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MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES Guide 2025

A little bit ABOUT US

Destination Marlborough is the official Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO) for the Marlborough region. We are a business unit of the Marlborough District Council, funded through a combination of Marlborough District Council rates, including a tourism targeted rate, private sector partnerships and isite revenue.

Our role is to market the region as a visitor destination telling the world why Marlborough is a a must-do destination. Whether that be to visit for a holiday, business or to catch up wth friends with family. We are here to support the tourism industry.

We also operate the Blenheim and Picton Information Centres to assist travellers and connect them with Marlborough visitor experiences. In addition, our Business Events team supports the attraction of conferences, meetings and incentive programmes by positioning Marlborough as a premier destination through targeted sales and marketing efforts. Our Trade team also establishes partnership programmes to support international trade education and collaborative marketing activity.

WAYS TO WORK WITH US

INDUSTRY COMMUNICATIONS

MARLBOROUGHNZ. COM & ONLINE

Sign up to DMail - Destination Marlborough’s fortnightly e-newsletter to keep you and your staff up to date with the latest promotional opportunities, regional achievements and results, tourism industry news and views and marketing tips. Click here to subscribe to DMail.

Sign up to our consumer newsletter - We distribute a consumer newsletter every 3-4 weeks as a promotional tool to keep readers interested in visiting the region. This is often full of what’s on in the region, what’s new, and product/promotional highlights. Click here to subscribe to our Consumer Newsletter.

List your business and products on marlboroughnz.commarlboroughnz.com is the official consumer, trade tourism & business events website for Marlborough. It is free to list on our website and update as required. Create an account to list your product and services here.

List your event on marlboroughnz.com - Events on the website are hosted by Follow-Me. It is free to list an event and only takes a few minutes. Events are listed via Eventfinda and will appear on both marlboroughnz.com, Eventfinda, and Follow-Me channels. To add an event, visit https://marlboroughnz.com/whats-on/followme-list-your-event/

Register and set up your listing on NewZealand.com - Any NZ based operator that offers a bookable tourism product, and offshore travel sellers that promote and sell travel to New Zealand, can list their products & services and appear on newzealand.com for free. All Tourism New Zealand promotional work drives back to this website, so it is a vital place to visit. Visit register.newzealand.com and follow the steps.

WAYS TO WORK WITH US

How can we help you?

SOCIAL MEDIA

MEDIA & PR

Connect with us on social media - Follow Destination Marlborough on instagram & Tik Tok (@marlborough.nz) Facebook and Youtube (Marlborough New Zealand). Tag us in your content and use the hashtag #marlboroughnz so we can repost/share to our audience. For industry news and to keep up to date with the organisation, follow us on Linkedin (search Destination Marlborough).

Tell us your story - Your experience, new products, events, or something you have going on, could be a great story to share online or pitch to media. If you have something new, original, recordbreaking or quirky happening, let us know. Email our marketing & communications manager on info@marlboroughnz.com to keep us in the loop. We send out a media bulletin to our media database every 2-3 months and are regularly pitching story angles to content creators, editors and journalists for famils.

Tourism NZ Media/PR team - Here at DM, we keep in regular contact with the team at TNZ, informing them of new products/ businesses and exciting regional stories. The TNZ team take a journalistic approach to finding and crafting unique, remarkable and world class koreros about our incredible people and place for breaking newsworthy, relevant and timely stories to pitch media both domestically and internationally. Email media@tnz.govt.nz and be sure to keep our marketing team informed too!

MEDIA & PR

INDUSTRY EVENTS, WORKSHOPS AND CAPABILITY RESOURCES

Media releases & features - Have a new regional event coming to town or a brand new product offering? Won a Tourism award? We want to hear all about it! We can assist with writing media releases or distributing your media releases to our media database. We can also host releases on our media webpage here.

If you/your business has featured in a publication, feel free to share with us and we can share across the appropriate channels. We feature all publication/editorial features that we have facilitated on our media webpage.

Destination Marlborough Industry Showcase - Destination Marlborough hosts up to three industry updates a year to share news, research and information, updates on activities and introduce guest speakers on relevant topics. These are also a valuable opportunity to network with industry colleagues and are announced through DMail.

Business Events in Marlborough - Business Events Marlborough also offers a yearly workshop to grow your knowledge of the sector with a comprehensive overview on Why Business Events matter in our region, the value of Business Events and the Business Events ecosystem.

VISUAL RESOURCES

Image gallery - Visit https://marlborough.brandkit.io/ to access our extensive library of free imagery for your own use. These images are available for use in promoting the Marlborough region as a destination to visit.

Share your images - Tag us on social media, or email your imagery through to info@marlboroughnz.com, so we can share your pictures through our relevant channels and elevate the noise.

EXTENDING YOUR Profile & Reach

CONNECT WITH OUR CAMPAIGNS

Getting involved with marketing campaigns - Keep an eye on DMail for ways you can connect with on-going campaign work both domestically and internationally. If you are interested in collaborating on a campaign please email the marketing & communications manager on info@marlboroughnz.com.

Blenheim and Picton isites - The Blenheim and Picton isite visitor centres are the shop fronts to introduce Marlborough experiences and services to travellers and locals. Email our team at bookings@marlboroughnz.com for more information on how they can help you.

Set up products/listings on marlboroughnz.comSimplify the booking process for your customers by adding your BookIt membership number to your listing on marlboroughnz.com. This enables you to have another channel to direct users to your bookit, where you might offer special online deals, and show availability of your product. To activate online bookings to your listing, you can set up a free account with Bookit (www.bookit.co.nz, email support@bookit.co.nz or phone 0508 266 548).

