A New Zealand tourism campaign targeting Australian tourists is facing backlash for its blunt wording, with critics likening it to a clearance sale.
The NZD$500,000 (£227,742) campaign features the slogan “Everyone Must Go” as a way to create urgency for Australian tourists to visit the country. However, critics, including Labour MP Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, have questioned the slogan’s quality and cost.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and tourism minister Louise Upston launched the campaign on Sunday, set to run across Australian airwaves and social media for about a month starting this week.
“What this Tourism New Zealand campaign says to our Aussie mates is that we’re open for business, there are some great deals on, and we’d love to see you soon,” Ms Upston said.
Tourism New Zealand’s CEO René de Monchy said the campaign was designed to create a sense of urgency for Australians – New Zealand’s only short-haul market – to visit.
Authorities claimed the campaign would increase Australian visitor numbers from the current 88 per cent of pre-Covid levels to 93 per cent.
“The number of Australian arrivals in New Zealand increased by more than 90,000, up from 1.27 million to 1.36 million over the past year, but we know there’s more room to grow,” Ms Upston said.
However, the tagline “Everyone Must Go”, paired with photographs of people sightseeing, quickly became the target of mockery in New Zealand, with opposition politicians and social media users comparing it to a clearance sale ad, a marketing campaign for the apocalypse, or a frantic plea for bathroom access.
Labour’s tourism and hospitality spokesperson, Ms Tangaere-Manuel, said while the party supported the goal of growing the tourism industry, the government’s initiative lacked long-term vision.
New Zealand’s ‘Everyone Must Go!’ Tourism Campaign: An Invitation or a Warning? 🇳🇿🤔
— Xfeed (@news_xfeed) February 17, 2025
New Zealand just launched a tourism campaign with the bold message: “Everyone must go!” While the campaign aims to showcase the country’s stunning landscapes, it’s getting a lot of flak from… pic.twitter.com/8dVb4wpXAo
“The theme with the policies that have been rolling out across the board recently seem a bit knee-jerk to me,” she said.
“We need to be looking at how we leverage our amazing country and safeguard it as well.
“We’ve had the digital nomad announcement, now we’ve got this – and the attitude of anyone, anytime, anywhere, is concerning,” she said.
She was quoted as saying by RNZ: “If we bring people and our infrastructure can’t handle them, they’re going to have a poor experience, and then they’re going to take that messaging back to ... whichever part of the world they come from.”
Ms Tangaere-Manuel also expressed concern over the message conveyed by the “Everyone Must Go” slogan, stating that when she first heard it, she thought, “surely not”.
How do we feel about “Everyone must go”? It feels like it’s telling everyone to leave the country.
— Corey (@ThisIsCorey) February 16, 2025
“I mean, it makes New Zealand sound like we’re in a clearance bin at a sale ... the irony of that messaging is, that’s how Aotearoa New Zealanders are feeling right now. There’s been so many cuts, so people feel like ‘well, what’s not on the list of cuts’.” Aotearoa is the Māori name for New Zealand.
Green Party tourism spokesperson Celia Wade-Brown saw other connotations in the slogan. “I think ‘Everyone Must Go’ might refer to the need for toilets in some of our high-tourist spots. I mean, the queues are ridiculous.
“I was up in Paihia for Waitangi, and people were saying when the cruise ship comes in it doesn’t really benefit many tourism operators, because too many people here for too short a time.
“They don’t go kayaking, they don’t go diving, but, my goodness, they queue at the toilets.”
Launching the campaign, Mr Luxon said: “Our job… is to make sure we get New Zealand to the top of the bucket list” for Australians.
“My message to Australians is it’s time to swap thongs for jandals.”
New Zealanders are voting with their feet, leaving in record high numbers—just as the Govt begins focussing on marketing to Australians. Is their real tourism plan ‘Everyone Must Go’ — for Kiwis? 👀🛫
— Barbara Edmonds (@BarbEdmondsMana) February 16, 2025
Ms Upston said: “We always love to see our Australian friends holidaying here… soaking up the great Kiwi experiences.”
But many New Zealanders mocked the messaging. One person joked that the slogan could be a subtle jab at the Australian government’s stance on deporting criminals who have ties with New Zealand. He said: “Surely ‘Everyone Must Go’ is a subtle dig at the Australian government’s intransigence concerning 501 deportees.”
Another person said: “Can’t believe that slogan cost half a million dollars. Is that the best our tourism can offer?”
Another noted: “If I was in a [government] seeing record emigration I simply would not pick ‘everyone must go’ as a slogan.”
One X user wrote: “How embarrassing. National and Co have made us look pathetic on the world stage. What a comedown from (Jacinda) Ardern’s leadership.”
Others pointed out record emigration numbers. According to data from Statistics New Zealand, 131,200 people left New Zealand last year in the first half of the year, the highest number on record. One observer commented on X about the “Everyone Must Go” campaign: “Already a highly successful campaign: Tens of thousands of Kiwis have already gone.”
