Queenstown is no longer just a destination but also a means of travel.

Air New Zealand this week named one of its Boeing 747 aircraft after the resort as part of its efforts to promote New Zealand's top destinations around the world.

A spokesman said the upgraded 747 unveiled in Auckland on Tuesday featured a 2.5m-long "classic shot" of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu on either side of the fuselage.

Destination Queenstown chief executive David Kennedy said the move underlined Queenstown as the premier resort in New Zealand.

Air New Zealand tourism development manager Keith Fong said the aircraft would be seen by hundreds of thousands of travellers in destinations ranging from Sydney and Brisbane to Tokyo, Los Angeles and London.

Air New Zealand's fleet of 747 jumbo jets are being named after Auckland, the Bay of Islands, Christchurch, Dunedin, Kaikoura, Queenstown, Rotorua and Wellington.


SOURCE: By MARELIZE FEBERWEE