The great kiwi invite
In a bid to boost the number of visitors to the Land of the Long White Cloud, the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has launched a new online campaign offering personalised animated invitations to people overseas - which Kiwis can send to their friends and family to encourage them to hop on a plane to NZ...
The new campaign, called the ‘Great Kiwi invite' has been launched by Tourism New Zealand and is aimed at boosting tourism to the country as well as marking the 10th anniversary of the 100 per cent Pure New Zealand marketing campaign.
New Zealanders will be able to go online to www.thegreatkiwiinvite.co.nz and send a personal animated invitation to someone overseas.
The country relies heavily on tourism to support the economy and, with the global credit crunch slashing visitor numbers, this quirky new idea is hoping to reverse that new trend.
According to the latest figures, the number of overseas visitors arriving for short term stays fell by five per cent in June from a month earlier, with visitor numbers from Japan falling to a 24-year low.
But, the pull of friends and family is clearly as strong as ever - in the year ended June 2009, there were almost three-quarters-of-a-million visitors in New Zealand who had come to see friends and family, an increase of 3.6 per cent.
Mr Key, the Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, said, "Whether it's friends, family or people we've met during our travels, I want to encourage Kiwis to make contact with those people through the new campaign and invite them to visit New Zealand."
"Tourism is a major economic driver and has the potential to help get the country through the recession in good shape.
"Kiwis can play a part in getting people to visit New Zealand, boosting tourism numbers and providing positive spin-offs for everything from hotels and attractions to cafes and taxis," added Mr Key.
Mr Key says it is a good time to launch the campaign as the winners will be able to visit at Christmas time.
And that's not all. Everyone who accepts the invitation to come and visit goes into a draw to win one of 15 trips for two to New Zealand courtesy of Air New Zealand. So what are you waiting for?!
Picture by andrewconn