Wellington: Tourism and Urban Branding

QUESTIONS:

In what circumstances did facilities and entertainments for travelers first appear in your city? How has tourism affected the city’s image or local economy? What’s the city’s brand or image?

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DISCUSSION:

Tourism is New Zealand’s largest export, contributing $15.9 billion NZ every year to the island nation’s economy (Insch, 2020, 2). The industry has been an active one since the earliest days of modern New Zealand’s establishment, as evidenced by such texts as Thomas Bracken’s 1879 guidebook The New Zealand Tourist and Thomas Cook & Son’s 1899’s New Zealand as a Tourist and Health Resort, A Handbook to the Hot Lake District, the Southern Lakes, Sounds, Etc. These texts offer a glimpse into the main attractions being promoted to the potential tourist during the early days of the colony.

Illustration 1. The Old Government Buildings, Wellington, built in the 1870s. Image from Wikipedia.

Bracken’s text is part guidebook, part census review, including such elements as the population make up, industries and shipping business (Bracken, 1879, 5-14). He also presents narrative descriptions of the various attractions, sights and activities in the various villages, towns and cities of New Zealand, including Wellington. In his Wellington section he states that “the hotel accommodation to be had…is second to none in the Colony” and that “the tourist can pass a few days in this city with great advantage” (Bracken, 1879, 58). Bracken highlights Lambton Quay and Willis Street as key shopping areas, notes the main street tram cars as a comfortable and affordable means of transportation around the city, and the Government Offices as a site of interest, particularly as it “is said to be the largest wooden edifice in the world” (1879, 58-59). Strikingly, he makes note of the Colonial Museum, which to modern minds is a surprising institution to find in Wellington in 1879, considering that the city had been established just over 30 years previously. Additionally, somewhat humorously in today’s view, Bracken also notes that there has been an increase in concrete and stone buildings “now that the old earthquake scare, which frightened the inhabitants in the olden times, is dying out” (Bracken, 1879, 59). Given both how close he is to the founding of the city and the fact that earthquakes remain a major concern for Wellington today, this point is either representative of the ignorance of the time (particularly of white settlers and visitors) regarding the earthquake risk or that the downplaying of the risk of natural disasters was still important to encouraging visitors. Following earthquakes in Wellington in the 1840s and 1850s, newspaper editors, politicians, and others with vested interests in the continued growth of the city through continued immigration would downplay the events so as to not deter settlers (Grapes, 2000). It stands to reason then that Bracken could have been deliberately downplaying the earthquake risk for potential tourists in order to encourage their journey to Wellington and increase the potential profits of the budding tourism industry. Other points of interest Bracken highlights are the botanical gardens and the tea gardens in the Te Aro area (Bracken, 1879, 60). 

Illustration 2. View from Wellington’s Mount Victoria Lookout. Image from Stuff.

In the guidebook by Cook and Sons almost 20 years later, we see that much remains the same regarding Wellington’s key sites but the “progress” or “development” of the city are underlined, as is its location. The Colonial Museum, here referred to simply as the Museum, is highlighted again, but newer institutions such as the Free Library or public library, and the Governor’s Italian style residence are also noted (Cook & Sons, 1899, 48-49). Cook and Sons, given their emphasis on New Zealand as a health destination (focusing on “the curative properties of the all-healing springs” of the country), also spend more time presenting various gardens and outdoor walks, some of which appear to be new additions since Bracken wrote his text (Cook & Sons, 1899, 3). They note the Esplanade at Thorndon as well as hikes around Mount Victoria as destinations for the health conscious (Thomas Cook & Son, 1899, 50). This emphasis on health also leads them to present Wellington as a jumping off point for other destinations such as the ‘Hot Lake District’ (i.e. the hot springs on the North Island) (Thomas Cook & Son, 1899, 48). Much of the language used in both texts, such as Hot Lake District (reminiscent of the Lake District in England), together with references to evening entertainments at the Theatre Royal or the Opera House, evoke attractions that would be likely to appear in writing about European destinations (Bracken, 1879, 59; Thomas Cook & Son, 1899, 49), suggesting that the writers were attempting to frame Wellington as a familiar, Western-European capital city. The guidebooks imply, in effect, “It may be on the other side of the planet, but it has all the comforts of home!” This was done all while underscoring it as a place of ‘exploration’, with a museum filled with “New Zealand curios” and a city easily located for journeys into the ‘wild’ (Thomas Cook & Son, 1899, 49). Though the colonialist gaze is perhaps not as explicit in the sections on Wellington, given the seeming emphasis of presenting it as a modern Western city, the erasure of Maori peoples from presentation of the city, only noting the Maori displays in the Colonial Museum, speak to the view of the Maori as curiosities, and demonstrate the underlying colonial white gaze at play in early tourism. 

The promotion of New Zealand as a tourist destination grew in the 20^th century with the establishment of government-led organization including the Government Publicity Office (GPO) in 1923 (Bonelli et al., 2019, 34). However, the emphasis moved from guidebooks to the mediums of photography and film, with over 200 publicity films being produced in the 1920s and 1930s (Bonelli et al., 2019, 34). The link between film and tourism promotion grew through the 1970s, though in the mid-1960s a shift towards TV started (Bonelli et al., 2019, 34).

Illustration 3. LookSee Wellington advertisement. Image from ramp.

