Auckland Airport has partnered with a group of central North Island regional tourism organisations - including Destination Rotorua - in a winter campaign which generated an estimated $9 million in additional value to the economy.
The North Island Winter Touring campaign, which ran from May to September, reached more than 6.5 million potential travellers in Australia, the airport said. It promoted the range of experiences the central North Island has to offer during winter and encouraged Australian travellers to explore the geothermal and volcanic wonders of the area in winter.
Australia is New Zealand's largest international visitor market with 1.4 million visitors in the year ending July 2016.
Auckland Airport joined forces with Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, Destination Rotorua, Destination Great Lake Taupo and Visit Ruapehu as well as Australian travel agent Helloworld and Emirates Airline to undertake the campaign to boost tourism numbers from this market at a traditionally quieter time of the year for the region.
Patrick Dault, Destination Rotorua trade manager, said the campaign was a successful first foray into promoting the central North Island region as a strong option for visitors looking for their next winter getaway destination.