Latest news with #TourismNewZealand
Scoop
11 hours ago
- Business
- Scoop
Air New Zealand, Air China, & Tourism NZ Announce Strategic Investment To Boost Chinese Travel Demand To Aotearoa
In a step to further support the revitalisation of Chinese tourism to New Zealand, Air New Zealand, Air China, and Tourism New Zealand have today announced a partnership aimed at strengthening travel from China to New Zealand. The tripartite partnership will see nearly half a million NZD invested from the three organisations going toward stimulating inbound tourism from China, in addition to Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand's existing investments in the market. Over the next 12 months, Air New Zealand will invest more than $700,000 in marketing through strategic partnerships – an addition to the airline's significant and ongoing marketing commitment in China. The new funding will be used to support a marketing campaign to drive greater awareness of New Zealand as a preferred destination for Chinese travellers. It is also an opportunity to highlight the longstanding alliance between Air New Zealand and Air China launched in 2015, which has provided greater connectivity, codeshare convenience, and a seamless customer experience for travellers between China and New Zealand. China is New Zealand's third largest source of international visitors, comprising around 8% of total visitor arrivals. In the year to March 2025, 248,000 Chinese travellers visited New Zealand, up 18 per cent on the prior year. Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran said the airline's service between Shanghai and Auckland are going from strength to strength. "China is an incredibly important market for us, and we're proud of the role our Shanghai service has played in connecting people, cargo, and cultures over the past decade. This joint investment is an opportunity to further stimulate travel demand to encourage growth in inbound tourism from China to New Zealand. 'We're looking forward to having our brand-new cabins on our 787 aircraft flying to Shanghai on occasion, offering Chinese customers the opportunity to be among the first to experience our enhanced onboard experience. From October, we'll see a 33% increase in premium seats on the Shanghai–Auckland route, giving customers even more opportunity to travel with additional space and comfort to New Zealand." Mr. Ma Chongxian, the Chairman of CNAH, expressed confidence in the recovery of China-New Zealand market and the alliance partnership between Air China and Air New Zealand. 'New Zealand market has always been the key focus in our Asia-Pacific network. We have deeply engaged in Beijing-Auckland service since 2015. As our strategic alliance with Air New Zealand reinforces the mutual trust and support, our network, products and services have been optimized along the way. The partnership has played a positive role in jointly promoting economic and trade growth and fostering cross-cultural communication between China and New Zealand. 'Embracing the second decade of China-New Zealand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the tenth anniversary of the alliance partnership between Air China and Air New Zealand, we would like to join Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand in further facilitating market recovery and expanding collaborations to deepen practical cooperation and improve customer experience.' Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive René de Monchy said there is an audience of around 60 million people in China 'actively considering' a holiday to New Zealand. 'We're looking forward to working with Air New Zealand and Air China to get them booking trips to come and enjoy destination New Zealand sooner rather than later.' He said Chinese visitors were drawn to New Zealand's culture, friendliness, and natural scenery including mountains and lakes, hiking and national parks. "China's travel behaviour evolves rapidly. For example, we are seeing growth in smaller visitor groups that are staying for longer and getting out to enjoy more experiences and visit more regions.' New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said: 'This partnership between Air New Zealand, Air China, and Tourism New Zealand is another step toward turbocharging New Zealand's tourism recovery and growth. As we work to rebuild our visitor economy, stimulating demand from key markets like China, which was our largest inbound tourism market pre-Covid, is essential to creating jobs, supporting businesses, and strengthening communities across the country. This strategic investment will not only boost awareness of Aotearoa as a unique and welcoming destination but also deepen the connections between our peoples and cultures. We are committed to backing initiatives that bring more visitors here, ensuring tourism continues to be a driver of prosperity for all New Zealanders.' This initiative reaffirms the strong commitment from both airlines and New Zealand's tourism sector to support economic recovery and reestablish vital people-to-people ties between the two nations.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
PM rejects idea of visa waivers for China
