Images of Maori warriors in fearsome poses are sending the wrong message to some international visitors, the head of Maori Tourism has warned.
Members of the Tourism Industry Association have met in Wellington to discuss how the seven-month-old New Zealand's tourism strategy to double visitor spending to $41 billion by 2025 is going.
Maori Tourism chief executive Pania Tyson Smith said while images of moko-clad Maori warriors in threatening poses are second nature to New Zealanders, she believed they are sending the wrong message to some international visitors, Radio New Zealand reported.
“It's not the moko that is confronting - it's the angry nature of the images, which are widely used to sell New Zealand as a destination,” she said.
