Northland Makes TIME World’s Greatest Places Of 2021 List

Northland has been named in TIME’s third annual list of the World’s Greatest Places.

The list highlights unique destinations from all over the world from hugely popular tourist hot spots like Cairo, Athens and New York City to less known, off the beaten track locales like the Portuguese town of Arouca.

GM Destination for Northland Inc, Tania Burt, welcomes the news: “It is wonderful to see Tai Tokerau Northland recognised in this list. Through the challenges of the last year, our region has continued to innovate and launch new, high quality tourism experiences and it is fantastic to see these businesses, and Northland, acknowledged by one of the world’s most well-known, reputable international brands. We hope Tai Tokerau Northland’s inclusion in this list will help keep the region top of mind for international consumers planning future trips abroad when the time is right and remind our domestic visitors that what we have to offer a visitor is truly world-class. The regional tourism team at Northland Inc are also developing content with a new international media partner to further support this message in key markets”.

Every location on the list has a description of why they were selected. Northland’s ‘legendary experiences’ were highlighted as the reason for it being a desirable tourism destination. New Māori cultural experiences Manea Footprints of Kupe, Ngawha Springs and Te Ahurea were mentioned by name, alongside the iconic Poor Knights Islands.

Manea Footprints of Kupe GM Shane Lloyd said: “We are deeply honoured to be represented in such an esteemed publication alongside some pretty remarkable destinations in the world. We are looking forward to welcoming international visitors as soon as it is safe, especially to Northland.”

The World’s Greatest Places list is compiled by TIME solicited nominations of places—including countries, regions, cities and towns—from its international network of correspondents and contributors, with an eye toward those offering new and exciting experiences.

TIME has recognised in an explanation on their website where they share detail around the process for selecting these 100 travel destinations, that it is especially significant for the places that have made this year’s list given the challenges that the tourism industry has been faced with in the wake of COVID-19. “In many ways, our third annual list of the World’s Greatest Places is a tribute to the people and businesses at the forefront of those industries who, amid extraordinary circumstances, found ways to adapt, build and innovate. It shines a light on ingenuity, creativity, revitalization and reopenings in destinations across the world.”

Northland joins Christchurch as the only New Zealand locations to join this prestigious list.

The full list can be found at https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places-2021

and on the shelves worldwide from 23 July.

The new visitor experiences highlighted in this feature have been supported through their inclusion in the Tai Tokerau Northland Economic Action Plan as significant projects for the region’s visitor industry and have received capital investment from the Provincial Growth Fund.

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