ITC Industry News Bulletin #32
In this week’s NZ airline, travel and tourism news, Air New Zealand has been named as one of the world’s safest airlines and we take a look at Kiwi travel habits heading into 2016.
TOP STORIES
Air New Zealand makes list of 20 safest airlines for 2016
2015 was an impressive year for Air New Zealand, which received many awards and accolades. The airline looks set to continue its success heading into 2016 – mere days into the new year, Air New Zealand has been named as one of the top 20 safest airlines in the world by AirlineRatings.com.
This independent website provides safety ratings for over 400 air carriers and compiles a list of the safest airlines every year. Qantas was ranked number one for the third year in a row, while the rest of the top 20 was listed in alphabetical order.
Other airlines to make the list include Emirates, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia.
The travel habits of New Zealanders have changed significantly over the past 20 years, according to Statistics New Zealand data analysed by the NZ Herald. While most Kiwis used to travel predominantly to Australia and the South Pacific, many are now venturing much further abroad to more exotic destinations.
Maree Joll, the manager of Flight Centre Mount Eden, told the Herald she’s seen an increase in customers travelling to diverse locations.
“It’s the Kiwi mentality. We tick off some of the things from our bucket list then we want to get to some of the more remote places,” she said.
“We’re quite confident travellers, as well; we’re wanting to try to get off the beaten track.”
IN BRIEF
Auckland’s Chinese Lantern Festival on the move
For 16 years, the Auckland Chinese Lantern Festival has been held in the heart of the city in Albert Park. However, this year the organisers are in need of a new venue to accommodate the festival’s growth. The event will likely move to the Auckland Domain; a spokesman for the festival said they are “currently awaiting final planning consents, which we expect by the middle of this month”. Read more.
Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail rated one of the top places to visit in 2016
The Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail in the South Island has been named as a must-see destination for 2016 by Frommer’s, a leading travel website. General Manager of Tourism Waitaki, Jason Gaskill, told Stuff.co.nz he’s “ecstatic it has reached that kind of status”. Read more.
Top travel destinations for 2016
According to Stuff.co.nz, the top travel destinations for New Zealanders in 2016 are the USA, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, Australia, South America and Hawaii. Stuff has compiled mini travel guides for each of these locations. Read more.
[Just for fun]: How to be a better traveller
Planning a trip overseas in 2016? According to travel writer Ben Groundwater, there are a few things you can do to become a better traveller when abroad. Top of his list is to learn a language – he thinks Spanish is a good place to start. For more tips, check out the full article.
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