When should NZ tourism operators start their summer marketing?

Earlier than feels natural. Many travellers plan trips months ahead, and SEO and profile work take time to show results. October is a sensible time to start for the December to February peak, though what suits you depends on your market.

What is the most important thing to fix before summer?

Test your booking flow on a phone, from a Google search to a confirmed booking. If a guest can't find you, understand what you offer and book in a few taps, nothing else on this list will make up for it.

Should I run Google Ads over summer?

Often yes, at least a small brand campaign to protect your own name and a few campaigns for your best-margin experiences. Set a budget that matches your capacity, so you aren't paying for clicks you can't take.

How do I get more Google reviews over the summer?

Ask every guest while the trip is fresh, make it one tap to leave a review, and reply to every review you receive. Don't buy or fake reviews, and don't offer rewards for them if the platform's rules forbid it.

Pre-Summer Marketing Checklist for NZ Tourism Operators

If your busiest months are December to February, the time to get your marketing in order is now, not when the phone starts ringing. Many travellers plan trips well ahead, and the work on your Google profile, website and search presence takes time to pay off.

This is a pre-summer marketing checklist for NZ tourism operators. It’s in the order I’d tackle things, with the quick wins first. You won’t need all of it, so pick what fits your business and your budget.

1. Look at last summer first

Before you change anything, look at what happened last season.

Which experiences sold out, and which had empty seats?
Where did bookings come from: your own website, OTAs, repeat guests, phone and email?
Which months were busiest, and when did the first bookings arrive?
What questions did guests ask over and over before booking?

If you can’t answer these, that’s your first job for the season: set up tracking so next year you can. If you pay OTA commission, the OTA commission calculator turns last year’s numbers into a clear figure for what it cost you.

2. Tidy your Google Business Profile

For a local experience, your Google profile is often the first thing a traveller sees. Check it now.

Opening hours and seasonal hours. Make sure summer hours are correct, along with any public holiday changes.
Categories and services. Your main category should match what you do, and your experiences should be listed as services.
Photos. Add fresh, real photos of the season, guests enjoying the experience and your guides. Avoid stock images.
Booking link. Point it at your own booking page, not a general home page.
Description and questions. Cover what’s included, who it suits and the basics guests ask.

The reviews and profile work is covered in more detail on our SEO for tourism operators page.

3. Test your website and booking flow on a phone

Pick up your phone, search for what you offer, and try to book your own experience as a stranger would. Time how long it takes and note every point of friction.

Does the site load quickly on mobile data, not just wifi?
Can you see prices, durations, what’s included and where to meet within a few seconds?
Is the booking button obvious on every experience page?
Does the booking work end to end, including payment and the confirmation?
Is your weather, cancellation and safety information clear?

Fix the biggest problem first. A fast, clear site that’s easy to book on is the foundation for everything else, and it’s what a web design project for a tourism operator is built around.

4. Update your pages and content for the season

Summer search behaviour is different from winter. Update your pages to match.

One page per experience. Each should say what it is, who it’s for, how long it takes, what’s included and what to bring.
Seasonal details. Add summer departure times, daylight, weather notes and what to wear.
Answer the common questions. Put the questions guests always ask into an FAQ, in plain language.
Fix what’s out of date. Old prices, old photos and expired offers cost you trust.

This is core SEO work, and the same pages help you show up in AI answers as well as Google.

5. Plan your Google Ads before the rush

Paid search works fast, which makes it useful for the busy months. Plan it before you need it.

Protect your name. A small brand campaign keeps your own site on top when someone searches for you, because resellers can bid on operator names.
Back your best experiences. Focus on the experiences with the best margin and the most room on the calendar.
Match budget to capacity. Cap or pause spend when a departure is full, so you aren’t paying for clicks you can’t take.
Aim at the right countries. If most guests come from overseas, target those countries and time campaigns to when those travellers plan.
Track bookings, not just clicks. Make sure conversions are set up, as far as your booking system allows.

Our Google Ads for tourism operators page explains how this works and what it costs.

6. Build a simple review habit

Reviews do a lot of the persuading, and they’re easier to collect when the trip is fresh. Set up a routine now, before the season starts.

Ask every guest, in person and in a follow-up message.
Give them a direct link so leaving a review takes a few seconds.
Reply to every review, good or bad, politely and briefly.
Never buy, fake or trade for reviews, and check each platform’s rules before offering anything in return.

7. Check your OTA listings and availability

If you sell through OTAs, make sure what they show matches reality.

Are prices, descriptions and photos current?
Is availability accurate, so you don’t double-book?
Do you know what commission you’re paying on each, and which listings earn their cost?

8. Set up tracking so you can learn

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. At minimum, know how many bookings come from your website, from Google and from each OTA. Without it, next year you’ll be guessing again.

A simple timeline

October: review last season, tidy your Google profile, test your booking flow.
November: update pages and content, plan ads and budgets, start your review routine.
Early December: launch campaigns, double-check availability and tracking, and keep an eye on the numbers each week.

You don’t need to do everything. Fix the booking flow and the Google profile first, because they affect every guest who finds you. Then add search and ads as your budget allows.

Set your priorities and budget

You probably can’t do everything, so decide where the next dollar or hour does the most good. A sensible order is:

Fix what’s broken. A slow site, a booking button that doesn’t work or a wrong Google profile loses bookings now, so fix those before you spend on anything else.
Protect what you have. Make sure guests who search for your name land on your own site, and that your reviews get replies.
Add reach. Once the basics work, add search content and ads to bring in more guests.

Match your spend to capacity. There’s no point paying for clicks to an experience that’s already full. If you’re unsure where to start, the direct bookings for tourism operators page shows how the pieces fit together.

What to do once the season starts

Marketing doesn’t stop at launch. Once summer begins, keep a simple weekly routine.

Check new reviews and reply to them.
Look at bookings by channel, and at what your ads are costing.
Update availability messages and any weather or conditions information.
Add fresh photos from real trips.
Note what guests ask about, and add it to your FAQs.

Ten minutes a week keeps small problems from becoming expensive ones.

If you’d like a hand, the digital marketing for tourism operators page covers everything we do, or get in touch and tell me about your season.