Growing numbers of travellers are expected to leave behind the cities of Australia and head over to New Zealand in search of adventure, tourism experts have predicted.
While tourism chiefs Down Under recently predicted that the release of the new Baz Luhrman epic 'Australia' will serve to boost visitor numbers to the country, visitors to this week's Adventure Travel and Backpacker Expo in Sydney and Brisbane headed straight for the Queenstown stand.
Known as the adrenalin capital of New Zealand, Queenstown was represented at the event by a number of tour operators and resorts, all of whom reported a significant growth in interest in comparison to last year.
And, according to a panel of judges, the "show stopping" Destination Queenstown stand was the highlight of the exposition, effectively marketing the attractions of the town.
"We themed our stand in a way that would best reflect the visitor experience in Queenstown and people loved it," Destination Queenstown chief executive Graham Budd said.
"We were judged on the criteria of clear message, visitor interaction and staff enthusiasm and involvement."
Almost 1,000 people participated in a competition run at the stand and Mr Budd said that feedback from visitors was positive.
It was revealed recently that Queenstown serves the best pint of beer in all of New Zealand, an accolade likely to make it even more popular with gap year travellers, as two of the town's bartenders triumphed in the Guinness Pint Master finals earlier this month.
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