NZ Voted the Coolest Place on the Planet

NZ Voted the Coolest Place on the Planet

New Zealand has been voted the world's coolest travel destination by British style project CoolBrands, beating out such hotspots as Morocco, Fiji and the Maldives.

Run by British consultancy Superbrands, the poll was judged by a panel of 23 style judges from the fashion, arts and entertainment sectors, as well as an online survey.

Acting manager of House of Travel's inbound wholesaler Magnetic South, Derek Green, believes the attraction lies in the mixture of New Zealand's natural beauty and outdoor activities, mixed with an ever-expanding range of accommodation, cuisine, and cultural and tourism experiences.

"The United Kingdom is New Zealand's second largest inbound tourism market and these visitors tend to be interested in exploring the lesser-known regions as well as the top-selling destinations of Queenstown, Rotorua, the Bay of Islands, Westland and Fiordland."

Magnetic South currently offers more than 600 accommodation options and deals with nearly 200 tourism providers across the country, covering both mainstream and "off the beaten track" attractions and destinations.

It is a great honour to be voted the hippest destination, especially against such tough competition, says Green.

"The win is great publicity for the New Zealand tourism industry overseas and should encourage further visitors, as people want to stay in places that have won awards and been in the media. House of Travel and Magnetic South are proudly Kiwi owned and operated and we are hoping that this vote will encourage New Zealanders to think about a holiday in their own country."

Magnetic South has been selected as the inbound operator for Europe's largest travel providers - TUI Germany. Magnetic South will provide a wide range of New Zealand product such as self-drive programmes, city packages, guided tours with German speaking guides, city-to-city tours and more than 50 individual hotels. The company will also look at introducing adventure activities and product to younger travellers in the coming years.

New Zealand was also voted best destination in British industry bible Conde Nast Traveller magazine in September. ENDS

The House of Travel Group has forecasted turnover in 2006 in excess of $700m, it has 90 retail outlets (with specialist corporate and leisure travel outlets) throughout New Zealand, its own award winning aggregated booking website www.houseoftravel.co.nz and two wholesale companies (both inbound and outbound). It employs in excess of 1,100 people and is privately owned (by New Zealander Chris Paulsen) and operated since it was established in 1987.

ENDS

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