British travellers still love New Zealand, voting the country
their third favourite destination in this year's
Wanderlust travel awards.
Readers of the top independent travel magazine rated New Zealand
94.5 out of 100, only slightly below the top two destinations
Namibia (95.1) and Oman (94.8)
Tourism New Zealand Regional Manager UK and Europe Gregg
Anderson said the placing will stand New Zealand in good stead as
segments of the British market start travelling again.
"Travel to New Zealand from the UK has been hit hard by the
economic downturn, so it's reassuring to see that, despite the
recession, New Zealand remains popular with British travellers," he
said.
"Wanderlust readers are particularly well-travelled, so
their high satisfaction with New Zealand holidays reflects the
tourism industry's work to ensure a quality visitor
experience."
Wanderlust Editor-in-Chief Lyn Hughes said the award
was well-deserved for a world-class destination like New
Zealand.
"New Zealand has long been a favourite with our readers, as well
as my own," she said.
"We saw its breathtaking scenery and the now world-famous
kakapo star in the BBC's
Last Chance to See series, which was another winner in
our awards, voted by our readers as their favourite TV series this
year."
New Zealand's Bronze award follows on from 2008, when the
country was named in first place. We also won Bronze in 2006.
The awards recognise a range of destinations, travel services
and media. One surprise this year was readers' higher levels of
satisfaction with travel websites than traditional guidebooks.
Lyn Hughes said there was a "significant gap" between the top
guidebook series and the most favoured website in the awards.
"The pace of change in travel has never been faster," she said.
"These results show traditional guidebooks struggling to compete
with blogs and websites which can be updated dozens of times each
hour."
More than 2,000 readers voted in this year's awards. Full
details of award winners will be published in the February edition
of Wanderlust, as well as on the Wanderlust
website.
Read more
about the UK market in our online market guide
Find out about New Zealand's
other award-winning ways