Lake Taupo shines in international spotlight

International visitors to Lake Taupo are set to increase after the region was showcased to the world at New Zealand’s largest travel tradeshow last month.

Activity and accommodation operators from around the Lake Taupo region met directly with travel wholesalers from Australia, USA, United Kingdom, South America, Europe and Asia at the annual Tourism Rendezvous of NZ (TRENZ).

General Manager of Taupo Tourism Holdings Scott Bason says the conference opened up some great opportunities. “We received strong interest from a variety of countries. We’ll be sending our brochures over to Slovenia and we’re also following up enquiries from Australia and New Zealand tour operators.”

Hukafalls Jet’s marketing manager, Michelle Caldwell, also had some very successful appointments during the event. “We had promising feedback from UK travel wholesalers who are now considering adding Taupo into their itineraries,” she says.

Destination Lake Taupo coordinated the region’s presence at TRENZ, believing that destination marketing is essential for the future of New Zealand’s tourism industry.

“TRENZ gave us a chance to speak directly to key players all of whom were very impressed with the tourism products our region has on offer,” says Destination Lake Taupo’s marketing coordinator, Maggie Sando.

“The purpose of TRENZ is to keep New Zealand top of mind with international travellers” she says. “There was great excitement about impending opening of Hilton Lake Taupo which is a strong signal that we’re on the radar internationally,” she says.