Australians primed for the North Island
A winter holiday combining the contrasting attractions of the central North Island is being promoted to Australians.
Tourism New Zealand is leading the development and implementation of a $750,000 marketing campaign which capitalises on Taupo (& Turangi) with spare capacity across accommodation and experiences during the winter months.
The six week promotion showcases experiences including geysers, hot pools, glow worm caves and cultural events with a snow experience at Whakapaka, Mt Ruapehu as part of a wider winter touring holiday. This short video is running on digital channels to showcase the region as part of the campaign work.
A separate campaign specifically targeting skiing in New Zealand will also start in March.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive Stephen England-Hall said that Australians are motivated to travel by experiences that are different to their everyday life.
“This work is about highlighting a couple of ‘iconic’ winter experiences within the central North Island and demonstrating the diversity of other experiences within the region, giving potential visitors a clear reason to visit.”
“The geysers, glow worm caves and Maori cultural events and cuisine are all unique to New Zealand and unlike anything they can do at home. The Central North Island region is ready to increase its profile as an attractive winter touring holiday destination for Australians and this is a great opportunity to showcase New Zealand is an all-year holiday destination.”
To provide a better picture of what winter snow conditions are like at Whakapapa, the following brief video is of TRM staff completing their winter training by surviving three nights in snow caves in the Tongariro National Park in September 2016.
(SWMBO advises this is voluntary only and not a compulsory requirement to qualify to work or stay at TRM)
By the time the hoards of Australian ski bunnies get to Whakapapa the new gondola should be operating…
A new $25 Million state-of-the-art gondola will replace the existing chairlifts in time for the start of the 2019 ski season. This 50 cabin gondola will take tourists as well as skiers 1.8 km up the mountain from the base area car park at 1680 elevation to the Knoll Ridge cafe at 2020 m elevation. The 10 person cabins will result in fewer “closed” days due to wind and provide a much faster more comfortable ride racing up the mountain at six metres per second. RAL (Ruapehu Alpine Lifts) development is reported to contribute $50million per annum of additional tourist spending to the local economy and create over 130 jobs at Whakapapa.