I was sitting at the Foxy Café in Glenorch, Middle Earth, which had a pig as part of its welcoming signboard (pictured right, not left). Other than noticing this slight misalignment of animal references, I also noticed that most of the patrons were people from my part of the world.

There was an Indian family – four adults and two kids, obviously having a three-generational holiday. One kid was barefoot, obviously gone native. There was a Chinese couple, I am guessing in their early 40s, quietly eating their fish and chips next to us, obviously enjoying the fresh air. And across from us, two Chinese girls, obviously having a “girlfriend” break from the stresses of urban China.

All of them had their own self-drive vehicles and were exploring one of the most beautiful and scenic parts of New Zealand. Despite it being late spring, there was still snow on the Remarkables and a freshness and chill in the air – it’s been a long, cold winter, I was told, and this was the first beautiful spring day they’ve had.

We, three urban refugees, had driven to Glenorch from Queenstown, in search of Paradise.

Paradise looks like, well, what you’d imagine Paradise to look like. It’s a green patch of land by the river’s edge framed by snowy mountains in the background.

I reckon nothing much ever happens here. Even the cows, horses and sheep there look like they are in heaven. They have this beatific smile on their faces that seem to say, aren’t we lucky to be living in the most glorious spot on earth?

I always tell my Kiwi friends they live in one of the world’s most beautiful countries and they are so lucky and they say, it’s because you are only a visitor, you don’t have to live here, put up with the weather, it always rains, the market is too small, it’s hard to make money, nobody’s got money …

Yes, travellers come, enjoy and go, locals stay, live and moan. It’s the same everywhere – the grass is always greener on the other side and well, on a day like today, the most beautiful of spring days, Paradise is as green as it gets.

In Queenstown, the lake seemed bluer than the last time I saw it. I also noticed a lot more Asian tourists everywhere. Yet I haven’t noticed much change in the way Queenstown sells itself over the years – it’s still being promoted as an adventure destination where you come to do crazy things like sky dive, bungy jump or take wild spins on the lake. 

Yet the profile of the visitors I saw doesn’t seem to match that – I can’t imagine a Korean couple in their 50s wanting to do anything like that. They probably just want to breathe in the fresh air, take slow walks by the lake and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Even the young Singaporean couple staying at the same place as us (The Rees) told me they weren’t in Queenstown to do any of that. “We just want fresh air and not see anyone,” they said.

Once, someone told me, “New Zealand is the place where everyone comes to see no one.”

Meanwhile, back in Singapore, I was enjoying Happy Hour at Luke Mangan’s Salt Tapas Bar (on Tuesdays, happy hour is all night long) and sharing travel stories with a girlfriend.

She told me she’d just been to Siem Reap – her third time in the last eight years – and she’s also noticed the difference in visitor profile. “There are more Asians, the Europeans and Americans seem to have disappeared,” she said.

I am sure they haven’t totally but in relative terms, they have. I see this same trend wherever I go – this sea change in travellers – from the traditional matured markets to emerging ones, whether from Asia or South America.

Without doubt, this change will become more pronounced in 2013 and those who haven’t yet adapted to the changing markets should, well, get on with it.

So what else should one get on with in the Year of the Water Snake, which kicks in on February 10 by the way? Business-wise, I reckon three words which are all tied together – Mobile, Moments, Me.

• Think of your business in mobile terms – not just device but behaviour.

• Moments – how do you create or facilitate moments which can be translated into content to be expressed by your customers on your behalf?

• It’s all about Me

In Queenstown, I came across a magazine called “Me” which pretty much captures this preoccupation with self that we’ve embraced in this new golden social age. “I have a headache.” “Look, I am eating this.” “Look where I am.” “See who I am with.” “Here’s what I think of this.”

The socialization of technology has brought out the “Inner Me” in all of us, for better or worse. Apps like My365 (1 day, 1 photo), Instagram #ootd (Outfit of the Day with nearly 6 million images) and WeChat, the crazy fast-growing social chat from China’s Tencent with more than 200 million subscribers and counting all speak to this Inner Me, unleasing self-expression on a crazy mass scale.

We now have almost superhero ability to craft images of ourselves and the narcissistic vainpots that we are, we want companies to know that and respond to that and man, do we get angry when they don’t even know we’re actually staying in their hotel and not liking it one bit …

There is also no divide between “Professional Me” and “Personal Me” in this new world. Every remark you post, as an individual, reflects on you – seen by employers, customers, friends, enemies, strangers. So tread carefully, my friends.

Anyway back to Me – here’s my personal list of things to get on with.

1      Get my first Android device. It’s time I try the grass on the other side.

2      Get rid of at least one (or two) unnecessary device/s.

3      Listen to my gut more rather than just feed it.

4      Focus.

5      Write.

6      Take more holidays to see no one.

Happy New Year, everyone.