The English and the Aussies just love Godzone. Doomsayers may wax on about the recession, but tourism in NZ has been given a boost thanks to two recent findings.
UK glossy Conde Nast Traveller ranked NZ as the second best destination in the world, after Italy. Turkey was third and Australia was fourth. So essentially, our Pacific paradise is the favourite long-haul country for travelling Brits.
Editor of Conde Nast Traveller, Sarah Miller, said New Zealand was popular with readers because of its fantastic landscape and its relaxed quality of life.
“New Zealand is also known for its fantastic food, its Maori culture, and for being one of the safest places on the planet. Of course, it’s also thought of as being forward-thinking for its environmental friendliness. And all that stuff adds up,” she said.
For the sixth year in a row, NZ has been in the top five in the magazine’s list, winning the number one spot in 2008 and 2005.
Air New Zealand took second-place in the long-haul airlines category. And Queenstown’s Blanket Bay took first place in the ‘Best Leisure Hotel – Australasia’ category.
Blanket Bay, QueenstownAccording to Nielsen’s online research, Australians are raving about their trips to NZ. The most talked-about places are Queenstown, Milford, Fiordland, Taupo and Rotorua. The most popular activities are skiing, snowboarding, surfing and windsurfing, hiking, visiting wineries and bungee jumping.
Nielsen’s BuzzMetric service has been monitoring feeds from blogs and forums since 2008. It has tracked more than 25 million blogs and message board comments from across New Zealand and Australia.
Some quotable quotes from the Ockers:
I’d never thought I’d say this but I think I have seen some natural scenery that rivals Australia’s beauty! I still have to laugh at the eccents though, tee hee. So, anyone considering a trip there, do it!
I admit I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed it! Wellington is the only city I really liked … loved everything else, especially the South Island.
Kaikoura is the biggest spin out ever!!!
NZ was amazing. It’s so beautiful! And not as cold as I expected.
So give yourself a pat on the back just for living here.
