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WellingtonNZ has landed $594,902 to put the Classic New Zealand Wine and Food Trail in front of high-value Australian travellers, one of six regional campaigns sharing a $5 million government fund aimed at spreading tourism benefits into the regions ahead of the 2026–27 peak season.
Rather than splitting the money between the four regions- Wellington, Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough and Wairarapa, WellingtonNZ has spread the campaign around a number of commercial partners. Todd Barberel, general manager Destination, Marketing and Communications at WellingtonNZ, says this will “drive travellers to experience the Classic New Zealand Wine & Food Trail, which all the regions are a part of.”
Those partners are each targeting a different stage of the trip, from booking a flight through to spending once visitors are on the ground. “Webjet flight stimulation activity will increase arrivals into Wellington as the gateway to the trail, while the Flight Centre partnership will upweight the Classic New Zealand Wine & Food Trail and Wellington itineraries as part of an existing Tourism New Zealand campaign. The TripAdvisor partnership will promote the trail’s accommodation, hospitality and visitor experiences to incentivise bookings. A targeted Mindshare campaign will reach active travel considerers and direct audiences to New Zealand travel content, further strengthening the trail’s appeal in key markets,” Todd says.
The campaign is also designed to push spending past the trip itself. “Wine Collective Direct activity will encourage wine purchases during their stay and extend the economic impact beyond tourism alone and into export,” he says. Complementary deals with transport partners including Interislander, Avis/Budget and Great Journeys New Zealand will encourage visitors to explore more of the trail regions, extending the economic benefits of tourism and supporting growth for businesses and communities.
Three of the six funded campaigns are chasing Australian travellers, raising the question of whether WellingtonNZ’s push risks competing for the same audience. Todd says the campaign has been built to sidestep that overlap.
“Our campaign is deliberately focused on attracting high-value travellers who are more likely to stay longer, spend more, and engage with the types of hospitality and tourism experiences on offer on the Classic New Zealand Wine & Food Trail,” he says. “Alongside reaching new audiences, we are also re-targeting consumers who engaged with our previous campaign earlier this year, allowing us to build on existing awareness and intent. We have also proactively engaged with the wider RTO network, Regional Tourism New Zealand, and Tourism New Zealand to ensure we are maximising our opportunities and avoiding clashes with others.”
The spring start is also deliberate, timed around how far ahead Australians book.
“We have opted for activity to launch in spring taking into consideration the lead time that occurs between booking and undertaking travel. We have also considered flight capacity into Wellington and the strong accommodation capacity that exists across the region, making this an opportune time to stimulate demand and convert travel intent into bookings,” Todd says.
“The Classic New Zealand Wine & Food Trail is a proven and popular product for Australians and we’re expecting to drive in excess of $6 million in visitor spend across the trail regions.”
