Tourism New Zealand has partnered with Bollywood actors and real-life couple Rajkummar Rao and Patralekhaa to unveil its upcoming campaign, #BeyondTheFilter. The campaign, presented through a five-part mini-series featuring the duo, aims to balance emotional storytelling with data-driven targeting, focusing on immersive experiences and the country's unique culture.

In an era where travel is often reduced to perfectly curated Instagram posts and heavily filtered content, the campaign aims to address growing fatigue among Indian travellers with manufactured ‘Instagram-worthy’ moments by instead celebrating genuine experiences that need no enhancement.

In the campaign’s cinematic mini-series, filmed across New Zealand’s North Island, Rao and Patralekhaa embark on a journey that is both visually captivating and emotionally enriching. The film showcases how the couple put their phones down and ‘live in the moment’ while experiencing the North Island in its raw and authentic form.

Manifest caught up with Gregg Wafelbakker, regional director – Asia, Tourism New Zealand, on the sidelines of the campaign launch to learn more about the strategic growth drivers designed to attract more Indian travellers to the long-haul destination. He also discusses leveraging Bollywood and sports tourism, particularly cricket, via collaborations with film actors and travel influencers.

“We’re seeing a strong shift among Indian travellers toward experiences that are personal, present, and emotionally meaningful - and New Zealand is uniquely positioned to meet this growing demand. #BeyondTheFilter is part of our continued commitment to showcase New Zealand as more than just a beautiful destination. It’s a place where culture, nature, and connection come together to offer something truly enriching,” said Wafelbakker.

Explaining the decision to onboard Rao and Patralekhaa as brand ambassadors, he said, “Rajkummar and Patralekhaa bring this message to life with their honesty and relatability. Their love for mindful travel and grounded presence makes them the ideal voices for a campaign that encourages Indian travellers to embrace what’s real, heartfelt, and 100% unfiltered.”

As Indian audiences increasingly seek an escape from digital pressure and crave authentic connections over manufactured moments, New Zealand emerges as a strong antidote, with its ancient forests, majestic coastlines, and towering mountains offering experiences that social media cannot capture.

Wafelbakker noted a shift in consumer behaviour post-pandemic, with a trend toward ‘less doing’ and ‘more experiencing.’

“To experience, one has to put the phone down, be present in the moment, and take it all in. This mindfulness, slow-travel embracing trend - Raj and Patralekhaa were perfect ambassadors for that as they’re authentic and genuine, and we just knew they would fit into the environment and embrace the experiences, which is exactly what happened," he explained.

He highlighted how Tourism New Zealand is balancing emotional storytelling and data-driven targeting.

“If you look at the evolution of our brand, at one point it was all about the place as a product. Then we focused on the people, starting to bring cultural elements into the brand. And now, we’re bringing those two together. It’s about both the people and the place. It’s about visitors experiencing both our land and our culture.”

Discussing media strategy, he said, “Most of our media today is digital, and we optimise based on campaign metrics.”

However, he added that this campaign’s creative execution and targeting approach are a bit different, including the couple’s interactions with the Maori tribe - an experience reflected in the campaign as well.

“As we came out of the pandemic, we observed significant shifts in long-haul travel behaviour - people are leaning more towards slower, immersive travel that involves interacting with locals. That’s a trend we’re leaning into,” he said.

“What we’re finding is that many New Zealand experiences are inherently immersive and deeply connected to the richness of our culture, especially that of the native Maori. Hence, in most of the experiences witnessed in the campaign, Maori cultural elements were present. For example, visiting the Haka shop was a full Maori experience.”

Touching on New Zealand’s unique appeal, Wafelbakker said, “New Zealand does not have a large population, it has expansive landscapes, small towns scattered around the countryside. We're an incredibly friendly country. There’s an expression we have here that you arrive as a guest and you leave as family. That genuine hospitality is a real point of difference. There’s a Maori word for it - ‘manakitanga’ - which is about deep, warm, and welcoming hospitality. People visiting get a glimpse of that.”

This sentiment was reflected in the campaign video, he said, with Rao mentioning he felt like he was ‘home.’ “Even in my short conversations with them, it was clear how touched they were by the experience and the memories they took back. All in all, it’s been a great partnership.”

At the same time, Wafelbakker acknowledged that India, being a vast and growing market, also includes travellers who want a range of activities in a day - skydiving, bungee jumping, white-water rafting, wrapped up with a spa experience. “We can cater to all of that quite well,” he declared..

Wafelbakker accepts that Bollywood can play a significant role in marketing the destination to Indian travellers. “I’d love to see more of that, but it’s not something Tourism New Zealand is directly responsible for. That said, when there’s an opportunity to partner with celebrities or filmmakers, like we did here, we’ll certainly take advantage, though perhaps not always at this scale.”

The brand has also collaborated with several other actors, travel influencers, and mindful content creators across platforms, including names such as Shriya Pilgaonkar, Barkha Singh, Shweta Tripathi, Saransh Goila, Aakash Malhotra, and Radhika Nomllers.

Wafelbakker was also buoyant about exploring sports tourism for Indian cricket enthusiasts. “Yes, absolutely, that’s something that we would consider, and it's something that we talk about a lot. We have worked with New Zealand cricket players and Indian cricket players in the past in terms of content creation, he said, adding, “I would love to see more of that happen for sure."

Addressing the need for 'localised messaging' in different Asian markets, Wafelbakker said, “I think China is distinctly unique because the platforms that we operate there on are unique. Through the rest of Asia, Google and Meta cover the digital platforms on which we operate. In China, of course, we don't operate those; instead, we operate on Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and Tencent environments."

He explained how with the platforms and the user bases being different, the tone of the messaging differs automatically as well. “Each market for that matter - be it Japan, India, or China - is different and unique, so we do quite a bit of localised storytelling," he said, adding, "Fundamentally, our core remains the same, 100% pure New Zealand. As we bring that to life in different markets through different platforms, the content can, of course, be slightly tweaked and the tone slightly changed."

“Fundamentally, our core remains the same—100% Pure New Zealand. But as we bring that to life in different markets, the tone and content are tweaked accordingly,” he added. “Each market - be it Japan, India, or China is unique. We do local storytelling.”

He noted that audiences today increasingly trust user-generated content. “So the more authentic, genuine storytelling we get from creators on key platforms, the bigger the impact we see from that.” 

Wafelbakker also shared some challenges in marketing a long-haul destination like New Zealand.

“Our research shows that when someone is ready to book, the two biggest barriers are, first, finding the time, since it’s not a weekend trip. Second is waiting for a deal,” he noted with a smile, adding that these traits are common across most markets. “That’s what’s needed to push them over the line, and we’re actively working with travel and trade partners to offer suitable deals and tactical campaigns to support conversions,” he added.

Tourism New Zealand is also working to address common concerns that come up when planning a trip abroad - questions like ‘When’s the best time to go?’ or ‘What’s the weather like?’ These are addressed through tailored content, depending on the target audience.

Finally, on what is the one perception about New Zealand that he’s actively trying to dispel, Wafelbakker quipped with a smile, “That it's not that far away. It's closer than you think."

The mini-series will be released in phases, with the advertising campaign going live across digital channels and social platforms.

Watch the first episode of the mini-series here: