A new website created in collaboration with eight South Island RTOS encourages visitors to check out local attractions and take longer and more sustainable trips when exploring.

A new initiative designed to showcase the attractions of the South Island’s southern regions to tourists launched online yesterday (Tuesday May 2).

The ‘Southern Way’ website aims to inspire visitors to slow down, explore further and stay longer in the southern destinations by sharing places of interests and a range of travel itineraries and experiences.

Visit the website here.

The $240K project is the result of a collaboration by eight southern Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) including Tourism Central Otago, Lake Wānaka Tourism and Destination Queenstown.

It was funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise (MBIE) and managed by Great South (the Regional Development Agency and the Regional Tourism Organisation for Southland).

“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,” Great South tourism general manager Mark Frood said.

“We are proud to bring our regions together to offer truly awe-inspiring experiences for our visitors.”

He said Southern Way was informed by the RTOS’ destination management plans, which encouraged a slower, more sustainable tourism experience.

Tourism Central Otago unveiled their destination management plan (DMP) in August last year.

Part of the DMP was to further cement a closer working relationship with neighbouring areas and treat tourists as visitors who come to Central as an extension to our community. 

Southern Way is the brainchild of the late Graham Budd (previously the CEO of Destination Queenstown) who initiated the proposal for the project, having had a long-held wish for regions to work more closely together.

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

Information on the site includes links to Central bike trails, Central events and attractions, as well as suggested itineraries and tips on sustainable travel.