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WELLINGTON is well-endowed with natural advantages. It is built on the shores of one of the most beautiful harbours in the world, has the most well-educated, well-paid populace in the country, has more restaurants, bars and cafes a head than New York, and has just been ranked among the world's top cities by Travel & Leisure magazine.
The trick is, of course, turning these assets into revenue. That's why we began working three years ago to re-brand Wellington as a major New Zealand tourist destination. That work is now paying off. Twice as many cruise ships disgorged their passengers here last summer than in the previous two summers, 24 percent more international visitors wheeled their luggage through our airport in April, May and June than at the same time last year, and our hotels are bulging - their occupancy rates in the past six months were higher than anywhere else in the country.
So we must continue to build on this success. To this end, we will provide Totally Wellington $1 million seeding money with which to capture further events that will attract still more people and more money into the city.
But tourism is not the only ace up our sleeve. Our...