$2m call to backpackers

Visitors are being encouraged to "go all the way" to New Zealand through a new $2 million marketing campaign targeting the backpacker market.

Tourism New Zealand yesterday launched the campaign in Auckland at the first conference for backpacker-related tourism businesses.

The chief executive of Tourism New Zealand, George Hickton, said it had targeted backpackers in the past but this was the first time it had come up with a branding device.

The campaign will mainly run online via social networking site Bebo and will focus on the Northern Hemisphere markets of Britain and Europe before the coming summer season.

Mr Hickton hoped it would help to boost backpacker numbers up to where they were a few years ago around the 200,000 people a year mark.

But the campaign has received a mixed reaction from the backpacker business lobby group.

NZbackpack.com chairman Daniel Shields described it as a "work in progress". "It's a bit rough and ready at the moment but that is to be expected."

Mr Shields said he was encouraged by the collaborative approach Tourism New Zealand had taken with the campaign, by consulting the group and actual backpackers, but believed there was room for improvement.