New Multimedia Promotional Campaign to Increase Japanese Tourists in New Zealand in 2012

May 24, 2012 - PRLog -- New Zealand has always been a popular tourist destination with older Japanese, but mostly dismissed by younger generations as "the place our parents visit." A new campaign by Tourism New Zealand hopes to change this attitude and make New Zealand a fun, friendly, and desirable vacation destination for younger Japanese.

The "Fun Seeking Friends" is a major marketing push by TNZ to not only make New Zealand more palatable to young people of Japan, but to also increase the numbers of overall tourists from Japan in 2012. The devastating 2011 earthquakes and tsunami has greatly reduced Japanese tourist numbers, but all signs point to a gradual recovery in 2012 as the Japanese economy regains its footing. As more and more Japanese once again begin travelling abroad, Tourism New Zealand hopes to capture this emerging segment and improve its flagging numbers.

Tourism New Zealand Regional Manager for Japan and Korea Nick Mudge was frank about the campaigns goals, stating: "We realized that in order to increase visitor arrivals from the Japanese market we needed to do something radically different." He hopes that the campaign will win the hearts and minds of young adults in Japan by portraying "New Zealand as an accessible, popular and fun place to visit for youthful travellers."

Research has shown that young adults in Japan between the ages of 20-35, who are unmarried, have no children, and have recently graduated university are more likely to travel abroad for fun and adventure. Organisers of the campaign hope to target this audience and entice entirely new segments of the Japanese population to visit New Zealand with the message of "having fun and enjoying oneself."

The "Fun Seeking Friends" campaign utilizes a multi-pronged approach that will highlight the more adventurous side of vacationing in New Zealand to young adults with an active lifestyle. It will highlight New Zealand as the ultimate winter sport destination as well as focus popular outdoor pursuits like hiking and camping and extreme adventure sports like jetboating or bungee jumping.

Campaign organisers also hope to capitalize on the "Yama girls" craze currently sweeping Japan. The trend has young Japanese urbanites dressing up in "cool" mountain gear and going on long hikes in the country, and is a perfect match for New Zealand's legendary tramping trails.

While the main thrust of the campaign is aimed at getting more young people to visit, the organisers are still mindful that the vast majority of tourists from Japan are still older Japanese. With that in mind, regular marketing efforts at wooing older Japanese to travel to New Zealand are also ongoing.

Nick Mudge asserts: "The senior segment continues to be a priority for our activity in Japan. We have recently been working with a popular travel programme in Japan, with material tailored to engage with this market and encourage them to visit New Zealand."

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