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# Save NZ from the recession with tourism activism (actourvism)
- URL: https://vaughan.ai/blog/save-nz-from-the-recession-with-tourism-activism-actourvism/
- Published: 2009-01-05T21:01:12.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-07T23:19:50.000Z
- Author: Vaughan Fergusson
- Tags: Getting Things Done, Life, Nz Tourism, Recession, #medium-import

Here is a nifty idea to combat the effects of the global recession in NZ.

Tourism is our biggest export earner right? We love people coming to our little bump on the edge of the planet, and as Kiwis we love hosting people and telling them how great our part of the world is.

Here is a really smart and free idea (if any are in fact free) I was toying with while CTO at Vianet. This is for Tourism NZ, or any one who wants to make NZ shine on the world tourism stage. A “My NZ” social media site. Here is how it could work.

- The site, say [www.mynz.com](http://www.mynz.com/?ref=vaughan.ai) is a place for New Zealanders and visitors to New Zealand to have conversations about how fantastic NZ is.
- Let everyone have a say in their own space/page, in their own words and in their own way, about why they love NZ.
- Let them upload **their** NZ in pictures, audio and video. Identify the places they love in maps, favourite samples of life in NZ, music, culture, poetry, film.
- Link off to other social channels like Twitter and Facebook, YouTube channels, Blogger and Wordpress. Every time someone contributes with why they love NZ, channel it with tweets and posts out through their other networks, to their friends and associates. Make it easy for people to have conversations about NZ with the rest of the world.
- Connect with great kiwi companies promoting NZ through technology, like \[business:ProjectX Technology\]/\[business:Zoomin\], \[business:Vianet.travel\], \[business:EventFinder\], [Bookabach](http://www.bookabach.co.nz/?ref=vaughan.ai) etc. Connect it through [www.madefromnewzealand.com](http://www.madefromnewzealand.com/?ref=vaughan.ai), [Tourism NZ](http://www.newzealand.com/?ref=vaughan.ai)
- Get people blogging on mynz.com. Invite prominent kiwis to write.
- Get Tourism NZ tweeting and twitpic-ing on twitter.
- Give New Zealanders ownership, and make them a part of bringing people to NZ. Offer bookings of trips, accommodation, activities through mynz.com. If you bring someone in through your profile and network, and they book travel through the site, earn points, commission, tax credits, jelly beans or a ranking based on how many people you connect with and brought to NZ.
- Make every kiwi a sales agent for New Zealand. Start tourism activism, actourvism!
- Make it fun. Make it infectious. Spread NZ like a virus!

You could almost start it with a little bit of work for relatively low cost by using established social networks and free tools out there. You would just need to build the central cog, the glue, the brand.

It might sound wacky, but I think it would work! Think about it. Don’t you love telling the world how great our country is? What is the best form of promotion? Through word of mouth via people you identify with and trust.