Curious to visit New Zealand

Tourism in New Zealand

New Zealand landscapes: Snow-capped mountains near Milford Sound.

New Zealand receives two million tourists per year, and is the country's biggest 'export' earner.^[1] New Zealand is marketed as a "clean, green" adventure playground, with typical destinations being nature areas such as Milford Sound and the Tongariro Crossing, while activities like bungee jumping or whale watching exemplify typical tourist attractions.

New Zealand landscapes: A beach at sunset near Greymouth, New Zealand.

The vast majority of tourist arrivals in New Zealand come through Auckland International Airport which handled over eleven million passengers in 2004. Popular destinations include Rotorua, Waitomo Caves, Milford Sound, and Queenstown. Many tourists travel large distances through the country during their stays, typically using coach lines or hire cars.

New Zealand landscapes: Hills above the Whanganui River.

International travel

Public concern over the environmental impacts of air travel is feared to possibly limit tourism growth in New Zealand, as almost all tourists fly long distances to reach New Zealand. However, Ministry of Tourism data predicts a four percent annual growth in tourist numbers in New Zealand, with 3.2 million tourists annually to be reached in 2014.^[2]

Tourism New Zealand, the country's official tourism agency, is actively promoting the country as a destination worldwide. Recent activities include a NZ$ 7 million campaign in China, concentrating on Shanghai,^[3] and cooperating to produce a New Zealand tourism layer for Google Earth, the first country to receive such a treatment.^[4]

Domestic travel

Periodic campaigns are directed at New Zealanders, urging them to travel within New Zealand instead of overseas, due to a perception by the tourism industry that too many Kiwis are travelling to Australia or other countries instead of domestically. ^[5]. Perhaps the best known slogan is "Don't leave town until you've seen the country".

Domestic tourism was worth NZ$ 7.6 billion (including transport costs) in the year ending March 2007, a growth of 9.1 per cent on the year before. Domestic tourism itself was growing by 1 to 1.5 per cent a year in the recent years, as noted by the Ministry of Tourism.

Argentina's great place

Tourist sites

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, La Reina del Plata

Buenos Aires, considered by travellers the "Paris of the Southern Hemisphere", offers a broad range of cultural activities. Visitors may choose to visit a tango show, or an estancia in the Province of Buenos Aires, or to enjoy traditional asado. Lately new tourist circuits have evolved, devoted to famous Argentinians such as Carlos Gardel, Eva Perón or Jorge Luis Borges. Due to the favourable exchange rate, its shopping centers, such as Alto Palermo, Paseo Alcorta, Patio Bullrich, Abasto de Buenos Aires and Galerías Pacífico, are frequently visited by tourists.

Women's Bridge in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires

San Telmo is a well-known traditional area in the south of city. It has a long history, houses from colonial times and cobblestoned streets. One can see impressive churches, museums, antique shops and "Antique Fairs" ('Ferias de Antiguedades') in historic Dorrego Square around which, one finds actors in the street, tango dancers and, of course, many tourists.

The Penitentiary Museum ('Museo Penitenciario') is a Jesuit building that was a prison for more than 150 years. The 300 year old Church of San Pedro Telmo represents the Maritims Holy conserving antique images on the windows and walls. Defense Passage was an old residence that now is a marketplace with cafés and antique shops. People that like tango will enjoy a visit to a tango show at 'El Viejo Almacen' built by the famous tango singer Edmundo Rivero.

Recoleta and Puerto Madero are two of the neighbourhoods most visited by tourists because of their style and restaurants.

North

Iguazu Falls

• Iguazu Falls, located on the northeast of Argentina, are the best known falls in the area and have a good infrastructure for the traveller and plenty of activities to be done in the area. The falls and the area surrounding are part of the Iguazú National Park that preserves the local subtropical rainforest ecosystem. The most impressive of the falls is known as the Devil's Throat, shared with Brazil.
• The Train to the Clouds, offers a view to the stark contrasts of the province of Salta. It begins in the city of Salta city ascends to San Antonio de los Cobres, reaching an altitude over 4,000 meters.

La Quebrada de Humahuaca

• Quebrada de Humahuaca
• Valles Calchaquíes
• Esteros del Iberá
• Puna de Atacama
• Península Valdés
• Sierras de Córdoba
• Mar Chiquita, Córdoba Argentina
• Traslasierra
• San Ignacio Miní

South

Glaciar Perito Moreno

• Los Glaciares National Park, where glaciers that drain the Southern Patagonian Ice Field end in the Lago Argentino, blocking one of its bays until the pressure of the water blows the ice dam.

Sea Lions Island, Beagle Channel

• Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, located in Tierra del Fuego, is a typical destination in southern Patagonia.

• Bariloche - San Carlos de Bariloche is a city in the Río Negro Province, situated on the foothills of the Andes, surrounded by lakes (Nahuel Huapi, Gutiérrez Lake, Moreno and Mascardi) and mountains (Tronador, Cerro Catedral, Cerro López). It is famous for skiing but also great for sight-seeing, water sports, trekking and climbing. Cerro Catedral is one of the most important ski centers in South America.

Other

Mar del Plata

Image:View of the Nahuel Huapi Lake from the Cerro Bayo, Patagonia Argentina.jpg

El Lago Nahuel Huapi, en Bariloche

• Other destinations: Mar del Plata, the main sea resort of Argentina; other maritime resorts as Cariló, Villa Gesell, Monte Hermoso, Pehuencó, Las Grutas (in Río Negro), Rada Tilly in Chubut; The Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere, Las Leñas; Talampaya and Valle de la Luna, with strange geological structures; Bariloche, Villa La Angostura, San Martín de los Andes, Junín de los Andes, El Bolsón, Esquel, Trevelin, Los Antiguos, Copahue, Caviahue, near snow capped mountains with temperate rainforests and glaciar lakes; San Rafael and Mendoza, where the best wines of Argentina are made. Fauna, especially whales in Puerto Madryn. Other main mountain resorts are: Carlos Paz, Cosquín, La Falda, Capilla del Monte, Villa de Merlo, Tinogasta, Villa Cura Brochero, Mina Clavero, Villa Nougués, Villa General Belgrano, Tilcara, Cafayate, Iruya, Villa La Angostura, Tafí del Valle.
  

See also

• List of national parks of Argentina
• Culture of Argentina
• Cuisine of Argentina

World Heritage Sites

Hilton and River View towers in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires

These are the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites in Argentina[1].

• Cave of the Hands (Cueva de las Manos), Río Pinturas. Has prehistoric cave paintings (WHS since 1999).
• Iguazú National Park, home of Iguazu Falls (1984).
• Ischigualasto / Talampaya National Parks and its paleontologic formations (2000).
• Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba in Córdoba Province (Cultural Heritage) (2000).
• Jesuit missions of the Guaranis: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa Maria Mayor (1984).
• Los Glaciares National Park and the Perito Moreno Glacier (1981).
• Península Valdés, a marine wildlife preserve (1999).
• Quebrada de Humahuaca, World Cultural Landscape for its scenic natural beauty and historical sights (2003).

National Parks

Lanín National Park

Main article: List of national parks of Argentina

Argentina has an extensive National Park system, preserving sights of natural beauty, which includes the following:

• El Palmar National Park
• Iguazú National Park
• Lanín National Park
• Los Alerces National Park
• Los Arrayanes National Park
• Nahuel Huapi National Park
• Talampaya National Park
• Tierra del Fuego National Park