Campaign encourages Australians to find creative spark

Tourism New Zealand has turned the spotlight on Wellington and Marlborough for its latest online campaign in Australia.

With the theme, ‘creativity around every corner’, the campaign showcases the regions’ creative profiles including culture, theatre, cuisine, wine, and art, and encourages Australians to book a revitalising holiday in spring.

“A trip to Wellington and Marlborough is an easy getaway for Australians, being just a three-hour flight away and offering such an array of cultural and culinary delights. Over the past few years the number of Australians flying direct to Wellington has grown but there is still a lack of awareness of what the region offers as a holiday destination and how close it is to Marlborough. This campaign aims to raise the profiles of Wellington and Marlborough as the ideal destinations for Australians looking to find their creative spark,” says Andrew Waddel, Tourism New Zealand’s General Manager of Australia.

The campaign, produced in collaboration with Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency (WREDA) and Destination Marlborough, promotes travel between September and November 2018. It aims to deliver seamless messaging and visuals across multiple touch points along Australia’s Eastern seaboard until mid-September, including online, social media, PR channels, print editorial and a dedicated hub on newzealand.com.

This marks the second year the three organisations have collaborated on a joint Wellington-Marlborough integrated campaign. Last year’s campaign saw more than 104,000 Australians visiting newzealand.com for information on Wellington and Marlborough and almost 7000 referrals made from the site to local operators.

Tourism New Zealand invests its marketing budget into promoting spring and autumn travel to spread the benefits tourism delivers across the year. For the year ending June 2018, more than 578,000 Australians holidayed in New Zealand, spending just over 10 days in New Zealand. Almost 140,000 of these Australian visitors travelled to New Zealand in spring for their holiday (just under a quarter of all holiday arrivals for the FY18 period).

Tourism New Zealand also has a focus on growing the regions by encouraging regional travel into visitors’ itineraries, and works closely with regional tourism organisations.

WREDA’s CEO Lance Walker says the agency was thrilled to join forces with Tourism New Zealand and Destination Marlborough again to promote the Wellington and Marlborough regions.

“While New Zealand is Australia’s favourite international holiday destination, many Australian visitors are still unfamiliar with what Wellington has on offer. Not knowing much about Wellington means they’re unaware of our vibrant and creative culture, or our world-renowned cuisine – let alone how easy it is to fly here. Adding the scenic and relaxing Marlborough to the mix will not only lengthen the stay of international visitors, but will make sure our guests get to experience two uniquely characterful New Zealand regions,” he says.

Destination Marlborough General Manager Jacqui Lloyd says Australia is a key market for Marlborough and the campaign provides a way to lure more Australian visitors to the region after experiencing Wellington.

“This partnership has created a campaign that complements the two regions nicely. It encourages Australian visitors to experience the creativity and culture of Wellington then immerse themselves in the majesty of the Marlborough Sounds and Vineyards before returning home refreshed and relaxed. All in all, a brilliant short break,” she says.

View the ‘Creativity around every corner’ campaign video

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