Tomahawk is delighted to continue its gold sponsorship support of the 2022 Backpacker Youth Adventure Tourism Association 11th Annual Conference. 

Highlighting the significant contribution of the youth tourism market, which nearly reached a sizeable $1b in holiday spend pre-covid*, is an important agenda item for BYATA and something which Tomahawk wholeheartedly advocates in the rebuilding of tourism to New Zealand.  Tomahawk is committed to the industry building core digital skills and online presence that enable members to better target youth travellers.   

Renee Goodsell, Head of Digital for Tomahawk is excited to be reuniting with the sector: 

“We believe the backpacker market is fundamental to the New Zealand visitor economy, and the BYATA conference has always been...

Writing blogs is an effective way to create content for your digital marketing. Every blog article can be an opportunity to drive online traffic to your website. With suitable keywords, it can help with your SEO (search engine optimisation) and also attract your readers to book with you when they find your brand personality interesting.

So, how can you write an engaging blog that can create impact for your tourism business? Here are 6 tips to get you started!

1. Pinpoint your target audience 

Understanding your readers and considering their buyer personas is an important way to resonate with them. The audience of a luxury hotel can be very different from an economical motel. Readers who are looking for kayaking tours may find information about adventure equipment and...

Tomahawk along with the Bed & Breakfast Association of NZ are hitting the road on a 10-stop series of workshops to help accommodation providers across New Zealand be best prepared for the new international traveller. 

Hosted accommodation providers will have the opportunity to learn the latest digital marketing strategies and tools, with collaborative break-out sessions to further delve into topics with experts. To enhance the value of the workshops to attendees further, there will be updates provided from Tourism New Zealand and RTO’s. 

Donna Brooke, The President of the Bed & Breakfast Association of NZ says: 

“Hosted accommodation businesses are a very niche part of the tourism sector. There are a lot of small businesses scattered throughout New Zealand providing...

Digital Marketing or "online marketing" for tourism has now become the key marketing focus at all stages of a traveller's interaction with your business.

If you think about this customer journey in marketing terms, and more specifically for tourism marketing, we talk about The 5 Stages of Travel which include: Dream, Plan/Research, Book, Experience and Share.

The 5 Stages of Travel

There's a lot of information about digital marketing and plenty of sources of advice - it can actually seem a bit over-whelming to try and figure out your own digital marketing strategy! This guide is aimed at providing an "overview" of all the different components that might make up your digital marketing plan, with links to information on topics you may want to delve into further.

Digital...

For many years the primary focus for building reviews for tourism businesses has been with Tripadvisor listings. However the ways in which travellers now access information and reviews about your tourism business has evolved.

Travellers no longer solely use Tripadvisor - now they will make judgement calls from a variety of review sources including Facebook (pages and friend referrals), Instagram, OTA review listings, and most prominently, from your Google Business Profile.

Why Google Reviews are important for your tourism business

Your business reviews are part of the Google local search results.

For travellers, local search is a vital tool for both travel research and as a guide when on the road. Your Google Business Profile will appear in results along with your...

Selling private or “exclusive use” accommodation, tours, and activities is not a new concept in tourism, but it’s increasingly becoming a significant opportunity for tourism businesses.   

Selling your tourism product as a fully private experience is no longer just the domain of the luxury or VIP market. Businesses that have never considered or marketed this option before are now seeing a significant increase in enquiries.  

Across all sectors, the growth in demand is being driven from a broad range of travellers who are seeking a more private and meaningful experience principally because of the COVID pandemic and being more cautious about sharing spaces.  

What are the benefits?

People want to get away from the crowds and value more than ever before their own space....