Tourism NZ: Five great journeys inspire Australians to tour the South Island

The Tourism New Zealand-led campaign is being run in partnership with Christchurch Airport and 14 SOUTH regional tourism organisations. The focus will be on five touring routes, starting from Christchurch.

Tony Saunders, Tourism New Zealand's General Manager Australia says: "We know that Australians want to experience the South Island but tend to think it's just for adventure travellers. This campaign provides them with a selection of itineraries that include five well- known touring routes covering a variety of experiences and attractions. We want to make it easy for them to imagine, plan and book a South Island holiday."

Starting all journeys in Christchurch is an important aspect of the campaign. "Regional dispersal is a key part of Tourism New Zealand's strategy to drive visitors to non-gateway regions. When travellers fly into Christchurch, they tour and tend to visit more than three other regions.

"Working with the RTOs and the airport means this is a true collaboration and we couldn't do this work without their support," says Tony.

Christchurch Airport Chief Aeronautical and Commercial Officer Justin Watson says the campaign reminds Australians how much fun and how easy it is to road-trip around the South Island.

"This campaign invites Australians to take advantage of the many flights into Christchurch and take advantage of the fact that most of the South Island's rental fleet is based at the airport. Within a few hours of leaving home, Australian visitors can be experiencing the many highlights and contrasts our place in the world offers."

The trips being marketed through Tourism New Zealand's digital and social channels cover the Top of the South, the Alpine Lakes and the TranzAlpine Explorer, a Southern Scenic route and a Nature and Heritage journey.

The campaign will also include out-of-home advertising, with billboards and bus and train station advertising in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Australia's Channel 9 Travel Guides programme has filmed a South Island segment to air in March 2018 and articles are in the pipeline with journalists exploring the South Island as part of TNZ's International Media Programme.

The South Island Journeys campaign targets independent professionals and first time arrivals and focuses on travel between March and May 2018. Key trade partners are Flight Centre and Air New Zealand.

Australia is New Zealand's largest inbound tourism market, accounting for almost half of all visitors. Nearly 600k AU visitors come to New Zealand each year for a holiday.