Tourism NZ targets Asian travel trade
Tourism New Zealand is planning to boost visitor numbers from South and Southeast Asia with a major new regional push.
The national tourism board is in Bangkok this week to meet members of the region’s travel trade, and put them in direct contact with New Zealand tourism suppliers. The ‘Kiwi Link South & Southeast Asia’ event, being held at the Grand Millennium Sukhumvit hotel from 4-5 March 2013, will see 38 New Zealand tourism operators showcasing their products, including hotel, attractions, inbound and regional tourism operators.
“We saw this opportunity as one too good to miss to showcase New Zealand to the wider Thailand travel agent network,” said Mischa Mannix-Opie, Tourism New Zealand’s Regional Manager for South & Southeast Asia, who is in Bangkok this week.
Numbers of Asian visitors to New Zealand have seen strong growth in recent years, with the majority in the leisure market. Singapore is the largest source market in South and Southeast Asia, with approximately 38,000 annual visitors, followed by India (30,000), Malaysia (28,000), Thailand (17,000) and Indonesia (12,000). And while these numbers appear small, the Asian market’s importance is growing. In a media briefing yesterday (4 March 2013), Ms Mannix-Opie revealed that the majority of Asian travellers choose to visit New Zealand during the northern hemisphere winter, which is the opposite of the traditional European markets, giving the country a welcome boost in the slower months.
She also revealed that the travel trade is “crucial” to New Zealand’s success in Asia, and used the Bangkok event to relaunch the country’s agent training programme.
The new ‘100% Pure New Zealand Specialist’ programme is intended to accredit travel agents with being New Zealand experts. The course can be taken online, and a series of enhancements means that agents can renew their membership more easily every three years. Tourism New Zealand will also be offering new members of the scheme the chance to join a mega fam trip to the country, with 50 places available to travel agents who complete the online course this year.