16 April 2009 - Over 100,000 people have viewed video 'raves' about New Zealand on YouTube through the mobile studio Tourism New Zealand has been using to collect comments from international visitors.

The initiative has also been highlighted by the UK's Sunday Times (circulation 1.3 million) as one of the 'Ten Most Ingenious Offers' from the travel industry during the recession.

The Collection Point is a mobile recording studio that has been travelling around New Zealand recording short video diaries from international visitors. They are then edited and posted on social networking sites by Tourism New Zealand within minutes.

Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton says the initiative is has proven its worth as a cost-effective way to capture the value of personal recommendations.

"Social media is used by people from all walks of life to connect with people back home while they are travelling. Add to this that word-of-mouth is one of the most effective marketing tools to promote a destination, and the 100,000 views milestone shows means that the Collection Point has really proven its worth."

"The fact that this has also been recognised by one of the most prestigious newspapers in Britain has given us an extra publicity boost in our target market, and is the icing on the cake!"

Over 1300 videos have been uploaded by travellers from Australia, the US, UK, Japan, Germany, Canada and beyond since the Collection Point began travelling around New Zealand in December. Some videos have been viewed over 250 times.

Tourism New Zealand is working closely with regional tourism organisations as the mobile studio makes its way around the country. Its nationwide tour will see the Collection Point having visited around 40 New Zealand towns from the Caitlins to Cape Reinga by the time it finishes its road trip at the end of April.

To view video 'raves' go to http://nz.youtube.com/PureNZHaveYourSay.