The milestone was reached earlier this week as thousands of holiday-makers flock to the country in search of beaches, BBQs and long summer evenings.
Tourism New Zealand’s Director of Marketing Andrew Fraser says one million fans is a significant achievement for the organisation with social media now the key channel for the “word of mouth” style endorsement that is actively sought by potential travellers.
“Our own research shows that the endorsement of friends and family is still the most compelling factor in helping potential visitors make travel decisions.
“Social media channels like Facebook plays perfectly in this space where “friends” of Tourism New Zealand can share and make travel recommendations and offer endorsements to others on the page.
“With one million fans of our page, the reach of this word of mouth channel is significant.
“Our use of social media is about facilitating a conversation that brings New Zealand to life through images, videos and the comments of others,” he says.
“As a communication channel, social media is continues to grow in significance with around 56 per cent of visitors using Facebook.
“Some 40 per cent of all international visitors to New Zealand are using social media while in New Zealand and 45 per cent of all our visitors are using social media to talk about their trip once they have returned home.
“This works out at around 1.2 million of our tourists sharing their trip to New Zealand on social media. When you then compare this to the reach of Facebook where the average user has 140 friends you can see the potential.
“Word of mouth is incredible important to this industry as tourism product is difficult to evaluate unless you have experienced it – which is why potential travellers are constantly seeking input from others who have been there, done that. “We regularly see our Facebook posts reaching hundreds of thousands of people in our priority markets. The high level of daily interaction with New Zealand travel content is a highly effective way to drive preference for New Zealand.”
Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) Chief Executive Martin Snedden congratulates Tourism New Zealand on the million fan milestone.
“Social media is an incredibly important way of promoting New Zealand as a tourism destination.
“Tourism businesses around the country can only benefit from Tourism New Zealand reaching out to such a huge audience who have already shown they are interested in New Zealand. We look forward to seeing Tourism New Zealand reach their second million fans.”
The national tourism plan, Tourism 2025, highlights the importance of social media and the growing demand from travellers for wifi so they can share their experiences with friends and family via social media as they travel.
Consumer engagement via social media is now a significant part of all Tourism New Zealand’s campaigns.
Andrew explains: “Being active on social media enables us to be highly targeted in reaching our key audience of people already considering New Zealand for a holiday, and it’s measurable so we can continually adapt our approach as we learn more about our consumers.”
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