Play nicely with others! It seems that everywhere I go experts are talking about the benefits of collaboration, sharing and smart partnerships. I’ve recently attended two excellent and very different events: Webstock and an arts marketing workshop with international cultural facilitator Jerry Yoshitomi. However, a key message from both events was the value and importance of collaboration to help build your business or your audience.

One of the most recent examples of a successful collaboration in the cultural and tourism communities is the development of the Manaaki Card. The card is a discount card for tourists that includes a variety of Māori cultural activities, accommodation, arts and other wonderful tourism experiences.

Te Waipounamu Māori Regional Tourism Organisation (the MRTO for the South Island) came up with the idea for the card. They wanted the idea to work for all of Aotearoa so they went to the other Māori Tourism Organisations to include Māori tourism operators from around the country. The aim of the card is to present the best of Maori tourism, arts and food and give tourists an easy way to access the Māori world through the range of experiences and activities around Aotearoa. Manaaki Tourism Ltd then worked hard to bring together a range of Māori tourism operators that provide really diverse cultural and tourist experiences. These experiences range from horse treks to guided walks, from waka rides to jetboat rides, from galleries and winery visits to the more traditional hāngi and concerts.

The collaboration includes more than 50 tourism operators so the card benefits Māori tourism, as well as the tourists. Manaaki Tourism invests the earnings back into the development of Māori tourism via those regional structures that support it.

As well as working closely with tourism operators, Manaaki Tourism collaborated with some strategic partners, such as Telstra Clear (Manaaki card is also a phone card), AA Tourism, Intercity and Qualmark to provide added value for the tourists who buy the card. It is working with companies such as THL through their Maui campervan brand and others to get the Manaaki Card to their clients.

It is very timely that Māori Tourism and cultural organisations are banding together to promote the best of Māori culture, since a recent survey showed that tourists don’t necessarily see New Zealand as a place to experience culture. UK company Future Brand took a snapshot of 2,600 global travellers showed that Aotearoa New Zealand’s “brand” ranked highlly as a place of Natural Beauty (1st), Authenticity (1st), Safety (1st), Outdoor Activities/Sport (2nd), Environment (2nd) and Friendly People (3rd), but it didn’t rank at all in the art and culture categories. Interestingly, those elements of authenticity and friendly people are what the value of Manaaki is all about.

You can get your Manaaki card from participating Māori tourism operators, AA Travel outlets, selected i-SITES or directly from their websiteand other retail outlets. Check it out – it is only $ 30 dollars and provides great discounts for shops, galleries, accommodation as well as tourist and cultural experiences and it helps develop Māori tourism in the process. For more information email info@manaaki.co.nz or visit www.manaaki.co.nz

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 17th, 2008 at 11:50 am and is filed under Culture online, Marketing, Research, Building audiences, National identity, Cultural tourism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.