New Zealand Still a Favourite in the UK

New Zealand Still a Favourite in the UK

New Zealand has been voted the number one destination by travellers in the UK, Tourism Minister Damien O’Connor said today.

The Condé Nast Traveller Reader’s Travel Awards 2008 (UK) showed New Zealand was the favourite country in the world amongst its readers.

This win makes 2008 the fifth year in a row that New Zealand has been ranked in the top five favourite countries by the publication’s readers.

Mr O’Connor said the win shows that the New Zealand tourism industry is delivering a high-quality experience to visitors.

“New Zealand tourism operators should be justifiably proud. These awards recognise how satisfied our visitors are with the experiences they have here.

“With Tourism New Zealand’s latest $7.3 million campaign due to launch in the United Kingdom on Sunday, this is timely recognition that New Zealand continues to exceed the expectations of visitors from our second largest market.

“Our ability to continue to compete with other countries will depend on delivering a better product than our competitors, ensuring we are environmentally, economically, socially and culturally sustainable,” said Mr O’Connor.

New Zealand, with a total satisfaction score of 95.11 percent, was also listed third overall in the ‘Top 100’ section of the awards which includes cities, airports, hotels, cruise lines and other sectors within the tourism industry.

Among other New Zealand companies to be recognised in the awards were Auckland Airport (sixth favourite airport worldwide), Air New Zealand (sixth favourite airline worldwide) and Huka Lodge (eighth favourite leisure hotel - Australasia and South Pacific).

New Zealand last won the favourite country category in 2005, when it was also ranked first in the ‘Top 100’. India was voted second favourite country, followed by Italy, Thailand and Brazil. Australia ranked 11th, down from 4th in 2007.

This year’s award was collected by New Zealand’s High Commissioner Derek Leash in London Monday evening (London time).

Condé Nast Traveller is a glossy lifestyle publication with an emphasis on luxury travel. It has a circulation of 85,000, with 91 percent of readers holidaying three or more times a year.

ENDS