"Thanks A Million Australia" Promotion

New Zealand's i-SITE network is doing its bit to spread the word and promote a new campaign aimed at New Zealand's only million-strong visitor market.

Figures released by Statistics New Zealand today showed that 1,001,880 visitors arrived from Australia in the year to May. This is the first time New Zealand has welcomed a million Australians in a 12-month period.

"Reaching the million arrivals mark is a great achievement for the tourism industry in what has been a difficult year and the i-SITE network is part of that success story," Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said.

To celebrate, Tourism New Zealand is today launching the "Thanks a Million" promotion which will see one lucky couple holidaying like millionaires in New Zealand.

The holiday will include return business class Air New Zealand tickets, nights in luxury lodges, helicopter transfers and tourism activities. The promotion will be run online and promoted through New Zealand's i-SITE information network.

The i-SITE network is promoting the competition and providing much needed support to get the word out there to Australians.

i-SITE's have been supporting Tourism New Zealand's promotional work in Australia since the Australia-only "What's On" campaign was launched in 2006.

"The network has been providing great information, promoting deals and making Australians feel welcome for years and that is reflected in the repeat visitors we get. That has played a part in helping us break through the million mark," Mr Hickton said.

Australia is New Zealand's biggest market, making up just over 40% of total arrivals and contributing around $1 billion in visitor spending.

Well over half of Australian's on holiday makers (58%) use i-SITEs every year, a total of 195,655 visitors.

Australian visitors represented 15% of ticketed visitors to the Dunedin i-SITE.

"This is a major milestone for the New Zealand tourism industry and an outstanding achievement given the challenges being faced at the moment," Mr Hickon said.

"An achievement like this is a once-in-a-decade event. The "Thanks a Million" competition is to help make sure that Australians know how important they are to our industry and that they keep visiting," Mr Hickton said.

To learn more about the promotion visit www.thanksamillionoz.com. For further information on the Australian market please visit www.tourismnewzealand.com, Key Word: Market Guides

This campaign only runs for 2 weeks.

Contact details

Contact Dunedin i-site Visitor Centre on 03 474 3300.

Last reviewed: 23 Jun 2009 10:21am