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Tourism 'front of house' at The Cloud

Tourism New Zealand

Wednesday 21 September 2011, 5:12PM

By Tourism New Zealand

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The tourism showcase at The Cloud
The tourism showcase at The Cloud Credit: Tourism New Zealand
The twitter screen which is sharing tweets of visitors' NZ travel recommendations
The twitter screen which is sharing tweets of visitors' NZ travel recommendations Credit: Tourism New Zealand

The New Zealand tourism sector is being promoted in The Cloud on Auckland's Queens Wharf with an innovative tourism showcase showing visitors what tourism experiences are on offer throughout New Zealand, with the option to purchase.

The tourism showcase, a joint partnership between Tourism New Zealand, Auckland Events and Economic Development (ATEED) and i-SITE, is about engaging and enabling visitors to expand their New Zealand experiences.

Tourism New Zealand General Manager Tourism Operations Paul Yeo says the project is a fantastic example of industry collaborating to increase its ability to sell destination New Zealand.

Visitors entering the Cloud are enticed to interactive touch screens displaying Tourism New Zealand's consumer website newzealand.com. Here they can navigate the site and be introduced to a multitude of tourism experiences up and down the country.The interactive display, with Twitter integration, is complemented by a fully operational i-SITE allowing staff to assist visitors in doing more, staying longer, and having a world class visitor experience.

Tablets, displaying newzealand.com, other travel sites and i-SITE deals, are being used by i-SITE staff circulating The Cloud to promote New Zealand tourism experiences and assist in booking activities. A first for newzealand.com, the website is also being used as a sales tool allowing i-SITE staff using the tablets to book tourism product for visitors on the spot.

Paul Yeo says that "this opportunity allows us to interactively promote tourism product to international visitors already in the country, while continuing to increase the number of people engaging with the newzealand.com website."

The Cloud also offers a lounge for international media. Located on the sea side of the building, the lounge has been made available to international media as a place to relax or work in downtime during the Tournament.

The Giant Rugby Ball, Tourism New Zealand's major initiative to promote New Zealand as the host of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, has been welcomed home after its world tour and also has pride of place on Queen's Wharf. With four international deployments in Paris, London, Tokyo and Sydney, the ball is this time being run by ATEED, assisted by New Zealand Lotteries funding as part of the REAL New Zealand Festival, from 10 September until the end of the Tournament.