Stephanie Fan's Blog

A Canadian company, Ziptrek Ecotours, had adopted Costa Rica’s usage of zip lines as a tourist attraction to use in North America and has proven to be quite successful.  Now however, they have chosen to expand their business and have targetted Queenstown in New Zealand to be their market for zip lining.

Queenstown was an optimal location because the tourism industry is very large there and interest in extreme sports is really high.  However, some of the challenges that Ziptrek Ecotours faced was that they had a difficult time seeking government approval for zip lining could potentially cause environmental concerns.  This also brings up the topic regarding business ethics where whenever we make a decision, we should always consider whether this is the right thing to do or not.

Regardless, after persisting for a few years, the company managed to progress with their project, opening on Decemeber 2009.  During this time, Ziptrek Ecotours had spent “low millions” of dollars of which there was also a 25% added cost later.  Taking a closer look at the company on an organizational level, we understand that Operations had a huge part in making all of this happen.  The Marketing department may perhaps had suggest expanding into the New Zealand market and Accounting may have determined an approximate budget for the project however it is Operations that pieces everything together and implements the strategy.  Hence, it is evident that Operations had done a great job in bringing a sport as daring as zip lining into Queenstown, New Zealand.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/start/location/zipline-firm-makes-beeline-for-new-zealand/article1765701/