Rotorua's Polynesian Spa No 2 on AA Tourism's to-do list

A visit to Rotorua's Polynesian Spa has been voted the second-best thing to do in New Zealand.

Rotorua and Central Plateau attractions feature strongly in AA Tourism's just-released 101 Must-Dos For Kiwis list, compiled from nearly 281,600 votes.

Despite being pipped  by Hamner Springs Thermal Pools and Spa, the No 2 ranking will be good news for Polynesian Spa.

Earlier this year, the spa spent about $350,000 giving its deluxe spa-therapy wing a complete makeover, in the hope of attracting more domestic visitors.

It is no stranger to awards, having been named one of the top 10 mineral spring spas in the world by the  Conde Nast Traveller magazine six times in  10 years.

New tourist attraction Rotorua Canopy Tours is the bolter at No 21 on the AA list.

Director James Fitzgerald said it was great to have made the list, just three months after the Mamaku-based business launched.

"We knew we had something people were talking about ... but we're fairly surprised.''

More than 2000 people have experienced  the canopy tour and Mr Fitzgerald is expecting a bumper summer.

"We'll just keep doing what we're doing, as we're doing it pretty well at the moment.''

Mr Fitzgerald said the attraction had received a lot of media attention, including being featured on TVNZ's Breakfast
show last week, so making the AA list was just another way of raising its profile.

"For us it's all about making people aware we exist at the moment,'' he said. "The more they see us, the more people will start asking questions.''

For the full list visit www.aatravel.co.nz