Tourism New Zealand, in the first global campaign of its kind, is leveraging the advocacy and influence of past visitors, travel advisors, New Zealanders, and National Geographic Travel Explorers to encourage those actively considering a trip to New Zealand to plan and book their holiday.
“New Zealand has long been known for its stunning landscapes,” says Stephen England-Hall, Chief Executive, Tourism New Zealand. “What we hear from visitors, however, is that it’s the local people and warm sense of welcome they receive that makes it such a special, memorable place.”
This is often referred to in New Zealand as manaakitanga, an indigenous Māori concept representing a unique style of hospitality, generosity, and kindness.
In a new digital content series from National Geographic Travel, viewers will see and hear from Contributing Editor Heather Greenwood Davis, Photographer Erika Larsen and Illustrator Christoph Niemann as they experience manaakitanga and explore the connections between New Zealand’s people, land, and culture.
“We are thrilled to continue our creative partnership with Tourism New Zealand for the second year,” says Deborah Armstrong, EVP, National Geographic Partners. “We began an exciting digital campaign last year with Bryce Dallas Howard as TNZ’s spokesperson and have now expanded our New Zealand story telling by featuring an illustrator, photographer and family travel expert. Each capturing the spirit of New Zealand and it’s people through their own unique lens and sharing their experiences with our Nat Geo consumers across this global campaign.”
The $1.1 million USD partnership will leverage more than 100 pieces of content across National Geographic Travel’s digital, social, and print properties in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Germany, the U.K., Australia, and India. The five-month campaign will be further amplified across Tourism New Zealand’s digital channels.
In the content, local New Zealanders from Kaikōura, Nelson Tasman, and the Bay of Plenty welcome the visitors and share their personal stories and beliefs of what makes New Zealand so unique. “Last year’s partnership with Bryce Dallas Howard led to an additional 1.5 million U.S. travelers planning and booking travel to New Zealand. We also saw an increase of 11 percent in U.S. visitor spend, so we are confident this kind of quality influencer marketing is working. By weaving in the trade element and sharing the story of our people and culture, we’re very optimistic about this campaign’s potential to bring visitors to our shores,” says England-Hall.
