Kia ora 

Message from the CEO

It's trade show season and this year brings particularly exciting opportunities for our region. With the opening of two major new commissionable visitor products in the past month, we'll be taking time and space travel to the trade in the form of ZEALANDIA:The Exhibition and Carter Observatory. The timely launch of these fantastic attractions is the product of the hard work and dedication of a number of parties. Congratulations and thank you to all involved. 

Cheers,

Pictured: ZEALANDIA Chief Executive Nancy McIntosh-Ward, Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key and Fran Wilde of Greater Wellington Regional Council at the opening of ZEALANDIA: The Exhibition. If you haven't been already, head to the award-winning sanctuary's new visitor centre to see what they're looking at. PHOTO: Des Pitfield.

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Australian Campaign Proving a Hit

Visits to the Australia pages of WellingtonNZ.com have surged 160% following the launch of the 'There's No Place Like Wellington' campaign.

Over 8000 more people visited the site in the first three weeks of April compared to the same period last year. Over 11,500 of the total visits have been from people who haven't checked out our site before.

Following the launch on television at the end of March, the full 60 second advert is now showing in Sydney cinemas and flight deal adverts are running online.

Tactical activity

:: Over 950 flights to Wellington were sold in Pacific Blue's recent '30 cm Closer' campaign. This was the second highest number in the nationwide campaign.

:: The repeat of Air New Zealand's successful 'The Big Shout' campaign has just finished up. With the offer of two free domestic flights with every trans-Tasman purchase, this was a great opportunity to promote the connection between Wellington and our fabulous regional partners.

:: Check out what we're doing with Wotif - Australasia's largest online travel agent.

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Wellington On a Plate Serves Second Course

Restaurants, foodies and event organisers are being invited to serve up something special for the Wellington On a Plate festival's second course.

Applications for the 2010 festival close on Friday so if you haven't already, find out how you or your business can be involved.

Participating restaurants reported between 20-60% increases in lunchtime covers during DINE Wellington, and a number of the festival's 30 events sold out within days of the programme being released.

:: Register for DINE
:: Submit a festival event

Spoil Yourself Extension Getting Ultimate Results

Over 4500 entries have already been made into a new competition-led  extension of the Spoil Yourself campaign.

Ultimate Wellington Weekends, which has been designed to showcase how varied the Wellington experience can be, has received over 18,000 visits in the month since it launched.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the $12,000 prize pool and helped promote the competition through your own channels; our NZ Marketing Manager Jamie Crump may make his acting debut in one of the films, but you're the real stars!

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Wellington Stands Out at Exhibition Awards

The Wellington trade show exhibition space won a gold award at the NZ Sign and Display Association Awards this month.

Positively Raving

It was a tough job, but someone had to do it. Next magazine's new food editor Julie Le Clerc (pictured) and writers from North and South, Sydney Morning Herald and Yahoo!7 joined us for a Wellington On a Plate preview this month.

Thanks to Bolton Hotel, Urban Harvest, Osteria del Toro, Zest Food Tours, Matterhorn, Logan Brown, Martin Bosley's, Martha's Pantry, Hawthorn Lounge, Boulcott Street Bistro, City Market, our friends at Destination Wairarapa, Bar Salute and Parehua Martinborough Country Estate for helping put together a fun and food-filled weekend.

Pictured: Julie Le Clerc at Cupcakes & Cocktails at Martha's Pantry. PHOTO: Nicola Edmonds.

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Positively Briefly: Industry events

This week:

:: Industry Update - Wednesday
A reminder that the Tourism New Zealand Roadshow 2010 presentation is on Wednesday. David Perks will give an update on the Australia campaign and our take on markets further afield, while Kevin Bowler will talk about Tourism New Zealand's market selection priorities and strategic direction.

Date: Wednesday 28 April
Time: 10.30am - 1.15pm
Venue: Adam Auditorium, City Gallery
RSVP: Should be in by now, but still feel free to let us know if you'd like to come.

Next week:

:: Domestic Tourism Research Presentation - Wednesday
Want to market more effectively to New Zealanders? The Ministry of Tourism, in association with Angus and Associates, are going to share their latest domestic marketing intelligence and show you how to apply it. A 'must attend' if you're interested in the domestic market.

Date: Wednesday 5 May
Time: 1:00pm - 4.15pm
Venue: Museum Hotel, Tamburini Room, ground floor
RSVP: to Michael Grace before Friday

Wellington City Guest Nights and Arrivals

Guest Nights	Feb 10	Change from Feb 09	Year-end Feb 10	Change from year-end Feb 09
Total	196,169	8.17%	2,028,362	2.85%
Domestic	118,787	13.87%	1,324,340	4.85%
International	77,382	0.46%	704,021	-0.73%

Guest Arrivals	Feb 10	Change from Feb 09	Year-end Feb 09	Change from year-end Feb 10
Total	104,036	6.08%	1,044,107	0.59%

Source: Commercial Accommodation Monitor (CAM), Statistics NZ.
For more national tourism statistics visit the Ministry of Tourism's research website

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