Eight of the south's tourism agencies, from Waitaki to Southland, have joined together this week (1 May 2023) to launch a new website that they hope will encourage visitors to slow down and better explore the south.

'Southern Way' was the brain-child of Great South's former chief executive, the late Graham Budd.

The website is designed to be user friendly, disregarding the traditional tourism agency boundaries, as it links the souths touring routes and many attractions in a more flexible and natural way.

“Visitors don’t see local boundaries and encouraging people to move around between our regions, travel slowly, engage with our communities and explore further is another step towards our collective goal of welcoming a high-contributing and more sustainable visitor market” said Sarah O’Donnell, Marketing Director at Destination Queenstown.

“Helping visitors to understand the value of taking time to explore this spectacular southern corner of New Zealand more deeply ensures that we are supporting a more sustainable future for tourism in the south,” said Mark Frood, General Manager Tourism and Events at Great South. 

“We were tasked with taking a new approach towards inspiring visitors' travel patterns and it is exciting to see this project finally come to life. We are proud to bring our regions together to offer truly awe-inspiring experiences for our visitors."

“It is a proud day for our combined regions to see Graham’s wishes come to life through this project,” said Frood. 

Tourism organisations based in Waitaki, Wanaka, Queenstown, Central Otago, Dunedin, Clutha, Southland, and Fiordland have signed up to take part in the initiative.

CLICK HERE to view the new Southern Way website.