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Ipipiri Draws Tourists to the Bay of Islands Bringing Benefits to the Area

 

MEDIA RELEASE
25th November 2009
Ipipiri Draws Tourists to the Bay of Islands Bringing Benefits to the Area
Bookings aboard Ipipiri, Fullers GreatSights new overnight cruise ship, are tracking ahead of
expectations for its first summer cruising the waters of the Bay of Islands.
“We are delighted with bookings and with the high level of interest from domestic tourists
we’ve received – many who haven’t been to the Bay of Islands for years. While Ipipiri has
been the main draw-card, many guests are choosing to stay longer which is good for the
region as a whole,” said Malcolm Johns, CEO at InterCity Group (NZ) Limited.
Fullers GreatSights guest survey shows that more than 50 per cent of passengers came to
the Far North for the Ipipiri cruise. The survey also showed that on average, for every one
night spent aboard Ipipiri, guests spent up 5 additional nights in local accommodation in the
Bay of Islands or in other areas around Northland.
“We recently hosted a group of 56 Kiwis from the Bay of Plenty. While most travel overseas
regularly, most hadn’t been to Northland for years. In fact, four had never even been to
Northland before and they were in their 60’s! While Ipipiri was the main reason for their
visit, they also stayed in the Bay for two nights and then went on to places like Kaitaia,
Hokianga, Dargaville and Tutukaka – with this group averaging about seven nights in local
accommodation for their one night aboard Ipipiri,” he said. “The flow-on benefits to local food
outlets, activity operators and communities is nothing but positive.”
Bookings from international tourists are also growing in the lead up to the busy Summer
season.
“We have good demand developing for the coming Summer season and we’re also taking a
lot of advanced booking for next Summer which is fantastic, as it can take up to two years for
new tourism products to get into international markets,” said Malcolm.
“In general what we are noticing offshore is a very definite change in sentiment, our
international partners are starting to become more bullish about 2010 saying local consumer
sentiment in their country is starting show signs of moving into positive territory which is
welcome after the last 12 months.”
“We’re also receiving interest from new international markets, such as China, which is a
market with huge future potential for us. Currently, only 18% of Chinese tourists visit regions
outside of the main centres, but we’re looking to change that,” said Malcolm.
In addition to the positive local impact, love has been in the air aboard Ipipiri with a wedding
and two marriage proposals in the first six weeks of operation!
“The natural surroundings on the Ipipiri cruise are simply breathtaking and really quite magical
so we are not surprised that some guests have chosen it as the ideal moment to pop the big
question,” said Malcolm. “We have also been inundated with enquiries from people who are

MEDIA RELEASE

25th November 2009

Ipipiri Draws Tourists to the Bay of Islands Bringing Benefits to the Area

Bookings aboard Ipipiri, Fullers GreatSights new overnight cruise ship, are tracking ahead of expectations for its first summer cruising the waters of the Bay of Islands.

“We are delighted with bookings and with the high level of interest from domestic tourists we’ve received – many who haven’t been to the Bay of Islands for years. While Ipipiri has been the main draw-card, many guests are choosing to stay longer which is good for the region as a whole,” said Malcolm Johns, CEO at InterCity Group (NZ) Limited.

Fullers GreatSights guest survey shows that more than 50 per cent of passengers came to the Far North for the Ipipiri cruise. The survey also showed that on average, for every one night spent aboard Ipipiri, guests spent up 5 additional nights in local accommodation in the Bay of Islands or in other areas around Northland.

“We recently hosted a group of 56 Kiwis from the Bay of Plenty. While most travel overseas regularly, most hadn’t been to Northland for years. In fact, four had never even been to Northland before and they were in their 60’s! While Ipipiri was the main reason for their visit, they also stayed in the Bay for two nights and then went on to places like Kaitaia, Hokianga, Dargaville and Tutukaka – with this group averaging about seven nights in local accommodation for their one night aboard Ipipiri,” he said. “The flow-on benefits to local food outlets, activity operators and communities is nothing but positive.”

Bookings from international tourists are also growing in the lead up to the busy Summer season.

“We have good demand developing for the coming Summer season and we’re also taking a lot of advanced booking for next Summer which is fantastic, as it can take up to two years for new tourism products to get into international markets,” said Malcolm.

“In general what we are noticing offshore is a very definite change in sentiment, our international partners are starting to become more bullish about 2010 saying local consumer sentiment in their country is starting show signs of moving into positive territory which is welcome after the last 12 months.”

“We’re also receiving interest from new international markets, such as China, which is a market with huge future potential for us. Currently, only 18% of Chinese tourists visit regions outside of the main centres, but we’re looking to change that,” said Malcolm.

In addition to the positive local impact, love has been in the air aboard Ipipiri with a wedding and two marriage proposals in the first six weeks of operation!

“The natural surroundings on the Ipipiri cruise are simply breathtaking and really quite magical so we are not surprised that some guests have chosen it as the ideal moment to pop the big

question,” said Malcolm. “We have also been inundated with enquiries from people who are interested in hosting their weddings aboard so the crew is beginning to feel a bit like they are aboard the Love Boat!”

For more information, please visit www.overnightcruise.co.nz or www.GreatSights.co.nz

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