WellingtonNZ.com,
New Zealand 

They say a change is as good as a holiday, but Kiwis can’t stay away from Wellington when it comes to choosing their favourite destination.

The Fly Buys/Colmar Brunton Mood of the New Zealand Traveller Survey, released by the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) today, found that Wellington was the preferred New Zealand destination for a winter holiday, followed by Christchurch and Auckland. Queenstown and Nelson rounded out the top five.

Positively Wellington Tourism Chief Executive David Perks says news the inaugural destination of choice back was on top was timely, with the tourism industry currently in the midst of its annual international showcase.

“New Zealanders are incredibly important to Wellington’s tourism industry and clearly Wellington is just as important to New Zealanders – that’s a great message to be able to share with international trade as consumer trends continue to shift towards visitors wanting to travel like locals rather than tourists.”

Domestic commercial guest nights in the city have increased 73% to 1.3 million over the past decade and the local market was pivotal to the capital’s visitor numbers holding strong throughout the economic downturn, Mr Perks says.

Wellington-based Fly Buys CEO Andy Symons says Wellington was once again the country’s favourite destination despite the pull of the ski fields near Queenstown and Christchurch in winter.

“It seems Wellington’s charms are irresistible, whether it’s a major sporting event at the stadium, visiting Te Papa, or taking in a show the capital is a Kiwi favourite,” Mr Symons says.

Mr Perks says new attractions ZEALANDIA: The Exhibition and Carter Observatory – as well as the city’s events calendar – will be key players in attracting visitors to Wellington this winter.

“Queen’s Birthday is set to sizzle with the opening of the Meridian Season of Carmen at St James Theatre and the second year of the Wellington On a Plate culinary festival will see its menu double in August.”

With South African teams dominating the Super 14, the All Blacks will have everything to prove in the Tri Nations test against the Springboks at Westpac Stadium on July 17. 

Notes to editors:

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.
• Visitor expenditure in Wellington accounts for approximately 10% of Wellington’s regional domestic product.
• Wellington city has approximately 8 million visitor nights per year.
• In the decade to the end of 2009, domestic commercial guest nights in Wellington city increased by 73% to 1.3 million.

Mood of the Traveller Survey
The Mood of the Traveller Survey is a quarterly survey conducted by Colmar Brunton of 1,000 New Zealanders aged 18+. This survey was carried out online from 5 – 12 May 2010. The results have been post-weighted so they are representative of the age, gender and location of the New Zealand population.