Tourism New Zealand dishes up cuisine with a billion stars in new campaign via Special PR NZ

After years of being snubbed by the Michelin Guide to our remote location, New Zealand has taken matters into its own hands by opening ‘the restaurant with the most stars’. Tourism New Zealand is hosting international tastemakers at an exclusive preview as part of a campaign to put New Zealand’s night skies and culinary offering on the map, and is produced in partnership with Special PR.

Set beneath Kura Tawhiti at the foot of the Southern Alps, the pop-up Pou-o-Kai restaurant is part of TNZ’s new strategy aimed at growing off-peak, year-round visitation and helping tourism continue to thrive as a vital export for New Zealand.

Media, tastemakers and social media advocates from TNZ’s key markets including Masterchef Australia judge Sofia Levin and Ashley Day of the US’ Food and Wine attended the one-night-only event, showcasing produce sourced from across the country for a unique menu prepared by acclaimed New Zealand chef Ben Bayly.

Says Brodie McLeish, general manager marketing, Tourism New Zealand: “We know potential visitors are excited by our dark skies and our cuisine. Combining these insights we have worked with Special to point out that New Zealand does not have any Michelin Star restaurants so we’re taking matters into our own hands and showing off our cuisine to the world.”

Tourism New Zealand research shows New Zealand’s dark sky offering is increasingly important to 70% of potential off-peak visitors and for many visitors, food goes beyond necessity and is the number one topic of interest for 85% of travellers from our top markets.

Adds McLeish: “The event is strategically aligned with our desire to showcase Aotearoa New Zealand as a compelling destination for international visitors all-year round. Travel media are hungry for a food angle, so for Tourism New Zealand to get cut-through in an incredibly competitive media landscape we needed to create something quite spectacular in that category to really get the attention of media, editors and social media advocates and reach their audiences.”

Says Kelly Grindle, managing director at Special PR: “We might not have the official Michelin Guide operating due to our remote geographic location, but we’ve got enough stars of our own.  We’re thrilled to partner with Tourism New Zealand to showcase our culinary culture on the world stage in this unique and innovative way.”

The coverage generated by the event across the press and social media will showcase New Zealand’s culinary offering all over the country, supporting the important hospitality industry alongside our tourism experiences.

Tourism New Zealand worked in partnership with the regional tourism organisation ChristchurchNZ and mana whenua to bring the event to life.