The Marlborough Sounds are home to many native birdlife

Seafood is a must-have when in Marlborough! #marlboroughnz

PUBLICATIONS & Collateral

Official Marlborough Visitor GuideShowcase your business to international and domestic visitors in the official Marlborough Visitor Guide. This guide is a fantastic planning tool for tourists, full of tips, maps, and listings of things to see and do.

Here at DM, we put together both a printed booklet and an e-guide. To advertise in the e-guide please email info@marlboroughnz.com. You can view the e-guide here.

To advertise in the print guide, keep an eye out in DMail for advertising openings. Both the printed and digital versions are updated annually, with the print edition released around Labour Weekend in October - just ahead of the summer season. We also offer one-off advertising bookings for the e-guide.

Marlborough Business Events Guide & Incentive BrochureOur Business Events Guide and Incentive Brochure are essential resources for organisers planning conferences, business meetings, exhibitions and incentive programmes in Marlborough. These digital, business-to-business publications showcase the region’s venues, accommodation, activities and event support services.

Both are available online at marlboroughnz.com/meet and are distributed directly to event planners and key industry partners. You can view them here: BE Guide | Incentive Brochure

If you have a product, service or experience that could enhance Marlborough’s business events or incentive offering and would like to be included in our guides, we encourage you to get in touch with our Business Events Team at conference@marlboroughnz.com.

TRAVEL TRADE Trade Industry Support

Attracting visitors through the travel trade requires industry insight and an understanding of how various trade channels operate. Key concepts like how commissions work and how to price your product for trade are essential when entering this space.

The first step is understanding the distribution network. This includes Inbound Tour Operators, wholesalers, and retail travel agents - each playing a role in connecting your business to domestic and international travellers. By engaging with the trade, you open valuable new pathways to reach global markets and grow your visitor base year-round.

Ready to grow but not sure where to start?

Whether you’re trade-ready or just starting your journey, our experienced and passionate team is here to support you on your Trade ready journey.

We can assist you with essential trade resources and development tools, that will help you succeed in the travel trade space:

• A professional Trade Fact Sheet for your use in sales and agent training

• Help with crafting compelling Product Information

• Guidance on your Rate Sheet, including how to structure pricing for various trade channels

• Support with developing your Terms & Conditions

• Assistance with becoming Qualmark accredited – Learn more

Participate in Trade Activities -

Once your trade collateral is in place, you can join Destination Marlborough’s annual trade activities. These are events such as TRENZ, Big Day Out, International Trade shows, and Tourism NZ campaigns. These opportunities are updated regularly on the site, so check the Trade Events section HERE to stay informed.

Host Familiarisation Visits -

Famils give trade partners the chance to experience your product first-hand. It is one of the most effective ways to turn product experience into long-term bookings and meaningful relationships. If your business is trade-ready, our Trade Team will be in touch when relevant famil opportunities arise.

TRAVEL TRADE Trade Industry Support

Stay Connected

We regularly host networking and update sessions, where you’ll hear about new opportunities and connect with other Marlborough businesses active in the trade space.

Get Involved

If you are exploring the world of travel trade for the first time, we are here to help. For information including how to get to Marlborough, suggested itineraries, downloadable content, and videos visit our Travel Trade webpage OR contact the trade team at: trade@marlboroughnz.com

MEET IN MARLBOROUGH Business Events Support

Business events – including conferences, incentives, meetings, retreats and exhibitions –represent a vibrant and growing visitor sector for Marlborough, bringing high-value guests who spend more, stay longer and often return for leisure travel.

At Destination Marlborough, our Business Events team is dedicated to attracting these valuable events to Marlborough. We work closely with local operators and suppliers to present our region as a world-class destination for business events, helping to drive year-round visitation and economic growth. We provide free, impartial advice to event organisers, connecting them with the right venues, accommodation, experiences, and service providers across the region. Our Business Events team compiles bespoke proposals, prepares competitive bid documents, and coordinates familiarisation trips and site inspections to showcase the best Marlborough has to offer.

How You Can Get Involved -

If you are a local operator providing:

• Venues for meetings or events

• Accommodation suitable for groups

• Activities, experiences or bespoke incentive ideas

• Support services like transport, catering, AV, styling, entertainment or event management …we would love to hear from you! We are always looking for new offerings to recommend.

Opportunities to Engage -

By partnering with us, your business could:

• Feature in our Business Events Brochure and Incentive Brochure

• Be promoted directly to event organisers through proposals

• Be showcased to potential clients through familiarisation trips and site inspections organised by our team

• Participate in updates, workshops and networking events to grow your knowledge of the sector

Let’s

Work Together -

Reach out to the Business Events team to discover how we can collaborate and showcase Marlborough as a premier destination for business events. Contact us at: conference@marlboroughnz.com to get involved or visit www.marlboroughnz.com/meet to review our helpful business events resources.

ISITE VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRES

Destination Marlborough operates the Blenheim and Picton isites that are proud to be part of the official isite New Zealand Visitor Information Network, providing an unbiased regional portal for information and booking services available to both locals and visitors.

The Picton and Blenheim Centres are all open throughout the year. Advertising in the isite is a targeted and cost effective way to showcase your business directly to potential customers. Additional to this are the email and phone enquiries converted into bookings by the isite staff. Along with displaying your product in the Marlborough isites we offer the added benefit of having a team of sales representatives selling your product.

Commission fees apply to all bookings. Advertising in the isite enables you to also participate in Destination Marlborough’s domestic marketing activities, and product packages co-ordinated by the isites.