KEY POINTS:
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be among 10,000 Britons expected to converge on Tourism New Zealand's giant rugby ball venue when it opens in London tomorrow.
The 25m-long inflatable ball, which first went up in Paris during the final stages of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, is making its second public appearance, on Potters Fields Park near Tower Bridge.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said the ball venue, which took five days to construct and will remain up until December 2, will help to promote the country to one of its key markets - particularly important now as visitor numbers decline.
"At the moment, we seem to be gaining market share but not gaining increased volume, because overall numbers are down out of the UK. But we're certainly increasing New Zealand's profile."
Almost 300,000 Britons a year travel to NZ from the UK, our second largest market for international visitors, and spend close to $1 billion.
But the financial crisis has hit the industry hard. Latest Statistics New Zealand figures show 11,000 less people visited us in September compared with the same month last year - a decline of 6.6 per cent. Visitor numbers from the UK were down 5.3 per cent for the month.
Hickton said the rugby ball venue effectively acts as a giant billboard for New Zealand, and coincides with the end of a major tourism drive in the UK.
The Paris venue drew 25,000 people over two weeks, with a further 138 million seeing the ball or finding out more about New Zealand through articles, TV, radio and the internet.
Hickton said the 2011 Rugby World Cup was an important profile builder for New Zealand.
The credit crunch has already scuppered the construction of hotel and apartment projects in Auckland meant to be ready for an influx of visitors in 2011, but Hickton was not concerned at the possible impact that could have on visitor experience.
"People will cope in a uniquely New Zealand way ... whether it's cruise ships, or home hosting and those sorts of things. And they can be done in a way which adds to the event.
"Most people are coming to New Zealand not because they think we're dripping with five star hotels. They're coming here for the experience of watching rugby in a country that's mad about rugby.
"We found with the Lions tour that some people said, 'Oh, fancy having to use campervans', but the experience was fantastic, because they got out to the regions and met local people."
