of the ideal visitor to New Zealand: the 'Interactive Traveller' http://www.tourisminfo.govt.nz/cir_rand. This person wants to interact with local Kiwis and learn more about local culture in small groups though participatory learning experiences. In many ways, the Interactive Traveller is a creative tourist! Marketing The core tool of our marketing approach is the website www.creativetourism.co.nz which is updated bi-monthly in the light of experience. This provides details of workshops and their tutors. It also contains valuable endorsements from organisations and people such as Maureen Wheeler, co-founder of Lonely Planet. These again add credibility. However, since there are now supposed to be almost as many websites as there are people on the planet, getting the site noticed by our potential market is the real challenge. We approach this through a variety of means, including: - encouraging our members and accommodation providers to spread the word to those they know; - reciprocal links to others whose markets overlap ours. The most referrals at the moment are coming from the Lonely Planet website; Published at www.fuel4arts.com with permission from the Author, September 2003 Page 3 of 5 © Creative Tourism New Zealand and Australia Council for the Arts, 2003
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CASE STUDY – CREATIVE TOURISM NEW ZEALAND

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