Tourists Set to Get Their Own Radio Station

Handy - but is it really necessary in these economic times? Surely some extar marketing or other more relevant tourist incentives could have been found to invest funds in????


International tourists will benefit from a new service designed to entertain, educate and navigate – all from the comfort of their rental car!

Tourism Radio is essentially a unique radio station featuring New Zealand music, entertaining radio shows with a distinctive local flavour and area information relevant to the region a tourist is travelling through. This innovative service acts as a ‘virtual tour guide’, using integrated GPS to broadcast content in real time relative to the location of the listeners. Tourism Radio’s unique IntelliPoint system draws the driver’s attention to prominent landmarks and highlights as the vehicle approaches them, making sure the tourist doesn’t miss any key attractions. Whether it’s the closest visitor centre, an historical insight or information on New Zealand slang and local music – Tourism Radio aims to provide a comprehensive information and entertainment service to travellers. Primarily aimed at the tourist rental market the unique hardware is fitted into rental vehicles. The technology uses an integrated GPS system to transmit the programming directly to the car’s radio so it’s easy to use no matter technologically-minded a tourist may be. When Tourism Radio launches this month it will include some 1600 points of interest throughout the country and around 80 hours of programming, on everything from 20 questions to ask a local, to an adventure show and kiwi slang. Tourism Radio’s Managing Director New Zealand and Australia Hayden Braddock, says the content has been written to capture the essence of the country using common phrases and kiwi voices for an authentic listening experience. “Tourism Radio is a fantastic way for tourists to get a feeling for what New Zealand is all about. It’s like having ten locals in the car with you, all pointing out their favourite spots and chipping in their two cents worth,” he says. Tourism Radio was originally started in Cape Town, South Africa in 2005 and will launch in New Zealand this month. Tourism Radio is available nationwide through selected rental car companies including: JUCY Rentals, GO Rentals, Kiwi Campers, Kiwi Autohomes, Spaceships and Pegasus Rentals with more to follow early 2009.