The world's first Twitchhiker has travelled from Newcastle in the
UK to Stewart Island and is now on his way home, generating plenty
of publicity for New Zealand in the process.
Thanks to the goodwill of New Zealand Twitter-users, 33 year old
British journalist Paul Smith has completed his mission: to travel
as far as he could in one month using only offers of transport and
accommodation made through social networking website Twitter.
Paul Smith arrived in New Zealand on 23 March, after flying
courtesy of Air New Zealand from Los Angeles. He then made his way
down to Wellington and travelled south in his Maui campervan.
During his trip he raised nearly GBP5,000 for charity.
He shared his thoughts on New Zealand with YouTube viewers from
Tourism New Zealand's
'Have Your Say' mobile studio while in Queenstown last week. Watch the video here.
He describes New Zealand as one of the most amazing places he
has ever been.
"It's like seeing the world in HD because everywhere you look
when you're out and about there are so many textures and colours
and shapes. There are far too many to squeeze into your eyes. It's
amazing."
Almost 11,000 Twitter-users followed the Twitchhiker on his
travels across the globe and many more heard about his exploits
through the media. Coverage of the Twitchhiker's adventure included
interviews on ABC's Good Morning America, the BBC, Sky
News and TV3's Campbell Live and stories in the Los
Angeles Times, the Guardian (UK), www.msnbc.com, the
Telegraph (UK - includes 'Have Your Say' YouTube video)
and various New Zealand newspapers.
Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton says the
Twitchhiker's visit has been a big publicity boost for New
Zealand.
"This has been a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of New
Zealand in some of our key markets, including the US and UK. The
fact that New Zealanders were so keen to get behind the initiative
is a credit to our generosity as Kiwis and certainly sent a strong
message about our spirit of Manaakitanga, or hospitality"
The Twitchhiker's video diary on Tourism New Zealand's 'Have Your Say' YouTube channel has been viewed
nearly 600 times.
The 'Have Your Say' mobile studio is about to begin its final
month on the road. So far, over 1,000 video messages from
international visitors have been uploaded to YouTube and viewed a
total of around 80,000 times.
The fully-equipped mobile studio - a converted shipping
container on the back of a flat bed truck - has been on the road
since January. It will make a total of 40 stops on its journey,
with the aim of spreading positive word-of-mouth about New Zealand
by capturing as many video messages from international visitors as
possible.
The mobile studio is in Alexandra in Central Otago today. It
will then be in Wanaka on Thursday and Friday this week, before
moving across to the West Coast on Sunday