Inspiring travellers to visit southern

The initiative is the result of collaboration by eight southern regional tourism organisations (RTOs), to collectively celebrate and share more about the depth and breadth of visitor experiences in the lower south of New Zealand.

Designed to inform and inspire visitors to slow down, explore further, stay longer and ultimately return, the content features places of interest, suggested itineraries and a wideranging set of world class experiences.

Destination Queenstown marketing director, Sarah O’Donnell, says “Visitors don’t see local boundaries and encouraging people to move around between our regions, travel slowly, engage with our communities and explore further is another step towards our collective goal of welcoming a high-contributing and more sustainable visitor market”.

Communities in the partnering areas of Waitaki, Wanaka, Queenstown, Central Otago, Dunedin, Clutha, Southland, and Fiordland have each provided input into the creation of destination management plans outlining priorities and wishes for the future of tourism in their place.

These plans now form the basis for how RTOs are working, with a transition from purely traditional destination marketing to also embracing the role of managing their destinations in line with community aspirations.

Great South tourism and events general manager, Mark Frood, says “Helping visitors to understand the value of taking time to