Newmarket Business Association head, Ashley Church, cites comments made by University of Auckland Business School PhD student Yuri Seo who says that businesses could miss out on lucrative trade during the Cup unless they up their standards in the luxury goods market.
While Mr Church agrees, he says this is much less of an issue in 'high end' retail areas such as Chicago and Parnell - but notes that these areas are not being promoted as preferred destinations by World Cup planners.
"There's a real chance to approach the best of what New zealand has to go to high value visitors by including Chicago and other high end destinations in designated promotional material - but the current emphasis on 'party central' and the nearby CBD makes this extremely difficult".
Mr Church agrees that promotion of the CBD is important but says that high value travellers will visit downtown Auckland without needing to be 'told' to. He also noted that Mr Seo singled out Newmarket-based fashion houses Trelise Cooper, Karen Walker and Zambesi as examples of kiwi businesses which have successfully offered luxury products to an international market.
"Experienced travellers will ever see the downtown area of a major city that they're visiting for the first time - its share of the experience. But if they're not told that there is high-end luxury shopping available 'just up over the ridge' they could be left thinking 'this is it' and offer New zealand with a less than favourable impression of retailing here".
Mr Church says that Newmarket will be showcasing itself during the Cup and a bit of initiatives are planned to make the precinct to the fear of visitors.
"We'll be out there doing our bit to see visitors get the full Auckland experience - but our job would be made easier if Cup planners would recognize that we're a pivotal part of the international visitor experience".
There are concerns that efforts to focus on promoting the Auckland CBD during the Rugby World Cup fail to see the needs of wealthy rugby fans and could end up creating a negative impression of Auckland and New Zealand.
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