New hotel an 'ally' in quest to increase international visitors
“I know there have been various comments in the market place around how that will react and how that will work, but [Distinction Hotels] are a very strong sales focused organisation.”
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The new Distinction Hotel in Invercargill has been identified by Great South as an “ally” in the attempt to increase international visitors to the city in coming years.
Great South tourism and events general manager Mark Frood said there had been a decline in domestic tourism demand which has hurt Invercargill, in terms of visitor spend.
“We had strong growth, but we’ve been hit with a domestic economy that is not cranking so we have lost a lot of the domestic market. But we have had a return in international,” Frood told Invercargill city councillors in a presentation.
Frood said the majority of visitors to Invercargill came via the domestic market, rather than internationally.
“The down turn in the domestic market for guest nights has hurt Invercargill,” Frood said.
There will continue to be a push for domestic visitors to Invercargill but tapping further into the international market would be key for the city, he said.
“We’ve got work to do to get the international market coming here [to Invercargill], and we will have an ally next year in that space - and they are already working in that space - that is Distinction Hotel.”
Invercargill-based Distinction Hotels owner Geoff Thomson is currently converting the former Menzies Building in Esk St West into a new 150-room 4.5 star hotel.
It is scheduled to open next year.
It will come just two years after the Invercargill Licensing Trust opened its new 78-room 4.5-star Langlands Hotel in the city.
“I know there have been various comments in the marketplace around how that will react and how that will work, but [Distinction Hotels] are a very strong sales focused organisation,” Frood said.
ILT CEO Chris Ramsay has raised concerns as to whether there is the demand to sustain an additional 150 rooms in the Invercargill market.
“Probably the reality check is it is not like we haven’t worked closely with Geoff over the years. We are very aware of the group tours market Distinction operates with. We operate with all of those players already,” Ramsay said at a Southland Business Chamber event in July.
“As much as there is this general feeling of, ‘yay, it’s going to grow the pie,’ I can assure you occupancy over the last few months doesn’t justify another hotel.”
“Utopia is that demand suddenly picks up out of somewhere. There is no denying there will be share shift from us to Distinction and we are going to enter the most competitive market for accommodation - as far as operators go - in Invercargill’s history.”
However, Ramsay said he did respect what Thomson has done in the industry and was encouraged that he has the confidence in Invercargill to undergo such a development.
Thomson has Distinction Hotels operating throughout New Zealand, including in Te Anau which attracts strong international numbers.
The hope for him, and Invercargill as a whole, is those international visitors will connect through to Invercargill in the future.
Tourism has been identified as key opportunity to diversify Southland’s economy as part of Great South’s Beyond 2025: Regional Long-Term Plan.
Great South says tourism currently employs about 5000 people in the region.
It has financial target of reaching a $1b tourism spend mark by 2035 and Frood said it currently sits at about the $500 million mark.
Frood said a focus for 2025-2026 would be to build all year-round travel to Southland outside the peak summer period.
There were opportunities around night sky and food to entice visitors during the off-peak periods, he said.
Conferences and business events were also identified as an important factor to grow visitor numbers to Invercargill.
“These a year-round so it doesn’t matter what time of the year, we can attract them. We are very active in that space,” Frood said.
“Believe me we’ve got great assets here that we have really highlighted and championed, such as [ILT Stadium Southland].”
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark saw real potential in Bluff as a destination to help attract more visitors.
But he added work was needed.
“We don’t have a strong enough development in Bluff yet as a destination point. We’ve got some opportunities there that we don’t sell well enough, we should be doing a whole lot more work in that area.”
We’ve hit a wall in domestic tourism cause no one has any money…?
Southland and Invercargill has huge potential to become a major destination it just has to be marketed right. Promote the city, promote the unique culture but not just the leaders, everyone has to be a part of it.