Business Weekly – Natura Holidays

Most people refer to bus riders as passengers. As far as Jeremy Goodwin is concerned, however, everyone who steps off the bus in town is a potential customer.
Goodwin is one of the partners in Natura Holidays, one of the first businesses to take advantage of the new office space in the newly-expanded CITC main store complex.
“We have a prime location for foot traffic,” says Goodwin. “When the bus pulls in, we have this sudden influx of people who come to the office wanting to know about things to do. They go off next door to the CITC main store to make up their minds while they’re wandering around and then come back and book. That’s one of the reasons we wanted the location here. It’s working out very well for us.”
Natura Holidays has been in its new space for four weeks but the business has operated on a smaller basis for awhile now as a fully-serviced inbound operation.
“We have contracted a lot of suppliers here in the way of hotels, tours, etc., and our delivery is to the overseas wholesalers, to make sure their needs are met, as well as their expectations,” says Goodwin. “There are different clienteles at different expectations at different budgets.”
Goodwin said Natura Holidays’ business strategy is to give both the best service and the best product to its clients.
“Instead of satisfying the back ends of our pockets, we’re trying to actually satisfy the customers’ needs,” he said. “To try to deliver to what the expectations are. It’s quite a huge task to take on board because we look into the New Zealand markets, the Australian markets and the U.S. markets.”
The other aspect of the company is that of a retail agent, selling packages to the outer islands and specializing in local tours for those visitors who are already in the country and seeking a cultural experience or an adventure of some kind.
Goodwin says lagoon cruises top most visitors’ wish lists.
“Second is the Aitutaki day trip,” he says. “The third is the island nights at the new attractions like Te Vara Nui and Highland Paradise. The independent island nights not associated with the resorts have sparked interest with clients coming in.”
While Goodwin says the direct flights from Sydney have been a boon to the country’s tourism industry, the overall marketing thrust has also proven beneficial.
“Speaking from a national perspective, I think the Cook Islands is pitched well in the marketplace,” he says. “We haven’t gone for the traditional low-cost destination; we’ve kept our status as a quality destination. We’ve kept our integrity in the marketplace.”
All the employees at Natura Holidays take personal pride in showcasing their country to the thousands of visitors who arrive each year.
“We are local Cook Islanders,” says Goodwin, “and, because we are, we want to see our island flourish and make sure it thrives and does really well.”

By John Ireland

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