New Zealand’s tourism authority is now planning to cash in on the trend, buying a $1400 DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ drone to tour the country’s ski slopes, as well as Queenstown and Lake Tekapo, to capture tourist dronies.
Tourism New Zealand Australia General Manager Tony Saunders said the project was designed to appeal to the tourism market’s “younger audience, who we know are all about selfies”.
“Obviously, everyone is aware how popular selfies are and dronies are getting a lot more attention,” Mr Saunders said.
“Dronies are an innovative way to capture their favourite memories.”
The DJI drone will record eight-second, full high-definition videos of tourists, starting with a close-up and panning back to reveal the Kiwi ski slopes.
Someone’s watching … a tourist strikes the pose.
The drone will tour New Zealand this month and next, including Coronet Peak, Cardona, Mount Hutt, and Mount Cook, with participants’ videos emailed to them so it can be shared to social media websites.
Mr Saunders said after their use on the ski slopes, the drone could be used to capture dronies of cycling, touring or golfing holidays in the country.
Dronies could become more popular outside the tourism industry in future, if drone enthusiasts are to be believed.
Sky Cam USA owner David Quinones plans to launch a drone video website, YouDrone.com, for flying videos later this year.
Source: Herald Sun