THE New Zealand Tourism Board believes that UK visitor numbers will rise by 18% to 190,000 by the end of June.
Regional manager UK and Europe Barry Eddington said: “The UK market is doing well. This is down to the strength of the British pound which now buys three New Zealand dollars, competitive air fares and our 100% Pure New Zealand campaign, which has made the country highly visible.
“We also benefited from the television coverage of the first sunrise of the new millennium, which attracted more than 1bn viewers around the world including millions in the UK.”
Under the marketing campaign, which kicked off in September, the tourism board has placed more than 73 full-page ads in the national press and had 30 TV spots. The organisation’s Web site, www.purenz.com, which has 1,200 pages of information, attracted around 400,000 users from the UK from September to December. Most people headed straight for the site’s Wilderness Zone, which gives details on trekking, mountain climbing and national parks.
Next month the board is taking 12 product and marketing managers on an educational to both islands. “We want to expose them to new products and different regions. The people we are taking have influence on the products on sale. If they see an opportunity to sell a new region, it will increase sales and help spread visitors round the country,” said Eddington.