KEY POINTS:
Maori tourism operators are hoping to boost their businesses through a new one-stop guide targeted at in-bound tour operators and international tourism wholesalers.
The Maori Tourism Trade Manual 2008-2009 features around 100 businesses throughout the country, including well-known attractions such as Kaikoura's whale-watching, the Shotover Jet, Rotorua's Hell's Gate and Orakei Korako and will be distributed free to the tourism industry.
Maori Tourism Council executive chairman John Barrett said it decided to put together the manual after pressure from the industry.
"We were constantly being told there was nothing that wholesalers could go to in one place to find out about Maori products."
Barrett hoped it would become a useful trade tool and the council planned to update it frequently, most likely on a two-yearly basis.
The businesses featured were put forward by the 11 regional Maori tourism organisations and were based on quality and authenticity, Barrett said.
There are around 400 Maori tourism businesses throughout New Zealand.
Tourism Minister Damien O'Connor said it was important to ensure the industry was aware of the depth and quality of the Maori tourism product. A recent ministry sector profile found that one in five international tourists visited a Maori cultural experience in 2006.
