A partnership between tourism bodies from Auckland and Northland could help attract more international visitors to head north when they arrive.
A memorandum of understanding for a marketing partnership between Auckland Tourism and Events and Destination Northland was signed at the TRENZ international tourism conference in Queenstown earlier this month.
Destination Northland boss Brian Roberts said the aim of the proposed partnership - which kicks off on July 1 - is to grow the size and expenditure of the international markets visiting both regions.
It will focus on visitors from Australia, Southeast Asia and North America over the next 24 months.
"This will involve a range of both consumer and trade activities and will also include private sector partners such as airlines, Tourism NZ and other tourism providers, enabling excellent partner leverage of investments," Mr Roberts said.
"This is a significant opportunity for our region to work alongside our long-time friends in Auckland, enabling a highly compelling range of visitor experiences to be offered. We will get far more exposure through it."
Hundreds of international tourism agents attended the four-day TRENZ 2012 conference and Destination Northland used a groundbreaking study of tourists' views of the region to try to get more visitors to head north.
The research by the Northland Tourism Development Group shows that tourists love Northland's natural beauty, culture and history, after interviews with 348 visitors were carried out in January and February.
Mr Roberts said the research received great feedback and the only real negative in it - visitors weren't too impressed with our bars, nightclubs and pubs - was being reflected elsewhere in the country. "The Hospitality Association of NZ said that feedback is not just confined to Northland, with other regions getting very similar feedback from visitors, so it's not just us."
Mr Roberts said Air New Zealand was introducing extra capacity on routes from Perth, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Hawaii.
This will enable Destination Northland to try to get the attention of those extra tourists when they land at Auckland.
He said tourism is an $800 million a year industry in Northland and employs one in 10 workers in the region.