New Zealand is a country of innovators, and no other industry reflects this better than tourism. We invented the jetboat and ski-plane, and made bungy into a world phenomenon. But it was the creation of the first national tourism organisation in the world, back in 1901, that was the most innovative move of all.
Innovative, creative, practical - these are all words that we regularly hear about New Zealand and New Zealanders.
It's no surprise then, that New Zealand can boast both the world's oldest national tourism organisation - and one that has pushed the boundaries of tourism marketing with its use of new technology.
In 1999, the New Zealand Tourism Board adopted the trading name Tourism New Zealand and became the organisation it is today. However, the organisations that were its forerunners have a much longer - and record-breaking - history.
The Government recognised, with remarkable foresight, that tourism held much potential, and that an organisation was necessary to grow the fledgling industry. So, in 1901, New Zealand became the first country in the world to establish a national tourism organisation - the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts.
The Department was charged with promoting New Zealand overseas, as well as developing the infrastructure and resources required to attract visitors to our shores. It had a big job ahead of it.
By 1903, New Zealand was receiving around 5,200 visitors a year, a substantial number, given the distance and time it took to get here. However, the lack of infrastructure to accommodate these visitors was hindering growth. There was not enough accommodation and standards were basic.
Transport infrastructure was also sorely lacking. The first road trip from Wellington to Auckland did not occur until 1912 and took many days, while even getting from Christchurch to Mt Cook involved a train trip as well as 22 hours of travel by road. Development, access and maintenance were critical and sorely needed in many areas.
Promotion of New Zealand overseas began immediately through the establishment of agencies overseas and at home; the distribution of promotional and advertising materials; and the setting up of international exhibitions. By 1911, these agencies - the Government Tourist Bureaux - were providing a full travel booking, itinerary planning and information service to tourists and travel agents both in New Zealand and offshore.
As the 1900s progressed, the Department took on many different roles and responsibilities, and names. Roles as diverse as building and managing accommodation, booking and planning activities for visitors (the Government Tourist Bureaux), operating coach tours (Tiki Tours) and overseas promotion were all, at one stage or another, roles of the national tourism organisation.
discoveriesThe Wonder Country: Making New Zealand Tourism
The Ultimate DVD of New Zealand
New Zealanders embraced tourism in their usual unconventional way. Some of the best known contributions to our tourism industry have been Kiwi inventions such as the ski-plane (a controlled crash on snow-covered precipices), the jetboat (taking a flat bottomed boat up river against the river's flow) and popularising bungy jumping, (throwing yourself off great heights with a rubber band attached to your ankles!).
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