New Deal Europe Weekly Update on Tourism to the Balkan Region, Week 44
News from the markets: New Zealand
At the New Deal Europe Marketplace and Forum last month we had 38 countries represented. The participant who was furthest away geographically was Marija Kapiteli, Managing Director of Croatia Times Travel in New Zealand. As that country has recently announced the restart of travel with an airbridge to Australia, we thought the time was right to have a chat with Marija about tourism not only from New Zealand to Australia but also to the Balkans, and find out what life has been like in the country that took a firm hold of the Coronavirus crisis early on.
NDE: Hi Marija, thanks for chatting with us today. Can you please tell us how you became involved in selling Croatia and the Balkan region to the New Zealand public?
MK: I am Managing Director of Croatia Times Travel and Croatia Airlines NZ GSA. I opened Croatia Times Travel in 1995 for a number of reasons. My family heritage is Croatian, which naturally makes me undeniably passionate about the destination. Working for JAT, the national airline of Yugoslavia up until 1992 gave me expert knowledge of the region. My aviation experience and travel and tourism qualifications really set me up to have an excellent platform and knowledge base allowing me to operate a successful travel company specialising in the niche market of Croatia and its surrounding countries. There was a gap in the market for Croatia when I started Croatia Times Travel and my aim was to showcase the destination’s beauty and create a platform, building an awareness of Croatia and Slovenia as top European holiday destinations. This later evolved to include Italy, which I absolutely adore. Our rich offering includes diverse history, cultural heritage, and unforgettable natural landscapes. Over the years I have taken immense pleasure in drawing upon my personal experiences when putting together many of our top selling itineraries and it has certainly been a fantastic journey representing niche destinations.
NDE: The Air Bridge to Australia was in the news recently and was viewed everywhere as the first positive sign of international tourism restarting. What does it mean to you and to tourism in New Zealand?
MK: Having the travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia open has been a wonderful confidence boost to the travel industry on both sides of the Tasman. It has given some businesses an opportunity to trade again. Initially we saw a lot of VFR (visiting friends and relatives) travel — families reunited after being apart for many months. It has been wonderful for local travellers not having to quarantine on either side of the border. There has been added excitement with the Rarotonga bubble now open. Rarotonga, the largest island in the Cook Islands, has been Covid-19 free throughout the pandemic and many New Zealanders are taking the opportunity to visit for an island retreat. These travel bubbles have given our industry an opportunity to gauge how quickly other borders could reopen. Although at this stage we don’t have any set dates, we are all planning for a positive, albeit cautious, reopening of tourism to our key destinations. There have been several occasions when the bubble has been suspended for a short time due to Covid-19 re- emerging in the community. Just recently, the Victoria border closed for 7 days due to an untraceable outbreak of Covid-19. This is a fluid situation that we need to monitor closely when looking further afield to European travel.
NDE: New Zealand is the first country to declare the entire population Covid-19 free. What does this mean for the tourism industry there?
MK: This means that while we have been fortunate to be among a few privileged destinations in the world that have been able to contain Covid-19 to a greater degree, it has also meant that the travel and tourism industry was basically brought to a halt in March 2020.
Having the travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia open has been a wonderful confidence boost to the travel industry.
NDE: Given this halt to tourism, please tell us how has the last year been for you? What support have you and the tourism industry received from the government?
MK: It has been the most devasting time in our history. From having a record year planned in 2020, we like others in our industry, went on to cancel the entire season. We worked with clients, many of whom took travel credits. For those that were unable to rebook, we managed to organise refunds, but we are still outstanding refunds from overseas suppliers. We have worked with the New Zealand Government, who officiated the Consumer Travel Reimbursement Scheme allowing Travel Agents and Travel Suppliers to claim 7.5% for refunds and 5% for credits processed from 14 August 2020. The main objective has been to protect consumer funds and repatriate the consumer money that has been locked away with overseas suppliers, or at least as much as possible of this money. The scheme has significantly helped the travel industry remain active longer. Unfortunately, the scheme is scheduled to end on 30 June 2021 with some money still outstanding, as many of the credits were secured prior to 14 August 2020 and there still remains a significant amount of consumer money sitting offshore.
NDE: How would you describe the market in New Zealand?
MK: The outbound market in New Zealand is bruised. With no clear announcement of when long haul borders will be re-opening, many travel businesses have had to reduce staff, some have hibernated, and others have shut down completely. Recent numbers from the New Zealand Travel and Tourism Association show approximately 1,500 remaining agents, from an industry of 5,000 prior to Covid-19, so the face of our industry has changed forever.
NDE: Are you still planning for the tourism restart?
