New Zealand has been voted the top destination in the world in the biggest annual independent survey of the British travelling public.
New Zealand was voted the Favourite Destination Worldwide in the Telegraph Travel Awards 2007.
New Zealand Tourism Minister Damien O’Connor said since the launch of the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign in 2000, there has been a 61 per cent increase in the number of Britons travelling to New Zealand.
“An award like this is a great accolade for New Zealand and for our hard working tourism industry. The fact that our customers are the voters means the award is an authentic assessment of the quality of our tourism offer,” said Mr O’Connor.
The United Kingdom is New Zealand’s second largest market for visitor arrivals, contributing 300,000 visitors during the past year.
Mr O’Connor said the UK was a valued market for New Zealand and one where we have to work hard to stay ahead of the competition.
“Offering outstanding customer service and ensuring we offer travellers deep, rich, authentic and unique experiences are crucial factors in delivering a world class visitor experience.
“We need to continue to deliver in this area and position New Zealand as a trend setter, rather than a follower, so we continue to attract the huge number of international visitors we have at present,” said Mr O’Connor.
The Telegraph Travel Awards surveyed some 30,000 readers of the British Daily Telegraph newspaper on their travelling habits.
Australia lost its number one spot from the 1998 survey but still took an impressive third place after Maldives.
The Telegraph Travel Awards were announced in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands on November 29. As a result of the Travel Awards, the Telegraph will be producing a 24-page full colour newsprint tabloid supplement on December 8, which will highlight the winners.
New Zealand previously won Telegraph reader awards for best destination in 2005 and 2004.