Jeroen Jongejans of Dive! Tutukaka talks about creating a successful tourism venture when you are located in a small country at the bottom of the world, and why he now spends more time outside the business than in it.

Q: How has Dive! Tutukaka evolved and what’s the key to sustained success?

A: After the amalgamation of two struggling dive charter businesses into one in 1999, we focused on marketing the ‘destination’ before marketing our business, i.e. profiling the Poor Knights Islands as one of the top ten dive sites in the world. Next we added products such as the dive wrecks (which we purchased and sunk to create artificial reefs) to create ‘New Zealand’s dive capital’, which all added to the destination.

As a business we focused on smart systems, smart brochures, uniforms, branding, branded boats and a seven-day-a-week service with a focus of manaakitanga (looking after people) on our staff, customer and community relationships.

Q: What are some of your most popular products?

A: The product we offer is educational adventures within the marine environment, both under and above the water. In reality we offer as much adventure as our customers can handle, from paddling on “stand up” boards, kayaks, snorkelling and diving underwater into caves and along cliff faces, to interaction with rays, turtles, sharks, dolphins, whales and loads of fish around one of the most outstanding environments in the world.

Q: Over 60% of your customers are international, from around 50 markets. How do you market the business and how important is social media?

A: We Twitter, foursquare, facebook, and have an ‘old fashioned’ website that is constantly being upgraded. We are also proactive in creating our own media stories to promote our destination and product offers.

Q: How have you managed the challenges of the natural disasters and economic turmoil of the past few years?

A: Our business is a daily challenge. After all, it’s a tourism business in a small country. If you can weather the various and numerous regulatory challenges, market fluctuations, marine salty environment with mountainous R&M (requirements management) demands, staffing issues, seasonality and on top of all this weather conditions, the odd tsunami and earthquake, let alone a lingering global recession, you end up with a rather dynamic cocktail of true adventure entrepreneurship!

Q: You recently joined the TIA Board and you also attend many industry events such as the July Tourism Summit in Wellington. Why is this important to you?

A: Nowadays I spend far more time outside our business than in it. This is from involvement in local and regional tourism development groups, as a Chamber of Commerce and Conservation Board member, a local Whangarei District Councillor and TIA Board member. This takes up time, but the challenge in moving our destination, region and this country forward through economic development in our tourism industry is a positive and fun challenge. After all this time, I’m still passionate about the things we do and the opportunities we can achieve.

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