KEY POINTS:
Foreign tourists just love shopping at The Warehouse, a magazine survey has found.
Readers of Arrival Magazine gave retail preference for Stephen Tindall's cut-price Red Sheds, a much-preferred spot for everyone to get a bargain than fellow finalists Farmers, Pak'N Save, New World and Auckland's Victoria Park Market.
It was a result which surprised Arrival Magazine publisher Mike Taillie.
"While The Warehouse is a household name [here], we wouldn't have expected travellers to name it as their favourite place to shop in New Zealand," he said.
The survey also found that tourists' favourite beer was Speights and most popular wine was Montana.
Sky City was the favourite destination in Auckland and Zorb in Rotorua topped the list for the North Island outside Auckland.
The South Island's must see was Whale Watch Kaikoura.
Auckland was the favourite region, ahead of Rotorua, Queenstown, Christchurch and Taupo.
Arrival Magazine said it surveyed more than 2000 overseas visitors from 80 countries.
Mr Taillie said some areas suffered from a lack of brand recognition.
"While many people said their favourite activity was, for example, bungy jumping, or Waitomo Caves, few mentioned brands associated with these activities, meaning that we couldn't identify which operator was involved," he said.
"More than 50 per cent of overseas visitors have been to New Zealand before so brand recognition is hugely important for tourism operators in order to ensure repeat business and recommendations to other travellers.
"Mentioning that someone 'must go whale watching' as opposed to 'must go whale watching in Kaikoura,' makes a critical difference."
Mr Taillie said the important thing about the Traveller's Choice awards was that they were determined by overseas visitors and not by the tourism industry itself.
"International visitors spend $8.3 billion annually in New Zealand, so understanding their behaviours and opinions is critical to our economy.
"We hope that these awards will continue to give us essential insight into New Zealand tourism into the future."
Tourist traps
* Favourite Retailer: The Warehouse. Finalists: Farmers, Pak'N Save, Victoria Park Market, New World.
* Wine: Montana. Finalists: Church Road, Oyster Bay, Waitiri Creek.
* Beer: Speights. Finalists: Tui, Lion Red, Steinlager, Monteiths.
* Auckland attraction: Sky City. Finalists: Kelly Tarltons, Auckland Museum.
* North Island attraction: Zorb Rotorua. Finalists: Te Papa, Te Puia, Waiotapu, Huka Jet.
* South Island attraction: Whale Watch Kaikoura. Finalist: Shotover Jet.
* Region: Auckland. Finalists: Rotorua, Queenstown, Christchurch, Taupo. Big Red Sheds tourists' favourite Kiwi retailer
- NZPA
