Cycle trail footage for tourism boost

A tourism New Zealand special focus on cycling has seen the Otago Central Rail Trail playing host to a film crew this week and the footage it produces is set to go international.

The video will be one of a series on the country's Great Rides. Tourism New Zealand will use the series primarily for offshore campaign work.

Tourism New Zealand director of marketing Andrew Fraser said the organisation was working to attract more international tourists to New Zealand and participate in cycling-based holidays.

He said cyclists had been identified as one of the priority special-interest groups for Tourism New Zealand, as they tended to spend more and stay longer, providing increased value to the economy.

''From our research we know that over the past five years approximately 318,000 international tourists participated in a cycling activity. On average, these travellers spend close to $4000 per trip, compared to $2500 for all other visitors.''

Tourism Central Otago staff and Trail Journeys managing director Neville Grubb have been working with the film crew, as have locals who will appear in the video. Tourism Central Otago will also use the footage in its campaign work.

Tourism Central Otago market support, Alison Mason, said it was ''exciting to know that there will be a high-quality video production available for promoting the iconic rail trail visitor experience.''