Former Miss Universe Indonesia promotes New Zealand in tourism campaign

Miss Indonesia 2004 Artika Sari Devi, right, crowns the winner of Miss Indonesian Beauty Pageant 2005 Nadine Chandrawinata of Jakarta. Photo / AP

A former Miss Universe Indonesia is promoting New Zealand in her homeland as part of a tourism campaign targeting the fast-growing market.

More than 1.6 million Indonesians enjoyed scenes from the South Island last month when the first episode of My Trip My Adventure, co-hosted by Nadine Chandrawinata, Tourism New Zealand's tourism advocate in Indonesia, went to air.

A second South Island episode will air on July 16.

Indonesian celebrity Nadine Chandrawinata sky-dives in the South Island. Photo / Supplied

Chandrawinata is well known in Indonesia as an actress, model and in 2006 represented Indonesia in the Miss Universe pageant.

The Indonesian market is growing quickly for New Zealand.

For the year ending May this year, 21,248 Indonesians visited New Zealand, an increase of 26.1 per cent on the previous year. "The success of the three-episode special filmed over 10 days in the North Island last year proved that travel shows work well in the Indonesian market, so we were pleased to welcome

My Trip My Adventure

back to New Zealand," said Steven Dixon, Tourism NZ's regional manager for south and southeast Asia.

"Indonesia is a key market for New Zealand, and continues to show promising growth." Chandrawinata also spent 10 action-packed days in the South Island recently.

Miss Peru, Fiorella Vinas, Miss Indonesia, Nadine Chandrawinata and Miss Czech Republic, Renata Langmannova, three of the 2006 Miss Universe Contestants. Photo / Getty Images

"To find the right fit for this project we conducted opinion leader research in the Indonesian market. We were confident that Nadine's celebrity status in Indonesia and her genuine passion for culture, nature and the outdoors made her an excellent fit for our brand, and our research solidified this with Nadine the top performer of all our evaluations.''

Chandrawinata has one million Instagram followers and content was also shared on My Trip My Adventure's Instagram account, which has almost three million followers.

Highlights of the South Island episodes include a walk on the Tasman Glacier, punting on the Avon River, a Ridgeline Adventures Tour in Wanaka and a Hydro Attack experience on Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown. The combined estimated advertising value of the two episodes is $1.2 million.

Chandrawinata said the South Island exceeded all her expectations.

"I had an incredible time in New Zealand. We saw so much, everything is so close. I went skydiving and bungy jumping for the first time and enjoyed beautiful scenery such as Lake Tekapo and Wanaka."

The South Island campaign follows filming for two shows in the North Island last year.

Indonesia is New Zealand's 25th biggest visitor market.