Australia’s Travel Writer wins with Kaikoura story

Australia’s Travel Writer of 2009 wins with Kaikoura feature story

NZ-born and now Australian based travel writer and Author Louise Southerden has been acclaimed by her peers as Australia’s Travel Writer of the year for her detailed feature on Kaikoura’s eco-Tourism appeal published in newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Her visit to NZ was inspired and co-ordinated by Simon McManus of McManus Tourism Communications, on behalf of Hapuku Lodge & Tree Houses with support from Air New Zealand. Many tourism companies in Kaikoura hosted Louise during her stay so she was able to experience the region and its many eco-friendly attractions fully.

“Having planned and organised Louise’s visit to Kaikoura and stay at Hapuku Lodge & Tree Houses our reward came in the quality of exposure which followed. The Sydney Morning Herald and the Age are the two premium daily newspapers in Australia with over 2 million readers in print and a large number of online readers” says McManus. “Australia is our most important tourism market and quality feature stories in Australian newspapers provide inspiration for travellers to visit Kaikoura and New Zealand. In the downturn Australian market for tourism has become even more important, and pleasingly we are reaching record numbers in 2009 compared to 2008 . “Many Australians are very comfortable researching and booking their New Zealand travel direct so getting information about Kaikoura in front of consumers is vital.”

As part of a strategy of expanding media relationships in Australia, McManus Tourism Communications builds strong relationships with writers to understand their own interests. This enables the writer to delve deeper, understand the uniqueness of a region and write a story that is more compelling. “We carefully planned Louise’s five day stay around her passion for the environment including booking interviews with Kaikoura’s local council, and even more unusually, a trip to the Kaikoura refuse and recycle centre. Angles of Kaikoura’s green globe dedication, Hapuku Lodge’s Tree Houses and Air New Zealand’s own eco-credentials rounded out a thoroughly authentic and inspiring eco-tourism experience.”

"I love that the winning story was on Kaikoura. New Zealand's South Island is one of my favourite places in the world and when I visited Kaikoura earlier this year, I was deeply impressed by its eco-sensibilities, and the way a consciousness of its natural environment, and Maori heritage, infuses the whole town and its tourism offerings. Thanks, Kaikoura, for giving me such great material to work with," says Louise Southerden.

The award winning travel feature is available on the recent media results page of the McManus Tourism Communications website.
http://www.mcmanus.co.nz/recent_media_results.htm

ENDS

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