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A large media contingent is reporting on England's Rugby World Cup team. Photo by Peter McIntosh. |
People in England and Ireland have been bombarded with
glowing reports of Queenstown from players and media
representatives attending the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Destination Queenstown (DQ) announced yesterday it continued
to monitor "excellent" international coverage of Queenstown
during the tournament, especially from England and Ireland
tourism markets, which have been in decline recently.
The resort has already featured on the BBC, ITV, BSkyB, ESPN
and Sky Sports Australia and New Zealand, plus in major
newspapers, including the Guardian, Daily Mail, The Daily
Telegraph, Daily Mirror, The Irish Times, Irish
Independent and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Players and media delegates have tweeted and blogged their
praises for the Wakatipu.
All have been astonished by the scenery and took full
advantage of its adventure activities. What excited The
Sun most were rumours Mike Tindall, England captain and
recently married to the Queen's granddaughter, Zara Phillips,
had a misadventure with a "gorgeous blonde" in Altitude bar -
a story which gathered steam, splashing Queenstown on
television screens across the world.
DQ hosted delegates from more than 20 Irish television, radio
and print media outlets and several Georgian and Romanian
media outlets and thanked all operators who assisted. The
organisation will host delegates from another almost 100
English and Argentinian media outlets.
Irish Independent rugby writer Hugh Farrelly said
Queenstown was "an unexpected joy".
"Even aside from the stunning views, this charming resort
oozes Utopian vibes, full employment, a negligible crime rate
and happy, attractive people everywhere ... Indeed,
Queenstown is almost too perfect to be true and, as you
stroll around the quaint, pedestrianised streets full of
enticing cafes, restaurants, shops and bars, there is a
distinct Truman Show feel to it all - as though the
minute you turn a corner, the local 'extras' switch off and
light up a cigarette waiting for the next scene to shoot."
Irish Times rugby correspondent Gerry Thornley said
the inhabitants of "idyllic" Queenstown "are commercially
pro-active as well as being artistically creative".
Thornley told readers Irish captain Brian O'Driscoll vowed to
return one day for a proper holiday, while team manager Paul
McNaughton hailed the resort as "God's country".
O'Driscoll was also a convert to a Queenstown culinary
institution.
"I have to say I had the best burger I have ever tasted at
Fergburger the other day. And the second one wasn't bad,
either."
The Daily Mail was one of several news outlets to
splash images of the English and Irish players'
"adrenaline-fuelled day off in the extreme sports capital of
New Zealand", which involved jet-boat rides, bungy jumping,
whitewater rafting and heli-tours.
The Sydney Morning Herald ran the photographs and
referred to England's uninspiring win over Argentina with its
headline "England finally show some adventure ... off the
field."
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