Stuff Digital Edition

Akaroa ‘cannot compete’ with Hanmer rival

Jake Kenny and Nadine Porter

Two scenic towns, each about 1.5 hours’ drive from Christchurch, are in a battle for the city dollar.

Akaroa business owners say they want more marketing support from ChristchurchNZ – in the same way the Hurunui District Council treats Hanmer Springs like the jewel in its crown.

An Akaroa-based millionaire says a lack of marketing for the town to Christchurch residents means it ‘‘cannot compete’’ with its weekend trip rival.

Both towns are popular weekend destinations roughly 90 minutes from Christchurch – is one getting the short end of the marketing stick?

Swedish-born Karl Bohlin is the chief executive of software company HansaWorld New Zealand Ltd, which has customers in 102 countries. He moved to Akaroa in 2018 with his Kiwi wife.

He made the news in 2020 when he announced his own advertising campaign for the township, citing a lack of funding and effort from ChristchurchNZ and the Christchurch City Council.

His slogan ‘‘Weekends in Akaroa: Where the Magic Lives’’ ran alongside and conflicted directly with Akaroa District Promotions’ marketing strategy and ‘‘Nature’s Playground’’ slogan, ADP’s chairperson said at the time.

Bohlin told The Press this week that his own efforts to promote Akaroa – signage, Christmas lights, print advertising and more – had cost about $200,000 ‘‘all out of my own pocket’’. He called the lack of Akaroa-specific marketing to Christchurch residents ‘‘stupidity’’.

‘‘Christchurch should give more attention to Akaroa … There is so much to do,’’ Bohlin said.

He believed too much focus was spent on attracting overseas visitors to Akaroa at the expense of Christchurch customers. ‘‘Instead we are dreaming of cruise ships coming back, which is highly unlikely.’’

Akaroa ‘‘cannot compete’’ with the Christchurch-focused marketing budgets afforded to Hanmer Springs by the Hurunui council, Bohlin said.

Bohlin is not the only local business owner who thinks Christchurch’s economic development agency needs to put money into the local tourism budget.

Akaroa Dolphins owner Hugh Waghorn said ChristchurchNZ had always been ‘‘behind the ball’’ in promoting Akaroa. ‘‘They think Akaroa is part of Christchurch.’’

Shaun Huddelston, of jeweller Fire & Ice, said more promotion to Cantabrians was needed to attract those who had been turned off by the number of cruise ships visiting the town before Covid hit.

Huddelston said having 90-plus cruise ships a year had been good for Akaroa businesses after the 2010-11 Canterbury earthquakes, but they made the town ‘‘not as enjoyable’’ for people wanting to go on a day trip.

Now there was a ‘‘peaceful feel’’ to the town, with only 17 smaller ships expected to dock during the 2022-23 cruise season.

Huddelston felt ChristchurchNZ should remind the public Akaroa was open and welcoming to locals.

Andrew Turner, a former Banks Peninsula councillor and retiring ChristchurchNZ board member, said it didn’t surprise him that Akaroa businesses were ‘‘feeling the change’’ after the decrease in visiting cruise ships.

‘‘I was always concerned for some of the businesses used to the extra footfall ... and to not have that incremental business in summer will make a big difference to them.’’

Akaroa District Promotions (ADP), the volunteer agency in charge of Akaroa marketing, did not receive any direct funding from the Christchurch City Council.

ChristchurchNZ is the entity tasked with liaising with the ADP on the town’s marketing.

Hanmer Springs’ marketing budget is handled by the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pool and Spa. The pools are owned and operated by the Hurunui council. Of the $750,000 total marketing budget per year, about $450,000 was directed towards Christchurch residents, general manager Graeme Abbot said.

‘‘We think the funds are at the right level. We think we use it well,’’ he said. Examples included digital billboards, online advertising, radio advertising and promotions, print advertising and editorial.

From October 2021 to September this year, eftpos spending at Hanmer Springs was estimated at $51.1 million. About 70% of visitors during this period were from Christchurch, making eftpos spending in Hanmer Springs by Christchurch visitors about $35.77m.

From October 2021 to October this year, $22m was spent in Akaroa by residents of Greater Christchurch, which was a 14% increase compared with pre-Covid spending (after adjusting for inflation). However, this included spending in Akaroa by people who live there.

About $7.3m was spent in Akaroa by other Kiwi visitors in the 12 months to October this year, a 34% increase on pre-Covid levels after adjusting for inflation.

Cash and other transactions were not tracked.

Hanmer’s pools had 267,642 visitors from Christchurch over this period. This did not include visitor numbers to the wider village, which were not tracked.

ChristchurchNZ did not track how much marketing funding it devoted to Christchurch residents for Akaroa because ‘‘given that Banks Peninsula is part of Christchurch City, Akaroa residents are

Christchurch residents in terms of the data we track’’, head of tourism Kath Low said.

‘‘Our mandate as the regional tourism organisation for Christchurch is to drive visitation to the city from outside of the region – predominantly focusing on the domestic fly market and offshore visitors,’’ she said.

Its website features 204 stories referencing Akaroa, though most are individual listings for tourism activities and businesses. It also uses social media to promote Akaroa.

‘‘Akaroa District Promotions is the body who undertakes tactical marketing of Akaroa to Christchurch residents. Because ChristchurchNZ’s remit is not marketing Akaroa to Christchurch residents, comparing that to Hurunui’s regional tourism organisation’s promotion of Hanmer is not relevant,’’ Low said.

ADP was unable to provide any figures for its marketing of Akaroa to Christchurch.

It operated in partnership with ChristchurchNZ and the bulk of its income came from memberships and website subscriptions, its online membership information said.

Its marketing tools included the Akaroa.com website, tear-off maps, social media posts, media and tourism trade visits, newsletters, print and radio media advertising, videos and posters.

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2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281505050242925

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