Several campaigns are about to get under way aiming to encourage more summer visitors to Wanaka.
Lake Wanaka Tourism is working with Tourism New Zealand and three other tourism bodies on a $1.6 million campaign to encourage more Australian visitors to rent a vehicle at Christchurch International Airport and drive the South Island's roads.
Wanaka's mountain bike trails will feature in Outdoor Geographic Magazine this month, after a visit by journalists this winter.
A further 20 writers from the Society of American Travel Writers are visiting for at least two days next month.
Food writer Annabel Langbein has also been promoting the region in the United Kingdom through two competitions associated with the release of a cooking book, which included five days in Wanaka as part of the first prize, an 18-day trip to New Zealand.
Challenge Wanaka race director Victoria Murray-Orr promoted the town's long-distance triathlon at the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii at the weekend, in a bid to expand the January event.
Lake Wanaka Tourism general manager James Helmore said the activity was "very exciting".
The self-drive tour promotion had been prompted by Wanaka, Queenstown, Dunedin and Christchurch tourism bodies and Christchurch International Airport, after the Canterbury earthquakes.
The tourism bodies had jointly contributed $800,000 to the campaign, which had been matched dollar-for-dollar by Tourism New Zealand, Mr Helmore said.
"The premise behind the campaign is to see the whole South Island as a good self-drive route ... but we have to extol our virtues to get them out of their cars when they get here," he said.