MK: Yes. Croatia Times Travel is passionately working on our 2022 Signature Range of Tours and Cruises, and we hope to roll this out in the coming weeks. We are implementing enhancements to our travel protocols that will have a greater focus on sustainable travel, health and safety protocols, and mindful traveller engagement across all spectrums of the holiday experience. We’ve always been big on authentic tailor-made holidays, and we continue to work on these in a time where technology is seriously dictating how travel will function amidst a pandemic that we’ve not seen in our lifetime. It’s important that we don’t lose sight of the experience, while maintaining the necessity for conscientious travel awareness. To deliver this, we will continue to represent overseas suppliers of quality products and services, who align themselves with the most up-to-date travel protocols required, and who deliver on the travel experience without compromising client health and safety. We will not compromise our standards, and only when we are confident that the time is right will we move ahead. It’s a time for passionate travel professionals to really shine.
We are implementing enhancements to our travel protocols that will have a greater focus on sustainable travel, health and safety protocols, and mindful traveller engagement.
NDE: There is a large Croatian diaspora in New Zealand. Is this your core customer base, and if so, is it VFR (visiting friends and relatives) travel or are they looking to go on holiday?
MK: The Croatian diaspora will always be an important element of my company. In the early days, the diaspora supported us and were our biggest customer. They remain loyal and are an extremely important, though smaller part of our business now. Our core customer base is New Zealanders looking to experience Croatia, and we predominantly work with travel agents as an outbound supplier of wholesale travel services. We are a DMC company that specialises in Croatia and surroundings, working with likeminded travel suppliers, delivering authentic holiday experiences. I’m fortunate at Croatia Times Travel to have an amazing team who share my vision, while being a bit crazy (in a good way) and always committed to getting the job done. Without a doubt we love what we do, we’re experts in our field and have a reputation as being the industry leaders for travel to Croatia.
NDE: That means you are in a good place to tell me about the typical New Zealand traveller to Europe. Are there any special requirements that your clients need from suppliers?
MK: The typical Kiwi traveller is looking for an adventure filled with new experiences. Our customer base very much fits this description. Clients come to us to have all the finer details of their holiday taken care of. They can rest assured that they are in the safest hands and that we’ll have done all the hard work for them — allowing them to have the authentic experience they have always wished for. In this new climate, more than ever travellers will need the confidence to know they are being taken care of. Our local operators need to be up to date with the latest Covid-19 safety protocols, they need to be thoroughly focused on the contracted services and be prepared to go the extra mile. We are looking for transparency, patience and mindfulness from our local suppliers and representatives when engaging with our wonderful Kiwi Travellers. I always say that you have got to admire the enthusiasm of New Zealand Travellers — not only have the spent a considerable amount of money to arrive at the door of our destinations, but they’ve travelled half-way around the world to get in front of the experience.
In this new climate, more than ever travellers will need the confidence to know they are being taken care of.
NDE: Talking of experiences, this was your first time at the New Deal Europe Marketplace and Forum and thank you for your support. I’m curious to know what your first experience was like?
MK: Thank you too for the opportunity to engage. Due to the time differences, both Miro (from my Product Department) and I stayed up through most of the night to speak and engage with as many suppliers and local tourist boards as possible. It is the next best thing to being in the destinations with the product and the local situation updates were invaluable. What was wonderful to us was the genuine enthusiasm that we were greeted with. We are certainly looking forward to being out on the field and engaging directly as soon as our borders reopen.
NDE: Is the Balkans region on the radar for New Zealand travellers?
MK: Pre-Covid-19 it certainly was. Travellers remain excited and interested in new destinations, but we must allow time to heal the hurts of this pandemic. Without a doubt we will showcase the region’s mystique and beauty when the time comes.
NDE: You mentioned sustainability earlier. The Balkans is a leader in activity based sustainable tourism products. How important is sustainability to you and your clients?
MK: Croatia Times Travel are committed to working with partners and local suppliers that share the same vision, principles, and practices. Sustainable travel practices have been important to us for many years and now more than ever it is vital that we all strive to protect and enhance our natural environment as we provide unique and quality travel experiences for our customers.
NDE: That leads me naturally to asking you how do you see the future of travel in the short and long term?
MK: In the short term many travel businesses have been caught by surprise and for many it will take some time to recover before they are able to see clearly the future of travel. Wherever possible, it is important to act today as we plan to continue tomorrow.
Travel will be different. Travellers will move between destinations more mindfully than ever before. I believe that travellers will need to be more aware of local customs and the values of visited destinations to get the best experience. These are all discussions we have had in the past, but now is the time to look at the value of having total satisfaction in place for both travellers and locals — each gaining from the experience. Croatia Times Travel sees us very much engrained in the future of travel, bringing authentic experiences and destinations to light. We are certainly looking forward to entering the new realm of travel.
New Deal Europe is the only travel market platform dedicated to generating business to Balkan region of Europe, www.newdealeurope.com. Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/newdealeurope.
