Competition to promote Dunedin to China

Fancy dressing up as a yellow-eyed penguin and surfing at Sandfly Bay?

Or maybe rewriting part of a Chinese television historical drama and setting it in Dunedin's historic buildings?

The Dunedin Shanghai Association has launched a Chinese social media competition, promoting Dunedin as a tourist destination to Chinese tourists.

The idea was the brainchild of the association's chairwoman, Teresa Chan, who wanted to do something "high-impact and fun'' to mark both the China New Zealand Year of Tourism and the 25th anniversary of the Dunedin-Shanghai sister city relationship.

The association was a voluntary group and members comprised anyone with an interest in that sister city relationship.

Dunedin lawyer Teresa Chan catches some publicity with a penguin surfing stunt at St Clair Beach yesterday. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY

The Dunedin lawyer encouraged anyone - such as University of Otago or Otago Polytechnic students or tourism businesses - to submit an entry that could be posted on Chinese social media platforms to publicise the city.

Many tourists who came to New Zealand tended to go to the "icon'' spots such as Queenstown and Rotorua, but Dunedin was a "bit off the beaten track''.

Ms Chan kept hearing of the need to make better use of Chinese social media as there was "no question'' it had a significant influence on tourists going to a certain place.

She hoped the competition might provide the impetus for students to get involved in doing something fun, and also tourism businesses might see the opportunity to do something "a bit different''.

Criteria had been left broad so entrants would come up with the ideas and "get the creativity going'' and she was looking forward to seeing those ideas and what came out of the initiative.

August 31 is the deadline for proposals to be submitted and the campaign will run from September to November. Entry is free and there is a $3000 prize sponsored by BNZ.