100% Pure Winter Wonderland

Date: 30 June 2009

The 100% Pure New Zealand brand will get a profile boost when it adorns the largest winter sports event in the Southern Hemisphere in August.

The biennial games will take place at Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Cardrona, Snow Farm, Naseby and Dunedin from 21-30 August. It will feature alpine skiing, free skiing, cross country skiing, snowboarding, ice skating and demonstration sports.

Tourism New Zealand’s Chief Executive George Hickton says branding the games as the 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games will provide great international exposure for New Zealand.

Broadcast rights have already been confirmed for Canada, Australia, Germany and some Asian countries. Discussions for US and UK rights are ongoing.

Tourism New Zealand is already working with host broadcaster, Sky Television, to develop footage to showcase New Zealand as a visitor destination as part of the overall Winter Games coverage.

"This event will also be a great hook to work with international media attending the event to ensure they get a real taste of what New Zealand has to offer during winter," says George Hickton.

Last week, Prime Minister and Tourism Minister John Key announced that the Government was investing $1 million in this year’s inaugural Winter Games.

"This is a great example of an exciting, home-grown event with huge potential. The tourism spin-offs in terms of visitor numbers and spending will be significant," John Key said at last week’s Queenstown announcement.

The event will also put New Zealand’s pristine winter landscape on 350 million television screens around the world and attract 800 of the world’s elite winter sports athletes, many of whom will go on to the Winter Olympics. It is expected to generate $50 million into New Zealand’s economy in the first year.

The investment of $1 million comes from the Major Events Development Fund, which John Key said demonstrated the Government’s determination to enhance New Zealand’s reputation as a world-class events destination.

> Read the Prime Minister's media statement about the Winter Games

Source: Tourism New Zealand Feature