New Zealand got a share of the reality television show The
Bachelor's record-breaking audience this week.
Featuring the Bay of Islands, the two-hour season finale of the
hit show was the most watched programme in the US on Monday night.
With 15.45 million total viewers, this is the best audience rating
the show has had since 2003.
The Bachelor and his dates visited Queenstown in an earlier
episode, which attracted 12.5 million viewers - a 30 per cent
increase on average audience numbers for the previous series.
Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton says
involvement with The Bachelor has brought New Zealand
exposure beyond what could be achieved through regular marketing
activity.
"The US is a tough market to get our message across using
conventional advertising because it is so geographically spread and
intensely competitive.
"Being part of a pop culture phenomenon like The
Bachelor boosts our profile and gives us the opportunity to
showcase New Zealand landscapes and experiences to a huge
audience."
Visits to Tourism New Zealand's website - www.newzealand.com/travel/usa - more than
doubled after the first episode aired on 16 February, and saw a
further boost following the screening of the finale on Monday
night.
In an exclusive interview with Tourism New Zealand, the Bachelor
Jason Mesnick and his new love talk about their New Zealand
experience as "incredibly romantic".
Following on the tail of The Bachelor broadcast,
Tourism New Zealand will launch a fresh take on its 100% Pure New
Zealand advertising campaign in the US from 9 March. 'The New
Zealand Life Back Promise' airs on the Discovery Channel Network
and includes a series of short documentaries.
Find
out more about 'The Life Back Promise' campaign.
Read more
about the US in the online market guide.