‘Everyone must go!’: New Zealand’s latest tourism campaign sparks ridicule

(CNN) — New Zealand’s new tourism campaign - with its slogan “Everyone must go!” - has prompted ridicule from opposition politicians and some members of the public who compared it to a clearance sale advert.

The marketing campaign, which features posters of tourists awestruck by New Zealand’s rugged landscapes alongside the now infamous slogan, cost NZ$500,000 ($286,000) and will target potential visitors from Australia, the country’s prime minister, Christopher Luxon, said on Sunday.

By targeting this market and attracting more tourists to New Zealand, Luxon hopes to boost economic growth in a country that slid into recession in the third quarter of 2024.

“Visitor numbers from Australia are currently at about 88 per cent of 2019 levels - this campaign will encourage more of our neighbours to book now and come on over,” said Louise Upston, lawmaker and minister for the community and voluntary sector, in a release.

“What this Tourism New Zealand campaign says to our Aussie mates is that we’re open for business, there are some great deals on, and we’d love to see you soon,” she added.

But almost immediately, opposition politicians criticized the slogan for sounding “like we’re in a clearance bin at a sale” or like “the need for toilets in some of our high-tourist spots.”

They also took issue with more substantive aspects of the campaign. Labour’s tourism spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel said she was concerned that bringing in more tourists would stress the fragile tourist infrastructure.

“Without any commitment from the government to invest in improving infrastructure to support the influx and numbers that they want to attract… that’s a risk,” she told RNZ, New Zealand’s public broadcaster.

Meanwhile, Green Party tourism spokesperson Celia Wade-Brown criticized the government for using funds raised by the country’s tourist tax for marketing purposes, rather than protecting “the very wildlife that people come to see.”

As the government works to attract tourists, record numbers of New Zealand residents left the country in 2024, official figures show, prompting several users on X to make comparisons between the slogan “Everyone must go!” and these high levels of emigration.

One Labour lawmaker, Barbara Edmonds, posted on X: “New Zealanders are voting with their feet, leaving in record high numbers—just as the Govt begins focussing on marketing to Australians.”

Tourism is incredibly important to New Zealand’s economy.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, it was the country’s largest export industry and in 2023 almost 7% of its workforce was directly employed by the industry, according to government agency Tourism New Zealand.

Since the pandemic, however, the sector and visitor numbers haven’t recovered “as they should,” Luxon said.

This latest campaign comes a few weeks after the government relaxed its visa requirements, allowing tourists to work remotely when visiting New Zealand if their jobs are based overseas.

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