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has poured cold water on the idea of complete visa waivers, or extended visas for "premium" travellers from China. On his first trip to China in the job, Luxon spent the morning visiting the headquarters of the country's top online travel agency to witness a deal being signed with Tourism New Zealand to coordinate marketing campaigns. He was given a tour of the building and treated to a high-tech multimedia display showcasing the demand for holidays from Chinese tourists. chief executive Jane Sun and vice president Edison Chen both used the opportunity to pitch the extended visa ideas to Luxon, but he told reporters it was not being considered. "Immigration New Zealand deals with immigration for 195 countries, what we've asked them to do since the beginning of the year as we go for growth is to continue to look at our settings with respect to China - are they appropriate? We believe they are," he said. "You're seeing us constantly adjust our visa settings ... we won't be doing that today, it's not something we've discussed or talked through." He denied it was about a lack of trust. "No, not at all. It's just Immigration New Zealand has a decision and a responsibility to look at the visa settings for 195 countries ... that's a decision for them to make," he said. "I'm really comfortable with Immigration New Zealand, I'm very comfortable with our visa settings." Luxon pointed to a 40 percent increase in interest in New Zealand from the platform over the last 30 days. Sun and Chen both commended Luxon for the government's Monday announcement the government would trial visa waivers for Chinese travellers arriving from Australia. Immigration NZ is also adding simplified Chinese content to its official website, and scrapping the requirement for certified translations on visa documents. "Those are the things that we're trying to do to make sure the visa encumbrance is as less as possible ... New Zealand's a pretty attractive proposition," Luxon said. The challenge New Zealand faced in recovering tourism from China was more to do with marketing than improving access, he said. "Just ask you to take a step back, this is a country where New Zealand's trade with the China economy is about a third of 1 percent ... so our biggest challenge is actually getting share of mind and raising the profile of New Zealand within China and that's a marketing challenge. "You have to be in the market advocating very strongly and there's no doubt about it we had a very inward-looking period, and we also actually were very slow coming out of Covid." Tourism Minister Louise Upston said that as suggestions about visa changes came up, they would be evaluated "on whether or not those support our aspirations". "We've had a number of suggestions put to me in my time as the minister and we have actively worked on a couple of them. There's another one coming, but we will consider other options as the months progress. "I want to make sure we're taking practical steps at a time rather than leaping into changes that would be more significant." She pointed to the marketing deal signed with saying it meant using technology "not just to launch to the China market but across the globe, making it very clear that New Zealand's open for business".
Scoop
6 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Welcoming More Visitors From China
Minister of Immigration Hon Louise Upston Minister for Tourism and Hospitality The Government is boosting New Zealand's attractiveness as a destination for Chinese tourists by improving visa settings and processes. From November, New Zealand will trial visa waiver status for Chinese passport holders travelling from Australia with a valid Australian visitor, work, student or family visa, allowing them to visit for up to 3 months. 'Our immigration settings play an important role in brightening our country's economic future. More than 240,000 Chinese visitor visas were granted in 2024, and we want those numbers to grow,' Immigration Minister Erica Stanford says. 'This will make it easier, cheaper and faster for them to cross the Tasman and visit our shores. The trial will last for 12 months and will be supplemented by further improvements to our immigration processes, making it easier for people applying for a visa.' Other changes include: Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is establishing a dedicated contact centre number and support in China for Chinese 'Approved Destination Status' travel agents. New Simplified Chinese web content on the INZ website Visitor Visa applicants will no longer need to have their document translations certified. This will remove additional translation fees for all Visitor Visa applicants who need to provide translated documents, not only those from China. These complement the five-year multiple entry Visitor Visa already in place and NZ's current average processing time of five working days visitor visa applications from China 'China is one of New Zealand's most important tourism markets, and more international visitors means more bookings in our restaurants, more people visiting our regions and attractions, more jobs being created across the country, and an overall stronger economy,' Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston says. 'In the year ended March 2025, visitors from China contributed $1.24 billion to New Zealand's economy, but there's still more work to do to grow these numbers and drive further economic growth throughout the country.' Notes: Approved Destination Status (ADS) is an arrangement between the Chinese Government and another country, that lets Chinese holiday travellers visit a country in a tour group. Read more about the scheme on the Tourism New Zealand website:
Scoop
13-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Whakatāne Operators At War With Council Over Tourism Funding Cuts
