Tourism NZ pours $1.7m more into Michelin with global 'invitation to dinner'
Tourism New Zealand has added $1.7 million to its Michelin restaurant guide bill.
The money – on top of a $6.3m investment to bring the guide to four regions for the next three years – will pay for a global “invitation to dinner” campaign.
Rene de Monchy, TNZ’s chief executive, said the campaign would capitalise on Michelin-driven interest in the country’s food and beverage scene.
It centres on 12 videos that will roll out on social media from today, July 1. They feature hospitality operations from across the country, including Auckland’s Orbit 360° Dining restaurant, Wellington brewery Garage Project and Kaikōura roadside crayfish caravan Nin’s Bin.
Associated hosted visits for 40 media, influencers and travel trade ambassadors from 14 territories were currently underway, and a further portion of the additional $1.7m had gone towards supporting the first Michelin Guide restaurant ceremony, held last night at the New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland.
Rene de Monchy, Tourism New Zealand chief executive. Photo / Dean Purcell
De Monchy said total investment in the Michelin Guide and related campaign activity over the next three years was now approximately $8m. That figure comprised $2.3m from TNZ’s baseline funding (about $106m annually) and $5.7m from the International Visitor Levy.
Last November, Tourism New Zealand had announced it was investing $6.3m in three years’ worth of Michelin restaurant guides covering Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown.
De Monchy said food was a big driver of international tourism – Tourism New Zealand data had shown 84% of people considering a holiday in New Zealand claimed trying local cuisine was important to them.
“The Michelin Guide is a great way for us to have real credibility in that space, but we also want to go much broader ... it’s actually really celebrating the food and beverage offering right around the country as part of your holiday in New Zealand.
“You’re going to get a real flavour of that, including Māori cultural dining experiences, nature-based dining experiences, all of those things.”
Black Barn Vineyards in Hawke's Bay will be featured in Tourism NZ's new campaign.
Businesses that would feature in the invitation to dinner campaign were: Velskov (a native forest farm) and Orbit restaurant (Auckland), Muirs Tours (operated in the Bay of Plenty by former New Zealand Māori All Blacks captain Deon Muir), Te Pā Tu (Rotorua), Black Barn vineyard and hospitality retreat (Hawke’s Bay), Greytown Honey, Garage Project (Wellington), Hapuku Kitchen and Nin’s Bin in Kaikōura, Marlborough cruise company Seafood Odyssea and Fiordland’s RealNZ.
“Featuring individual operators helps bring the story to life, but also lifts awareness of the wider destination,” de Monchy said, confirming all video participants had received a $50 per person payment for the shoots, which each took less than a day.
Meanwhile, the hosted “famil” programme, which began before last night’s Michelin guide launch, had involved visits to 11 regions. De Monchy would not list individual participants while they were still in the country, citing “security and safety”. Confirmed mainstream media organisations taking part included Tatler Asia, the Bangkok Post, Australia’s Gourmet Traveller and North America’s Travel Weekly.
De Monchy expected the famil programme to deliver $35m in “estimated media value”.
Kim Knight joined the New Zealand Herald in 2016 and is a senior journalist on its lifestyle desk.
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