THL - Tourism Holdings

[bull....]

Thl no longer overbrought now volumes picking up around a fib level at 94 , a move back thr 98 will take us to new highs in the uptrend.

[shambles]

Thanks Bull

[bull....]

tourism figures next week followed by results the following week busy period for thl.

[Snoopy]

Over the last week I have relocated a THL campervan from Christchurch to Auckland so have gained some first hand consumer knowledge of this business I thought shareholders might be interested in.

<snip>

My overall impression of THL was of not enough staff, poorly trained. If you ask me whether I would hire a van from them at normal price ( I was quoted $155 per day ), then I probably wouldn't. But would I relocate a van for them again? Probably yes, but I would allow more time between connections. knowing how THL operate!

SNOOPY

I came back from the North Island this week after another 'extended weekend' away with THL from their Auckland base. So yes I did go back to THL, although I didn't hire a campervan. Being peak season, the minimum time that I was allowed to hire a campervan for was ten days. I guess there is enough demand over the peak tourist seaon for THL to write such restrictions into the contract. Other campervan companies do similar things. However paying for a ten day campervan hire does make for an extravagant four day weekend. So I struck on a compromise. An 'Explore' rental car from THL combined with an 'Explore' rental tent! I don't do that much camping but as it never rains in the Auckland district ;-), this did seem a good compromise. I do own a tent, but what with all of the excess baggage piece surcharges at airlines these days I decided it was worth paying the $20 per day charge to THL for the rental tent, instead of handing more than that money over to Jetstar as an excess luggage allowance.

This time I checked the timing in advance using the THL helpline. My plane arrived at 4:25pm and I was expected inside at the THL desk in Auckland by 5pm. Tightish, but I reckoned I could pick up my bag and make the 3km journey even if I missed the complimentary THL shuttle bus and had to take a taxi.

The person on the THL helpline was very pleasant, but seemed very concerned that I hadn't allowed myself enough time to 'clear customs'. Now I know there has been a traditional north/south rivalry for many years. But I wasn't aware this rivalry had degenerated into being forced through customs posts when island hopping between Christchurch and Auckland on a domestic flight! As it turned out, to my great relief, Auckland Airport hadn't heard of this development either. I was also given wrong information about the Shuttle departure time. I was told 'quarter to' and 'quarter past' the hour, where as the real times were on there hour and the half hour. As a result I did miss the shuttle, even though the shuttle driver had been sent out to diligently look for me!

My timing did end up being very tight, but not through any fault of THL. It took more than half an hour between when my Jetstar flight landed and when the baggage was stuck on the carousel. And I am not just talking about my luggage: half the plane had to wait that long. I have no idea what happened, but I have never seen the baggage collection process so slow, and that includes from international flights and much larger planes. I don't know whether to blame Jetstar or AIA for that, but AIA I think must share some of the blame for what happened next.

Having 'missed' (sic) my shuttle, I went to the taxi rank. I was told that the 3.5km trip to THL was subject to a $30 minimum charge! Even a cabby in a traffic jam in London would not charge those rates. I can see the cabby's perspective of sitting on the rank for an hour and only getting a short trip. Perhaps AIA should set up a special short haul taxi rank? I understand that getting a cab to any hotel in the immediate vicinity of Auckland Airport would have cost the same. It seems a sure way to give overseas visitors a sour taste of NZ service as soon as they get off the plane if nothing is done. The rejected cab driver then waved me in the direction of a shuttle who tried to charge me $15 for the same trip, before we eventually settled on $10. One thing I can say about these transportation arguments is that by the time the negotiations were over, my luggage had at last arrived off the plane. And that saved me from going back and picking it up later.

It was around ten past five when I eventually got to the fortunately still open office of THL. With no video to study and, joy of joys, a car handbook in the glovebox, this time I was able to make an efficent exit. My tent 'hamper' exceeded all expectations: A huge chilli bin of pots pans, plates jugs and utensils. Exactly the same big box as is supplied to the campervan customers I think. I also got a decent sleeping bag and a duvet that I could use as a ground mattress (being summer and all). But the tent itself, oh dear!

No instructions, no guy ropes and a distinct shortage of tent pegs and no hammer! I was given a beehive type tent with two carbon rod arch frames, but no end pieces. Fortunately I had the foresight to bring my own hammer, and I was able to bash the carbon rod ends directly into the ground. I used what tent pegs I had to create a floppy structure that was enough to shelter from the elements for the night. If a storm had brewed up I think my tent would have collapsed though! I am fairly sure I was the joke of the campground. Although given what I had to work with I thought I had come up with something that 'Mcgyver' would have been proud of. Fortunately my travel plan had me returning to the airport briefly the next day. There I was able to pick up some of the missing tent pieces. But imagine if I had been a tourist setting off on a grand tour of the North Island. My THL camping experience would have been a disaster!

In summary my second THL 'consumer experience' found nothing wrong with the staff I encountered on the ground. But there were a couple of 'system failures' in there which must be cause for concern. I hope for the sake of shareholders THL can get themselves sorted out before World Cup year. And I think that Auckland Airport have a few systems issues of their own to sort out as well.

SNOOPY

discl: no shares held in either THL or AIA

[shambles]

Visitor numbers up in December..

http://www.nbr.co.nz/node/117979

[CC Team]

Hi Snoopy, Marie at the Customer Care team here. Once again thank you for your feedback. We have taken on board your comments and will review with the teams concerned. If you would like to contact us directly we would love to hear from you. Thanks again. MT

[bull....]

Profit announcement next week.

[bull....]

Heres a summary of the latest Tourism Industry Monitor


Summary of Results

In the past 3 months (Nov-Jan) industry demand has increased by 2.8% (compared with the same period last
year) while profitability has increased by 1.7%. In the next 3 months (Feb-Apr) industry demand is expected to
increase by 1.4% and profitability is expected to increase by 2.1%.
47% of respondents expect demand to improve in the next 3 months compared with the same period last year.
This is down slightly from 48% last month and 52% the month before.
33% of respondents expect demand to fall in the next 3 months compared with the same period last year.
This represents a small increase from 29% the previous month.
The short-term outlook for demand is relatively neutral for most regions when compared against the same
period last year.
Business confidence levels are down slightly but the number of optimists within the tourism industry continues
to comfortably outweigh the number of pessimists.

to read the full report - http://www.tourismresearch.govt.nz/D...0/TIM02-10.pdf

[bull....]

Outstanding result and the early return to divs is a big plus.

[Anna Naum]

THL - Approach to Shareholders

TOURISM HOLDINGS LIMITED
APPROACH TO SHAREHOLDERS

THL has become aware of an unsolicited proposal by a person in Australia to some THL shareholders. This seeks an option to acquire THL shares.

Neither THL management nor the Board has received any meaningful information about the proposal. In particular, there is no information as to the substance of the person making the proposal, the number of shares in respect of which options are sought, or what steps if any are intended to be taken to comply with the Takeovers Code or the Overseas Investment Act (if they apply).

If a formal notice is received that complies with the Takeovers Code, the Board would review it and make a recommendation to shareholders.

In the meantime shareholders should seek their own financial advice and the THL Board recommends that THL shareholders ignore this approach.

Announcement authorised by:
Chairman
Tourism Holdings Limited