Latest News from Tourism New Zealand

Tourism New Zealand will bid farewell to Chief Executive George Hickton today. He has led the organisation through a decade of success, but will be best remembered for developing the 100% Pure New Zealand tourism campaign.

Since joining the team in 1999, he has been a champion for the brand building it into one of the most successful tourism campaigns in the world. He has also pushed boundaries with events and international media projects that have helped put New Zealand in front of global audiences and solidified our position on the map internationally.

Behind the scenes, he has given his backing to other aspects of the industry from Māori tourism to Qualmark and the i-SITE Network, all of which are important to building the quality and authenticity of experiences we offer our visitors.

Thanks to the Tourism Industry
"As I head out the door at Tourism New Zealand today for the last time, I would like to thank the industry for your support of our work and the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign over the last 10 years.

My first job when I came into this organisation was to deliver a global marketing campaign that would get New Zealand back on the international tourism map..."

Read George Hickton's farewell message to the tourism industry

Read more about George Hickton's contribution to Tourism New Zealand over the past decade

Tourism New Zealand wishes George well for his next step - taking some time to enjoy New Zealand as a tourist. Tim Hunter will be Acting Chief Executive at Tourism New Zealand until Kevin Bowler starts officially on 18 January.

New Zealand will be the star of a new project that’s offering aspiring film-makers the chance to get their work in front of director Peter Jackson.

Launched yesterday, Tourism New Zealand’s 100% Pure New Zealand ‘Your Big Break’ competition will see five budding film-makers direct and produce their own three-minute short films on location in New Zealand.

The finalists will be flown to New Zealand by Tourism New Zealand, where they will work with The Lord of the Rings producer Barrie Osborne and Wellington’s Park Road Post Production facility.

Read more on our website

Check out the competition website: www.your-big-break.com

There’s only one way to really convince backpackers to ‘Go All the Way’ and that’s to show them how it’s done, which is exactly what Tourism New Zealand is aiming to do as it steps up activity around its ‘Go All the Way’ campaign.

More than 150,000 people have tuned into online reality television show The Gap Year: Challenge New Zealand to follow the antics of a group of young travellers as they travel New Zealand.

And another project is helping spread the word about New Zealand by sharing the experiences of real travellers. Tourism New Zealand has been giving away video cameras to backpackers on holiday in New Zealand and sending them out to record their experiences.

Read the full story on our website

How are our international markets performing and what can we expect for the coming summer? Hear what's happening offshore in our latest video updates, featuring an update on our US PR strategy and more details about how we're using social media to tap into the backpacker market in Europe.

Watch our Regional Managers' latest video updates on YouTube

Our market guides have just been updated and provide full details for all of our markets, including the summer outlook and what we're up to in market.

Read our Market Guides online

The host of top American reality fashion show, America's Next Top Model, has announced to her Twitter followers that the show is on its way to New Zealand. Former supermodel and Top Model presenter Tyra Banks today 'tweeted' her excitement at bringing the models down-under.

With an audience of around four million in the US and many more around the world, the show's visit will be a huge profile boost for New Zealand.

She’s lived here only briefly and is as Japanese as they come, but Yumiko Nakayama has dedicated her entire working life to promoting New Zealand.

Possibly our longest serving non New Zealand public servant, Yumiko is planning a well-deserved break when she retires on 4 December after more than 36 years in the Tokyo office.

Currently Tourism New Zealand’s Public Relations Manager for Japan, Yumiko has come a long way in her time with the organisation. She started as a clerk for the New Zealand Embassy 1973, the home of the New Zealand Tourist and Publicity Department at the time. Coincidently she started work on the same day her current manager, Jason Hill, was born.

Read the full story on our website