With Alert Level 2 promising more freedom to reconnect with friends, family and travel, there is no better time to rediscover the secrets of the south!

Southland’s Regional Development Agency, Great South, has partnered with Destination Fiordland to launch phase two of its Together Southland campaign and is encouraging Southlanders to rediscover and share their favourite places across Southland and Fiordland.

Great South GM for Tourism and Events, Bobbi Brown, said with increased travel allowed at Alert Level 2, Southlanders now had an exciting opportunity to rediscover the magic of the Southland region.

“We are excited to launch this part of the campaign to highlight the many reasons we all choose to live in this slice of paradise and to remind our community of all the incredible places to visit within a short distance of each of our doorsteps,”

Targeting Southlanders, the campaign aims to motivate exploration and rediscovery through local ambassadors sharing their favourite Southland spots or hidden gems and uploading these to social media.

The campaign, which will consist of videos and photos as well as user-generated content will launch today, with different sub-region highlighted each day, beginning with the incredible Fiordland on Friday 15 May 2020

Mrs Brown said this phase of the campaign builds on the region’s unified response to supporting local business and will play a significant role in helping to re-start the local tourism industry.

“We are focused on developing marketing initiatives that drive awareness of the amazing places, experiences and stories that can be found right here in Southland and providing our local business with more customers,”

The announcement that Invercargill Airport is now reopen for passenger flights is also set to play a significant role in encouraging this travel and connecting domestic travellers with Invercargill – the gateway to Southland.

Destination Fiordland Manager Madeleine Peacock said after a significant period of travel restrictions she was confident Southlanders would soon be taking the opportunity to rediscover their favourite southern spots and reconnect with friends and family

“Southland is home to some incredible places and experiences and after being confined to your local neighbourhood now’s the best time to get out, rediscover and share what Southland has on offer – it's good for us and good for our economy, "she said

Together, Great South and Destination Fiordland are encouraging Southlanders to explore, rediscover and share their favourite southern spots and memories with them over the next three weeks via the SouthlandNZ Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/NZsouthland/).

“We’re looking forward to enjoying a virtual road trip of our own through seeing everyone’s favourite spots and hearing about the memories associated with our wonderful region,” Mrs Peacock said.

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