The New Zealand city of Wellington is aiming to position itself as a place Aussie start-ups should come to expand their business with a new campaign.

The Wellington Adds Up campaign is a collaboration between Positively Wellington Tourism and Grow Wellington, two of the organisations being combined into the new Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency.

The campaign includes a competition for five business owners to win a tour of Wellington, meeting with business and industry leaders, as well as getting a taste of the region’s culinary, cultural and outdoor lifestyle.

“The decision to set up or expand a business in a new city is not one that is taken lightly,” said Positively Wellington Tourism chief executive David Perks.

“So as well as share the story of how Wellington can add to your capacity, subtract from your overheads and multiply your happiness, we wanted to offer businesses the chance to come and discover it for themselves.”

Wellington city councillor for economic development Jo Coughlan said the campaign is part of the the council’s strategy to seek and attract new business investment.

“Australian visitor arrivals to Wellington have increased 25% in the last five years, with more than 200,000 Australians spending at least one night in the capital last year,” Coughlan said.

“The Destination Wellington programme was launched to expand on our success as a visitor destination, profiling our competitive advantages and lifestyle benefits in order to drive new investment and growth through talent and business attraction.”

In the last quarter there were over 92,000 visits to WellingtonNZ.com from Australia – nearly double the same quarter last year.

“Wellington is on Australia’s radar like never before,” Coughlan said. “It’s the perfect time to tell the story of Wellington as not just a great place to visit; but a great place to live, work and invest as well.”

Grow Wellington chief executive Gerard Quinn, said Wellington Adds Up highlights the region’s compelling business case.

“Wellington has the most highly educated workforce in the country and we’re one of the most affordable cities to live in Australasia,” he said.

“New Zealand’s economy is strong, and we have significantly lower taxes and operating costs relative to Australia. Add to that Wellington’s affordability and exceptional performance in quality of life surveys, and it makes for a solid case.”