Article – Diane McCarthy – Local Democracy Reporter Tourism operators across the district are boycotting Whakatne District Council for cutting funding to Tourism Bay of Plenty. Tourism operators across the district are boycotting Whakatāne District Council for cutting funding to Tourism Bay of Plenty. The Whakatāne council has previously contributed $85,000 annually to the council controlled organisation of Tauranga City and Western Bay District councils. In response, a group of tourism operators across the district are boycotting all council-led tourism activity. This includes directing that all of their businesses be removed from council websites, that brochures and experiences be removed from the Whakatane i-Site, refusing to participate in promotional campaigns, event partnerships, and famils (familiarisation trips for agents) and calling for a full independent audit of the Whakatāne i-site and council tourism department. Among the tourism operators supporting the boycott are Tio Ohiwa Harbour Cruises and Oyster Experience owner Wini Geddes, Kohutapu Lodge and Whirinaki Footsteps Nadine Toe Toe, Larni Hepi from Whaitaki, KG Kayaks' Kenny McCracken, Beachpoint Apartments' Alison Stern, One 88 On Commerce's Malcolm Glen, Awakeri Rail Adventures Paul Francis and Takutai Adventure Company's Ollie Dobbin. Geddes said that more than 44 tourism operators and accommodation providers from around the Eastern Bay of Plenty would be hurt by Whakatāne council withdrawing this funding. The contribution linked them to domestic and international tourism promotion through Tourism New Zealand and New Zealand Māori Tourism. The boycotters said the $85,000 amounted to 2.8 percent of the council's annual $3 million tourism budget and a mere 0.14 percent of its $59 million total annual operating budget. Quoting Stats NZ, they said the region received $166 million in visitor spend annually, with approximately $20 million of that from international visitors. More than 10 percent of the workforce in Eastern Bay was through tourism. Geddes said the decision had been made in public-excluded meetings with no consultation or communication with local tourist operators. 'We've only known about it for a month and the decision was made before Christmas with no consultation with the tourist operators at all.' She said all of Tio Ohiwa's business came through either Tourism Bay of Plenty or support from other Regional Tourism Operators around the country, in particular RotoruaNZ, a CCO of Rotorua Lakes District Council, which Whakatāne council did not pay into. 'In two weeks' time our connection to Tourism New Zealand will be cancelled and [the council] are trying to take it over by themselves.' A response from council chief executive Steven Perdia to a Local Goverment Official Information and Meetings Act request sent by two of the operators, Toe Toe and Hepi, said Whakatāne council had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and funding agreement with Tourism Bay of Plenty in 2014, but since this had expired in 2019 no further MOU had been developed. The organisations had operated under a Letter of Intent to develop a revised MOU but 'since the Whakaari eruption and Covid 19 and the catastrophic effects on the community and visitor economy with several business closures, both organisations have continued to work together in good faith'. He said the council had a strong desire to reduce rates' increases and during last year's long-term plan budget funding was stopped to both economic development agency Toi EDA and Tourism Bay of Plenty. In a public-excluded section of its living together committee on 6 March this year, the council discussed reviewing the MOU with Tourism Bay of Plenty but to make cost savings decided to bring all tourism-related support in-house. Perdia told Local Democracy Reporting the matters were discussed in a public-excluded forum because the debate involved commercially sensitive matters, including contracts and funding agreements with third parties. 'Council is trying to make itself a regional transport operator,' Geddes said. 'It has got no strategic plan, nothing, and they're expecting us to teach them how to get into the industry.' Among the benefits of being part of Tourism Bay of Plenty was being included in the Bay of Plenty section of the Trenz Expo, New Zealand's biggest tourism trade show. 'We are now taking bookings from China, India and the rest of Asia, Europe and the United States from those expos. Even our accomodation providers. We fill our hotels with tourists coming in. '[Whakatāne council] can't even get tickets to it.' The council did not respond to questions from the Beacon around how it intended to promote the district to international tourists. Geddes said some tourism operators had already removed their brochures from the i-site. Toe Toe said the council shouldn't be making critical decisions in a field they didn't understand. 'Tourism operators were completely left out in the cold around a decision that directly affects our businesses and survival.' Stern, from Beachpoint Apartments, said she felt the decision was very shortsighted and would end up costing the council more in the long run. 'If they don't want to focus on international tourism, then why are they planning to do exactly that – just without the professionals?' she said. 'And how do they think they'll do it better for less than $85,000? This is going to end up costing the ratepayers more, not less.'
Scoop
13-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Whakatāne Operators At War With Council Over Tourism Funding Cuts
Tourism operators across the district are boycotting Whakatāne District Council for cutting funding to Tourism Bay of Plenty. The Whakatāne council has previously contributed $85,000 annually to the council controlled organisation of Tauranga City and Western Bay District councils. In response, a group of tourism operators across the district are boycotting all council-led tourism activity. This includes directing that all of their businesses be removed from council websites, that brochures and experiences be removed from the Whakatane i-Site, refusing to participate in promotional campaigns, event partnerships, and famils (familiarisation trips for agents) and calling for a full independent audit of the Whakatāne i-site and council tourism department. Among the tourism operators supporting the boycott are Tio Ohiwa Harbour Cruises and Oyster Experience owner Wini Geddes, Kohutapu Lodge and Whirinaki Footsteps Nadine Toe Toe, Larni Hepi from Whaitaki, KG Kayaks' Kenny McCracken, Beachpoint Apartments' Alison Stern, One 88 On Commerce's Malcolm Glen, Awakeri Rail Adventures Paul Francis and Takutai Adventure Company's Ollie Dobbin. Geddes said that more than 44 tourism operators and accommodation providers from around the Eastern Bay of Plenty would be hurt by Whakatāne council withdrawing this funding. The contribution linked them to domestic and international tourism promotion through Tourism New Zealand and New Zealand Māori Tourism. The boycotters said the $85,000 amounted to 2.8 percent of the council's annual $3 million tourism budget and a mere 0.14 percent of its $59 million total annual operating budget. Quoting Stats NZ, they said the region received $166 million in visitor spend annually, with approximately $20 million of that from international visitors. More than 10 percent of the workforce in Eastern Bay was through tourism. Geddes said the decision had been made in public-excluded meetings with no consultation or communication with local tourist operators. "We've only known about it for a month and the decision was made before Christmas with no consultation with the tourist operators at all." She said all of Tio Ohiwa's business came through either Tourism Bay of Plenty or support from other Regional Tourism Operators around the country, in particular RotoruaNZ, a CCO of Rotorua Lakes District Council, which Whakatāne council did not pay into. "In two weeks' time our connection to Tourism New Zealand will be cancelled and [the council] are trying to take it over by themselves." A response from council chief executive Steven Perdia to a Local Goverment Official Information and Meetings Act request sent by two of the operators, Toe Toe and Hepi, said Whakatāne council had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and funding agreement with Tourism Bay of Plenty in 2014, but since this had expired in 2019 no further MOU had been developed. The organisations had operated under a Letter of Intent to develop a revised MOU but "since the Whakaari eruption and Covid 19 and the catastrophic effects on the community and visitor economy with several business closures, both organisations have continued to work together in good faith". He said the council had a strong desire to reduce rates' increases and during last year's long-term plan budget funding was stopped to both economic development agency Toi EDA and Tourism Bay of Plenty. In a public-excluded section of its living together committee on 6 March this year, the council discussed reviewing the MOU with Tourism Bay of Plenty but to make cost savings decided to bring all tourism-related support in-house. Perdia told Local Democracy Reporting the matters were discussed in a public-excluded forum because the debate involved commercially sensitive matters, including contracts and funding agreements with third parties. "Council is trying to make itself a regional transport operator," Geddes said. "It has got no strategic plan, nothing, and they're expecting us to teach them how to get into the industry." Among the benefits of being part of Tourism Bay of Plenty was being included in the Bay of Plenty section of the Trenz Expo, New Zealand's biggest tourism trade show. "We are now taking bookings from China, India and the rest of Asia, Europe and the United States from those expos. Even our accomodation providers. We fill our hotels with tourists coming in. "[Whakatāne council] can't even get tickets to it." The council did not respond to questions from the Beacon around how it intended to promote the district to international tourists. Geddes said some tourism operators had already removed their brochures from the i-site. Toe Toe said the council shouldn't be making critical decisions in a field they didn't understand. "Tourism operators were completely left out in the cold around a decision that directly affects our businesses and survival." Stern, from Beachpoint Apartments, said she felt the decision was very shortsighted and would end up costing the council more in the long run. "If they don't want to focus on international tourism, then why are they planning to do exactly that - just without the professionals?" she said. "And how do they think they'll do it better for less than $85,000? This is going to end up costing the ratepayers more, not less."
