Press Releases

Rugby World Cup 2011 will be a chance to experience and relive New Zealand’s rich rugby heritage with a series of REAL New Zealand Festival nostalgic exhibitions and events surrounding the tournament.

Tourism New Zealand’s giant rugby ball will stand on home ground for the first time – alongside The Cloud in the heart of Auckland’s party central on Queen’s Wharf during Rugby World Cup 2011.

It took a while but the snow has finally arrived, dusting off Coronet Peak ski area in time for the concluding days of the 2011 Queenstown Winter Festival.

Teams arriving in New Zealand for Rugby World Cup 2011 will be embraced by the warmth of the local culture from the moment they arrive in their host regions.

The 'coolest little capital in the world' is proving that it’s also New Zealand’s hottest in the kitchen with the biggest-ever ‘Wellington on a Plate’ festival.

‘Happy Feet’ – the Antarctic emperor penguin that made New Zealand visitor arrival history by finding its way to a North Island beach – continues its fight for life under the watchful eye of Kiwi medics and conservation experts.

Kaikoura – New Zealand’s southern whale watching capital – has become the first destination in the world to achieve gold in a new global green benchmark for community sustainability efforts.

Classic Kiwi icons will get the WOW treatment when the wonderfully quirky World of WearableArt Awards Show steps out in Wellington for the 2011 season.

With 85,000 international visitors in the country, Rugby World Cup will showcase New Zealand to a global audience of discerning travellers – and, away from the rugby field, it’s Kiwi food and wine that’s likely to attract the most sustained interest.

Shrek the New Zealand sheep that lived a hermit’s life in South Island high country and died an international celebrity, is likely to find a distinguished resting place at Te Papa – Museum of New Zealand.