Hotel Network Accommodates A Change Of Focus

The Scenic Circle group is well placed to meet the changing needs of tourists - thanks in part to the assistance it has received from the Christchurch office of Polson Higgs.

Lani Hagaman, Executive Director predicts the industry is about to change with visitors keener to travel in small groups rather than be crammed into a bus with 60 other people.

"Tourists are becoming more worldly and more expectant of what they will get for their dollar," Lani says. "They don't want to follow the same routines with the same big groups as they did in the past, although there will still continue to be a market for the large tours."

She says the recent rebranding of the group that has seen the establishment of three-star Heartland hotels in places as diverse as Fox Glacier and Gore has successfully re-positioned the company to offer a different feel to the corporate branding of the four-star Scenic Hotels.

As a service provider to the tourism industry, the business has had to endure difficult trading conditions in the last two years. However, it has weathered the storm by "looking at the non-essentials, and trying to maintain revenues rather than expecting growth," Lani says.

"Tourism tends to be cyclical; we had a good run for some years prior to the recession and we have also been through bad years such as '87 and '91."

Continue Reading >>

Last updated: 19th July 2010 | 2:46 pm