Lake Wanaka Tourism business development executive Geoff Marks has taken on the daunting task of ensuring Wanaka is a name prospective visitors can identify, whether they speak Mandarin, or Cantonese, or write using traditional or simplified characters or "pinying", which is Chinese using the letters of the English alphabet.
Trouble is, Mr Marks says, there is no literal translation of Wanaka in Chinese.
"So we have to come up with a consistent word that everybody will use."
As well as doing a "heap" of research, Wanaka Tourism has employed the services of a Hong Kong-based consultant, Simone Speck, who also owns and runs the Alpine Resort in Wanaka.
Ms Speck already has Chinese staff promoting her businesses.
From Hong Kong, Ms Speck explained to the Otago Daily Times the language problem facing New Zealand towns selling themselves to the Chinese market.
"Mandarin is spoken in China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia; Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong and Guangdong Province in China; simplified Chinese is read in China, Singapore and Malaysia; traditional Chinese is read in Taiwan and Hong Kong."
In devising a written Chinese name for Wanaka, Ms Speck has taken the sounds Wa-Na-Ka and used the Chinese characters that represent the sounds (see top photograph). This is common practice, she says, with New Zealand, for instance, becoming Xin Xi Lan in Mandarin or Niu Xie Lan in Cantonese.
But there is also the issue of the meaning for the Chinese version of Wanaka.
"I generally use the Chinese equivalent of 'rejuvenation of the soul' which literally is cleansing of the spirit," Ms Speck says.
"The Chinese value peace and calmness as a centre of oneself and I offer Wanaka as the ideal destination to find this."
However, a check with the Wanaka Museum shows this is at variance with the Maori meaning of Wanaka.
The first written reference to Wanaka, by Edward Shortland in 1844, had it spelt "Oanaka", but he recorded no meaning.
Then, in 1945, respected historian Herries Beattie recorded Wanaka's meaning as "a religious ceremony or the perpetuation of knowledge".
Mr Marks says it is important for there to be consistency and Lake Wanaka Tourism has not yet settled on "anything definitive".
"It's on the to-do list.
"Obviously if you have got Wanaka presented as 20 different things it's quite confusing to the Chinese traveller."
He expects Queenstown more than Wanaka will be in the front line when the "wave" of Chinese tourism hits, and that the South in general will attract "widely travelled" Chinese tourists rather than those tacking three days on to the end of an Australian tour.
"So we are going to get educated, wealthy Chinese visitors who are wanting to embrace the New Zealand culture and are probably more westernised. And they're the ones we are going to have a good fit with."
Mr Marks says making them welcome requires thought about some "very simple things".
"For example, when Simone's people came over, they walked around the supermarket to see what food was available ... and there were no brands there that they would recognise. So it's just the simple things like the right brand of noodles in the supermarket."
As well, he says, those offering accommodation should provide Chinese guests with hot water, bowls and chopsticks.
Since April, Wanaka's largest resort, Edgewater, has had its website and menus available in Mandarin and in the summer, for the first time, plans to offer a thick Chinese porridge or soup called "congee" for breakfast.
General manager Leigh Stock says staff have been practising basic Mandarin phrases but the free independent travellers encountered so far have often been able to speak good English.
"Interestingly enough, a lot of the Chinese market we are seeing currently ... is coming out of Auckland and Australia. When you think 'Chinese market', it's not necessarily coming out of China."
Dunedin Cantonese historian Les Wong told the Otago Daily Times Chinese tourists were interested in seeing and photographing features unique to New Zealand.
Mr Wong said service and the quality of food was "of great importance", with older Chinese preferring food to which they were accustomed.
"It is customary to be served a cup of tea on arrival, before ordering from the menu. The menu should have a simplified Chinese wording of what is on offer."
Mr Wong said the better restaurants in Queenstown had pictures of their food and he suggested small portions of New Zealand cuisine be made available as a "sampler".
Towns needed to provide information brochures in Chinese and include discount vouchers.
"Chinese are always out to get a bargain and enjoy shopping."
However, they were not interested in buying 'Made in China' imitations as souvenirs.
Chinese tourists preferred guides who were well informed and could speak their language, and their stories had to be "Chinese compatible".
"What we find funny in New Zealand may fall flat on Chinese ears."
Mr Marks suggested those offering guided tours have booklets available in Chinese.
"Whilst we don't have Chinese-speaking guides here, there is a lot that the operators can do to add value to the experience the Chinese visitor is going to have."
