30 Dec 2010

NZ judged second only to New York as top spot

11:05 am on 30 December 2010

New Zealand has won another tourism accolade, coming second to New York City as the best place to be in 2011.

The list has been produced by United States news network CNN and puts New Zealand ahead of tourist magnets like Barcelona, Japan and the Peruvian Amazon.

The US editor of Lonely Planet, Robert Reid, was part of the panel which selected the list and says New Zealand is a perennial favourite among travellers, but next year will be extra special because of the Rugby World Cup.

Mr Reid says it is hard to know whether rankings like this encourage more travellers to visit, but believes they do make people consider new holiday options.