Today, video remains a key advertising tool and many of the sights underlined in Wellington’s tourism remain the same. However, the overall angle is different, presenting it not necessarily as being like the old Western world, but the source of the new, the creative. In Bonelli et al.’s  article they consider the role that tourism films have played both in the development of the New Zealand film industry and in promoting the country to tourists. Tourism films as defined by Bonelli are films that are the result of a collaboration between of institutions (public and/or private) that features one or more geographic location with an explicit or implicit promotional goal (Bonelli et al., 2019, 33).  The authors link these developments to Wellington’s status as a creative city and considers the impact of the films on the city’s branding and tourism.

The article presents various tourism campaigns including the LookSee Wellington campaign. The LookSee work program was a public-private partnership “designed to attract 100 IT overseas professionals to come and see Wellington (i.e. looksee), all expenses paid, with the specific goal of promoting Wellington as the destination for a life changing career trip” (Bonelli et al., 2019, 37). The campaign actively contrasts Wellington to older capitals like London, which is presented as “the hectic and problematic Western metropolis from which to escape” whereas Wellington is the “ideal blend of urban vibes (with) local coffee, craft beer culture and nightlife, small-town atmospheres” (Bonelli et al., 2019, 38). Wellington is safe, relaxed, outdoorsy: all “the qualities associated with the discourses of creative cities” (Bonelli et al., 2019, 38). Other tourism campaigns discussed by Bonelli et al, like the It’s Never Just… series of videos, demonstrate that many of the key sights of the 19^th and early 20^th century remain. In the It’s Never Just a Weekend When It’s in Wellington – 60 seconds spot, a tourist couple visits many key attractions, including the Lambton Quay and Willis Street area for shopping (which was noted by Bracken), the Mount Victoria Look Out (mentioned by Thomas Cook and Sons), and the Te Papa Museum (the modern successor of the Colonial Museum, noted by both guidebooks), among some other newer sites such as nightclubs in the city (Bonelli et al., 2019, 40). The continuity of these sights as places of interest is interesting, though perhaps not surprising, as most cities attempt to retain historical sights and points of interest for the sake of heritage and tourism. Bonelli et al’s study of these various campaigns found that Wellington’s lifestyle has been branded and commodified in multilayered and complex ways that involve the direct participation of several aspects of the city’s political and social sectors and creative personalities (Bonelli et al., 2019, 46).

The emphasis on the urban nightlife and café culture in the It’s Never Just a Weekend When It’s in Wellington – 60 seconds series speaks to the language of the creative city that is seemingly the cornerstone of contemporary Wellington’s branding. However, Wellington’s position as a creative city dates back to the 19^th century, as evidenced in Bracken’s guidebook which points out the Theatre Royal play-house as a key place for visitors and refers to it, perhaps a little backhandedly as a “comfortable temple of the drama” that “is patronized better than is any other play-house in the Colony” (Bracken, 1879, 59). Perhaps the greatest difference is that it is no longer just theatre and opera houses that form the basis for this creative identity, but that new activities and institutions have been developed in support of it. The OECD notes that the establishment of Wellington as New Zealand’s ‘Creative’ capital in addition to its political capital has been “a deliberate economic strategy based on maximizing the benefits of a strong, tightly connected arts and cultural sector, the presence of national arts organizations…, and some spectacular venues” (OECD, 2014, 156). The strategy started in the 1980s, in response to that decade’s recession and a “shrinking of the public service… (Wellington) needed a new identity that would revitalize the city and encourage economic growth based on its points of difference from New Zealand’s other major cities”, primarily Auckland and Christchurch (OECD, 2014, 156).  The strategy saw the development of a large festival network including events such as the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, the New Zealand Fringe Festival, and the Wellington Jazz Festival, among others (OECD, 2014, 157). 

Illustration 4. Windy Wellington sign. Image from punchtravel.

The Wellington brand as a Creative Capital continues to benefit New Zealand and Wellington. As noted by OECD “over 4 million visits are made to Wellington every year, with 750 000 international and over 3.4 million domestic tourists” bringing in over $1.4 billion NZ to the city (OECD, 2014, 161). The financial success is not without its challenges, with increased discussions around the risks of over-tourism but considering the long history of tourism in Wellington, the city is well positioned to evolve to respond to these concerns.

Sources:

1. Bonelli, D., T. Jutel, and A. Leotta. (2019). ‘Selling the creative city’: Wellington tourism film in the neoliberal era. Studies in Australasian Cinema, 13(2-3), p. 32-50.
2. Bracken, T. (1879). The New Zealand Tourist. Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand (Ltd.), Dunedin, New Zealand
3. Diem Tran, M.N. (2015). Capturing the effect of film production: A qualitative perspective on film tourism in Wellington, New Zealand. Pacific Geographies, 43, p. 21-26.
4. Insch, A. (2020). The challenges of over-tourism facing New Zealand: Risks and response. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 15, 1-4.
5. OECD. (2014). Wellington, ‘Creative Capital of New Zealand. Tourism and the Creative Economy. OECD Publishing, Paris.
6. Thomas Cook and Son. (1899). New Zealand as a Tourist and Health Resort, A Handbook to the Hot Lake District, the Southern Lakes, Sounds, Etc. Thomas Cook & Son, Auckland, New Zealand.