Latest News from Tourism New Zealand

New Zealand's giant inflatable Rugby Ball opened to the public in Tokyo yesterday and is already generating a huge amount of interest.

The opening of the Ball under the high profile Tokyo Tower site was covered by over 100 journalists from Japan’s eleven national television stations, eleven national newspapers and more than forty websites.

The television coverage has been viewed by an audience estimated to be well over 34 million, while the newspapers have a total readership of 30 million.

The opening was the lead story on Yahoo’s Japanese site, which is the most viewed website in Japan with hundreds of millions of hits every day.

The coverage caused a spike in Tourism New Zealand’s website for Japan, doubling the number of users from 1500 to 3000 today. Hundreds of locals queued to see the spectacular audio visual display inside the Ball to learn more about New Zealand.

National Television channel, Nippon TV, also broadcast the weather live from the Giant Rugby Ball yesterday evening.

Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton said the interest in the Ball has been phenomenal.

"The purpose of this seven day project is to promote New Zealand now and for the Rugby World Cup. Within one day that promotion has been more than we could have expected and we still have a week to go."

The Ball was formally opened on Wednesday by Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key. The opening united Japanese and New Zealand cultures, with a formal Māori mihi whakatau, or welcome, which Shinto Priests responded to with their own formal blessing.

During the seven days the Ball is open, it will play host to a series of public and private events aimed at promoting New Zealand as a place to visit, work and do business with. It will also host functions which will showcase New Zealand cuisine.

Read more about the Ball on our website

Watch footage of the Ball on YouTube:
Blessing Ceremony of New Zealand's Giant Rugby Ball in Tokyo
Interview with George Hickton in Tokyo
 

Haka cultural workshops to be held at the Ball today and Sunday will bring a bit of New Zealand history and culture to downtown Tokyo.

Seventy school children are set to take part in today's workshop, with family groups invited to participate at a second workshop on Sunday.

The workshops, which are being run by Māori cultural group Te Arawa, are set to attract even more media attention and keep the spotlight on the Giant Ball over the weekend.

The Te Arawa group will take participants through the basics of haka - which is well known in Japan already - as well as poi and the meaning behind some of the rituals and movements of Māori welcomes.

Read more on our website