Akaroa & The Bays
Akaroa & The Bays was long seen as the perfect day trip. How do you show visitors that this charming township is worth staying for?
Akaroa and the Bays had a problem. People loved the quaint French-inspired township, but they weren’t sticking around. They’d stroll the streets, grab a pastry, maybe take a dolphin tour — then they were gone. The rest of the region? Overlooked.
The goal wasn’t just to sell Akaroa and the Bays, it was to expand the story. We repositioned it as ‘Nature’s Playground’, shifting the focus from a one-day stop to a multi-day destination. Hiking, wildlife, boutique shopping, fine dining — there was more than enough to keep people there. And keep them coming back.
A refreshed website, brand identity, and targeted marketing campaign unified local tourism operators while keeping their individual character intact. We told a bigger story, one that convinced travellers to see more, stay longer, and treat Akaroa as a destination, not a detour.
The result? A hefty increase in multi-day bookings and a major boost to Akaroa’s tourism economy, because when you show people what’s worth sticking around for, they do.
The answer was to expand the story. Not just what Akaroa is, but everything it offers beyond the postcard. Giving people more reasons to stay, and more to come back for.
