Andrea Lauder and Ali Mason recently represented Central Otago at the annual Inbound Tour Operators trade days in Auckland. Over the three days they met with 60 inbound tour companies and a further 25 appointments with Tourism New Zealand staff giving them all an update on the region and reasons to sell Central Otago to visitors.  

An example of some great feedback received following these meetings:  

“We wanted to follow up today to thank you so much for last Wednesday.  We were talking about the amount of time and effort that you put into these events, also about how invigorating and inspiring this event is for us. Your passion for your region is evident, and has convinced us to visit!  We've both come away on such a high and with so many ideas and thoughts for different itineraries and how we can include more regions and product offerings for our clients. So, while we didn't intend to visit Central Otago on our trip down next week, you've talked us into adding a day and night in your area. Apologies it's not longer, but your 'give us a day' request worked!”

Eight of Central Otago’s trade ready operators will receive a site visit later this week.