The recent Fonterra contamination is unlikely to damage New Zealand's "100% Pure" image in the long run, Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy says.

Speaking in Auckland today, McEvoy said controversial events often played out bigger, or caused more sensation, in the country where they took place.

Other countries, including China, would still see New Zealand as a green destination, he said.

"I think New Zealand's clean, green credentials will outlive the controversy."

However, if things like the Fonterra contamination happened more often New Zealand's claim to 100% Pure could be damaged, McEvoy said.

Following the contamination, Britain's Daily Mail Online said New Zealand's 100% Pure claims were "pure manure" while our largest trading partner, via the Chinese Government's Xinhua news agency, called our national brand a "festering sore".

Despite the recent smear on the country's pure image, New Zealand still had a good claim to the 100% Pure slogan which was launched by Tourism New Zealand in 1999, McEvoy said.

"It's one of the great global tourism campaigns."

The world did not naturally talk about New Zealand and Australia, but campaigns like 100% Pure had helped put New Zealand on the map, he said.

Tourism New Zealand general manager of corporate affairs Chris Roberts said the 100% Pure slogan was purely a tourism campaign used to promote New Zealand as a visitor destination.

Fonterra's recent food safety concerns had not impacted on New Zealand's reputation as a visitor destination, he said.

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The New Zealand Tourism Sector Outlook report released today by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) showed the long-term outlook for the tourism sector was positive, MBIE said.

The forecast showed visitor numbers and spending were expected to grow 18 per cent between now and 2019, MBIE said.

Roberts said the 100% Pure slogan was not used to represent New Zealand in totality and was not used by other New Zealand businesses to promote their products.

"The campaign has never been a 'New Zealand' campaign."

Roberts said, however, it had been identified that New Zealand needed a way to promote itself.

Work had been under way since 2012 to develop the "New Zealand Story" for this purpose, he added.

But McEvoy said despite the 100% Pure campaign officially belonging to Tourism New Zealand it had become part of the way the world viewed all aspects of New Zealand.

"It's an outcome of the success and notoriety of the campaign."

McEvoy said consumers had embraced the clean, green image but now might be a good time for the New Zealand trade sector to look at creating a campaign to tell its own story.
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Tourism Australia used the slogan "there's nothing like Australia" and the business sector used the slogan "Australia unlimited", he said.

The two slogans were different, but complementary, he added.