James Cameron Is New Zealand’s Latest Tourism Ambassador

Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron is getting behind New Zealand's 100% Pure campaign by signing on as a tourism ambassador for the country's tourism board.

The director of films including Avatar, Terminator, and Titanic is in front of rather than behind the camera for this project. The marketing campaign includes a video of Cameron and his wife exploring the mountains, glaciers, and rivers that drive the country’s “100% Pure” eco-focused brand. The Canadian-born Cameron has made New Zealand his “second home" he says, and in the video he reminisces about how his teenage interest in science fiction fostered an active imagination, which in turn led to participation in adventure tourism. Cameron is acting as a paid spokesman for the tourism agency.

Cameron is the second Oscar-winning director to play a role in New Zealand's tourism industry. Peter Jackson, the New Zealand-born filmmaker behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, which were largely filmed in the country, prompted a surge of tourists desperate to see Middle-earth, and helped kick off the modern film tourism movement. Characters inspired by the movies have appeared in commercials for the tourism board as well as Air New Zealand.

Watch New Zealand’s promotional video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TdKLyvesVE&feature=youtu.be