Paula Bennett
Wellington, January 30, 2017
A new marketing campaign starting this week to attract Australians to Northland is an excellent approach to encouraging tourists to visit the region.
The campaign, ‘Every day a different journey in Northland,’ is a part of Tourism New Zealand’s regional dispersal strategy and acts as a test to refine techniques for marketing less visited regions.
The tourism industry is going from strength to strength with 3.5 million people visiting a year and spending $14.5 billion while they are here.
That is great to see but there is more to be done.
Regional Strategy
We want to spread the benefits of tourism across the country so that regions like Northland can benefit more.
Tourism New Zealand’s regional dispersal strategy aims to get visitors to travel to less-visited regions and discover their attractions.
It is about making tourism work for New Zealanders.
It is the first Tourism New Zealand campaign focused on using a single region to test whether it can influence a shift in traditional travel patterns.
The campaign will run in Melbourne from late January to mid-March to encourage Victorians to visit Northland in the shoulder season.
This is just one part of the Government’s plan to support regional tourism.
Growth Programme
We recently approved $3 million in funding for 14 infrastructure projects as part of the $12 million Regional Mid-sized Tourism Facilities Grant Fund.
We are also supporting regional tourism as a part of the Regional Growth Programme, including $158,000 for the Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Action Plan and $510,000 for the Southland Regional Development Strategy Action Plan.
Northlanders will benefit hugely from government support for big projects like the $4 million contribution to the construction of Whangarei’s Hundertwasser Art Centre and Wairau Maori Art Gallery as part of the Tai Tokerau Northland Economic Action Plan.
The campaign is being run in conjunction with Northland NZ, Facebook, Flight Centre and Air New Zealand.
Paula Bennett is Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism Minister of New Zealand.
