Tourism New Zealand rolls out instructional video for freedom campers

Tourism New Zealand is hoping that a message as simple as "use the bathroom please" might be enough to get through to visiting freedom campers this summer.

They've just launched a new campaign that they hope will make visitors a bit more responsible.

Tourism NZ rolled out a 44-second educational video at 10 popular hotspots around the country.

It's free wifi with a catch: for visitors to access the internet at no charge, they have to watch the video on responsible camping in New Zealand.

While the messages in the video might seem simple, Tourism NZ says they aren't things all visitors automatically understand.

It's behaviour like that of a tourist in Kaikoura earlier this year, who was filmed using a field as a toilet, that the new campaign is hoping to deter.

"I'm not a for a minute suggesting that our visitors defecate in their gardens back home," Tourism NZ chief executive Stephen England-Hall told Newshub.

"But what we want to be able to do is say 'That's not what we expect here', and so that we are very clear on what behaviour should be and what it shouldn't be."

The 10 spots across the country stretch from Whangarei in the north, to Queenstown in the south.

The Akaroa Visitors Centre is one of the 10 spots launching the free wifi. Up to 6000 freedom campers are expected to visit the seaside village over the next three months.

"It really is only a small percentage of the campers at any point that are being a problem, so that's where we hope the message gets home," says owner Darin Rainbird.

Some of the first campers to watch the video on Monday agree.

"I think on the video it's good to have something like using bathrooms," German freedom camper Julia Everding told Newshub.

It's A simple message that Tourism NZ hopes will make freedom camping hotspots a little cleaner and greener this summer.

Newshub.