Vogue takes a shine to New Zealand

By SIMON HENDERY tourism writer

Fashion magazine Vogue is advising Australians to visit New Zealand for a bit of culture.

Vogue Australia's August edition, on sale this week, devotes 30 pages to New Zealand fashion, art and music.

The spread, in a magazine with an Australian circulation of 55,000, is being viewed as a marketing coup by Tourism New Zealand, which funded the magazine's visit.

Chief executive George Hickton said the feature would help reposition New Zealand as a sophisticated destination for Australians.

"Past research has shown that many Australians don't know about New Zealand modern culture."

Tourism New Zealand and Air New Zealand are six months into a two-year campaign to lure more Australians across the Tasman for "short break" holidays.

Mr Hickton said the "In five days you'll feel 100 per cent" campaign was paying off and Australian visitor numbers were a record 39,000 last month.

In the year to May, 600,000 Australians travelled to New Zealand, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year. They spent more than $900 million while here.

A survey of 1000 Australians, conducted two months into the short breaks campaign, found 46 per cent considered New Zealand an ideal place to take a five- to seven-day holiday, compared with 40 per cent before the campaign began.

The magazine feature, NZ: State of a Fashionable Nation, includes profiles on designers Kate Sylvester and Karen Walker and on artist Michael Parekowhai, whose work will be exhibited at Pittsburgh's Andy Warhol Gallery next month.

Vogue Australia editor Kirstie Clements said that while New Zealand was well known as a global force in fashion and design, the amount of creativity the magazine encountered here was overwhelming.

"From our experience, all New Zealanders are cerebral, thoughtful, friendly and creative people with beautiful, quirky homes, enviable art collections and great clothes."