Under the theme ‘100% Pure New Zealand’, the global campaign will mark the first time the tourist board has direct its advertising at a Chinese audience.
The new campaign will use a combination of TV, OOH and online media to raise awareness of New Zealand’s attributes, promoting it as offering a wide range of activities in a striking natural setting.
The new campaign will use a combination of TV, OOH and online media to raise awareness of New Zealand’s attributes, promoting it as offering a wide range of activities in a striking natural setting.
Although China has overtaken Japan to become New Zealand’s fourth-largest tourism market, attracting 122,000 visitors per year, research by the Nielsen Company has shown that the country does not feature prominently as a holiday destination among the 30 million Chinese who travel abroad each year.
According to Tourism New Zealand marketing research manager, Hinemarie Larkins, the popular perception of the country among the Chinese is of a restful, but not necessarily invigorating, environment.
The emphasis of any advertising aimed at potential travelers, says Larkins, should be on relaxation through rejuvenation and new experiences, such as hiking, skiing and rafting, rather than simply on landscape, although the country’s open space also acts as a major draw for the Chinese.
Larkins notes that with increasing disposable income, confidence and awareness of their ‘global citizen’ status, many passport-holding Chinese are left unsatisfied with the low-cost, standardised package tours they have become accustomed to, and are seeking a more gratifying experience.
But with 95 countries now on China’s Approved Destination Status list, New Zealand faces increasingly stiff competition in its category. It is critical, says Air New Zealand group general manager Ed Sirns, that the country raises its profile to ensure that China tourists do not simply pass it by.
