360DigitalInfluence

I recently read a travel story about ‘Chuppies’ – a buzz word to describe “Chinese Yuppies” – a group who describe Australia as their number one destination.

This got me thinking as to the many buzz words associated with, or created by, the tourism industry.  Here are a few of my personal favourites:

Photourism – taking a tour guided by a photographer with people who share an interest in photography.  The purpose is to return home with the ultimate image gallery.  This one I made up myself, not unlike many of the below which we can assume have been dreamt up by PRs!…

Voluntourism – a holiday mixed with a stint of volunteering, popular in developing countries.

Babymoon – the last holiday a couple will take before their baby is born.

Bizcation – combining a business trip with a vacation.

Staycation  - taking a vacation in your hometown by exploring the tourism attractions whilst saving on accommodation.

Glamping – camping without roughing it (glamorous camping).

Flashpacking – backpacking without roughing it (flash backpacks).

Paliday – a holiday with your best friend.

Weddingmoon – when a wedding and honeymoon combine.

Sabbat-packers – grown up gap year travellers.  This one was popular with those taking a sabbatical from work due to the global financial crisis.

Liecations –lying about being on vacation to hide the fact you are spending a week being lazy at home.

Australians and Kiwis are known for their friendly rivalry - the battle over who ‘owns’ Russell Crow, who invented the pavlova dessert and which team will win next year’s Rugby World Cup.

We also know Aussies love to laugh over how Kiwis say ‘fish and chips’ (fush and chups) and the number ’six’ (sex). Despite all of this Australians are visiting their Trans Tasman neighbours more than ever before.

Australia is New Zealand’s largest source of international visitors making a significant contribution to the country’s largest export earner. Nineteen per cent more Aussie holiday makers have crossed ‘the ditch’ than last year. At the same time almost ten percent less Brits, NZ’s second largest market, are making the journey down under.

We’ve seen NZ’s tourism industry benefit from improved air access, favourable exchange rates and positive word of mouth. We’ve also recently witnessed the largest ever marketing spend of Tourism New Zealand and Regional Tourism Organisations in Australia.

This isn’t one sided either. Although Australia isn’t experiencing such a dramatic spike in Kiwis holidaying on their shores, the market is still their largest. Around 1.1 million Kiwis visit Australia each year - around one quarter of the country’s total population. In March 2010 this increased seven percent compared to March 2009.

So, is all this Trans Tasman banter just hot air?