Australian Visitor Arrivals to Wellington Exceed National Growth in 2010

A record 17,980 Australians arrived in Wellington in December, capping off a year that saw the ‘coolest little capital in the world’ exceed national growth in visitor arrivals from across the ditch.

According to the International Visitor Arrivals report, 5.5% more Australians flew into Wellington last year than in 2009. This compared to a national increase of 3.4%; Wellington’s growth was the largest of the country’s three major centres.

The increase in visitation follows the launch of new regional marketing joint ventures - championed by Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key - early last year.

Positively Wellington Tourism has been targeting its There’s No Place Like Wellington campaign on the Sydney market. This resulted in a 7% increase in arrivals from New South Wales in 2010, compared to growth of 3% nationally.

“Wellington is proving attractive and There’s No Place Like Wellington campaign is proving effective,” says PWT Chief Executive David Perks. “By combining tactical offers with the region’s culinary and cultural stories, we are both driving short-term visitation and building the brand long-term.”

Wellington’s high growth months that saw double digit growth were June, July and November – all of which fell within a four to six week booking window of significant campaign initiatives and ad placements. As well as the high profile WLG pop-up restaurant, the 2010 campaign incorporated television, cinema and online brand advertising, tactical marketing with online travel agents, online search and media hosting.

Visits to WellingtonNZ.com by Australians surged 90% to almost 150,000 in 2010, Mr Perks says.

* High resolution photos of WLG pop up restaurant and campaign artwork available on request. Just flick me an email.

 

Notes to editors:

‘There’s No Place Like Wellington’ 2010 in numbers:
-          Media reach of over 5 million
-          Over 460,000 Sydneysiders in Wellington’s target audience saw the TV advertisement at least twice
-          90% increase in Australian visits to WellingtonNZ.com
-          15,000 accommodation nights booked through tactical activity with wotif.com
-          Over 2000 return flights booked through joint marketing with airlines
-          16% increase in air capacity SYD-WLG
-          WLG was the fastest selling event to date on timeoutsydney.com and the most blogged about restaurant in Australia in September 2010.
-          28 media and 100 trade hosted
-          77% Sydneysiders surveyed after seeing campaign reckoned Wellington had a lot to offer.
-          The campaign was shortlisted in some Asia advertising awards we’d never heard of.

 

Positively Wellington Tourism (PWT)

PWT is the regional tourism organisation for Wellington. It is a council-controlled organisation primarily funded by Wellington City Council through the Downtown Levy, a targeted rate paid by commercial ratepayers in downtown Wellington.

 

Wellington Tourism statistics

·          The visitor sector contributes $1.4 billion in expenditure per annum to the region’s economy, an average of $3.8 million per day. That’s quite a bit.

·          Visitor expenditure in Wellington accounts for approximately 10% of Wellington’s regional domestic product, which we think is quite nice.

·          Wellington city has approximately 8 million visitor nights per year.