Cape Reinga: Bryce Dallas Howard walks along Cape Reinga, the northern-most tip of New Zealand where the Tasman meets the Pacific. PHOTO/ JULIAN APSE
Cape Reinga: Bryce Dallas Howard walks along Cape Reinga, the northern-most tip of New Zealand where the Tasman meets the Pacific. PHOTO/ JULIAN APSE
Hollywood star Bryce Dallas Howard will be the face of New Zealand for a new tourism campaign in the United States that she helped to make.
Segments of a video in the promotion were filmed in Northland earlier this year.
The Jurassic World star who also filmed family movie Pete'sDragon in this country will be part of a $2 million collaboration between Tourism New Zealand and National Geographic Travel.
The United States market is surging. In the past year holiday arrivals grew by nearly one third to 210,576 because of more airline capacity and direct flights to more destinations.
Howard spent time here filming Pete's Dragon and during the video and online content campaign she explores areas of New Zealand including the Bay of Islands, Waipoua Forest, Wellington and Queenstown.
Tane Mahuta: Bill Matthews, Footprints Waipoua Tour Guide, greets Bryce Dallas Howard with a hongi, a traditional Maori welcome. PHOTO/ JULIAN APSE
Paul Davis, Northland general manager Regional Promotions and Tourism, said it was great to see Northland so prominent in this campaign.
"The US market spend is growing at over 20 per cent for Northland at the moment and the value of this kind of media activity is a contributor to that.
"The profile the Bryce Dallas Howard campaign is giving to Northland and New Zealand across both our domestic and North American markets where the campaign has been launched, is enormous."
Howard will also star in Tourism New Zealand's digital ad campaigns in the United States and Canada and promote New Zealand in TV talk shows in the US.
Her father is former Happy Days star and Oscar winning director Ron Howard who brought Bryce to Queenstown as a 6-year-old while filming the fantasy film Willow.
Tourism New Zealand said she was a long-time fan of New Zealand. Howard, 36, travelled here in April to film the videos which are built around her favourite places and experiences.
As creative director, she was heavily involved in mapping the story, including selecting the themes, locations and video style.
"Many people assume New Zealand is too far without realising that the wealth of experiences the country has to offer makes the travel time completely worth it," she said.
"I've been surprised how quickly the time on that flight passes each time I've travelled there. It's really just a night's sleep away and once you're there, you've arrived at heaven on earth."
The United States is New Zealand's third largest international visitor market behind Australia and China.
To view the video visit: https://youtu.be/_j7BG3GEpIs
