Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key announced yesterday Queenstown and Wanaka's tourism promoters would get $463,000 from a marketing pool of $5 million, which will be particularly focused on Australia.
The Government's $5 million will be matched by Regional Tourism Organisations (RTO) like Destination Queenstown and Lake Wanaka Tourism and private sector partners including Air New Zealand.
Destination Queenstown marketing manager Graham Budd was pleased at the announcement.
"We are delighted with the government investment in tourism which matches our funding. It shows how critical the level of funding from our members has been.
"Without sufficient local funding we would not get government support," he said.
The money would be used to expand its autumn and winter campaigns in Australia, which consisted mainly of print and online advertising.
"Our campaign plan has not changed but it allows us to continue what we were doing last year and extend our reach and frequency of advertising in Australia," he said.
The marketing campaign would start next month.
Last year, a record number of Australian tourists visited Queenstown and its ski areas.
"We are aiming for more growth in the Australian market, which has greater potential for sure," Mr Budd said.
Lake Wanaka Tourism general manager James Helmore said it was "pretty exciting" to be able to spread the word about Wanaka more effectively in Australia.
"There is a high awareness of Queenstown but we will be able to use this money to get the message about Wanaka out there," he said.
The recent Air New Zealand decision to increase flights between Australia and Queenstown during the coming ski season would benefit Wanaka, he said.
The Ski Tourism Marketing Network will get $370,000 from the fund to market ski resorts including Coronet Peak, the Remarkables, Cardrona and Treble Cone.
Network spokeswoman Trish May said the campaign would be launched alongside Tourism New Zealand-funded ski activity in February.
Advertising would run in key daily Australian newspapers and online until June.
Banner advertising on Australian websites would direct users to www.newzealandski.co.nz, a website which would be launched in the next two weeks.
The network had already been targeting consumers in New South Wales and Queensland but the extra funding would allow the campaign to expand into Victoria, she said.
The Queenstown Lakes would benefit from increased ski tourists because off-slope activities like spa resorts, vineyards and adventure activities were also an important part of a winter holiday.
Mr Key said the joint venture funding of $10 million would result in RTOs and Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) working together to maximise marketing impact.
"New Zealand is a collection of beautiful but diverse regions, each with its own unique attractions. This is an opportunity for those regions to use their distinctive selling points to attract Australian visitors while ensuring it is co-ordinated with TNZ's 100% Pure New Zealand campaign," he said.
Dunedin will share $250,000 funding with Hamilton-Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
Regional Tourism Organisations New Zealand chairman Don Gunn said the investment would be a fantastic boost to New Zealand, which was coming out of challenging recessionary times.
The flow-on effect of increased visitor numbers would go beyond eight groupings which had been allocated funding to benefit all regions.
Tourism Industry Association (TIA) chief executive Tim Cossar said the New Zealand tourism industry needed to do all it could to ensure its voice was heard in a very competitive international marketplace.
"This money will help attract visitors to New Zealand and, even more importantly, their foreign exchange.
"International visitors spend about $25 million every day of the year and that money is spent throughout communities, from attractions, accommodation and transport through to restaurants and wineries, bars, cinemas, theatres, retail outlets, supermarkets and hairdressers," Mr Cossar said.
"Those visitors then go home and spread the word about New Zealand and its products, further benefiting our export sectors."
