ITC Industry News Bulletin #69
In this week’s airline, travel and tourism news, the world’s first privately owned rocket launch site has opened in NZ, regional tourism is on the rise, and more.
TOP STORIES
World’s 1st private space launch site opens in New Zealand
‘Space tourism’ seems to be edging closer and closer every day. Rocket Lab, a US-based company, has opened the world’s first privately-owned space launch site on the Mahia peninsula near Wairoa.
Hawke’s Bay Tourism general manager Annie Dundas is already anticipating a tourism increase in the area.
“There is genuine interest in space tourism around the world, and the opportunity to see rockets launch from one of the most beautiful parts of New Zealand provides a massive opportunity for Wairoa and the wider Hawke’s Bay region as well as Gisborne,” Annie told the New Zealand Herald.
Flights are expecting to sell for a cool $7.6 million and have already attracted the likes of NASA and Planet Labs.
Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates for August 2016 show continued growth in regions
Regional New Zealand is benefitting from the tourism boom, with new data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) revealing an increase in tourism expenditure across most regions in the year to August 2016.
Nelson saw the most expenditure increase, up 11.7 per cent. The next fastest-growing region was Otago, up 9.6 per cent.
Manager of Sector Trends at MBIE, Peter Ellis, said this information was key to helping regional New Zealand prepare for future growth.
“Tourism spend information for the regions help inform investment and planning in the tourism industry by providing further insight into where both domestic and international tourists and spending their money,” he said.
IN BRIEF
New MPI frontline staff to protect New Zealand
The Ministry for Primary Industries is welcoming more than 40 new staff to its ranks today, including 23 new quarantine officers. The quarantine officers will be responsible for checking visitors at the border to make sure they do not bring any pests or diseases into the country. Read more.
Air New Zealand on the hunt for digital interns
The airline is looking for top digital talent to fill a number of paid internships over summer. 50 applicants have been shortlisted for positions across Software Engineering, Airpoints, Information Security, Digital Marketing, Data Science & Machine Learning, Digital Strategy, and User Experience. Read more.
Trio of awards recognise New Zealand as a top luxury travel destination
Tourism New Zealand has received rewards for its efforts in marketing New Zealand as a luxury travel destination – two from the Luxperience trade event in Sydney, and one from Virtuoso, the US luxury travel network. Read more.
Working Holiday Scheme with Luxembourg signed
The New Zealand Immigration Minister, Michael Woodhouse, has signed an agreement with Luxembourg which “will allow up to 50 young people from New Zealand and Luxembourg to live and work in each other’s countries”. Read more.
YHA Global Winners of Environmental Award
YHA New Zealand has been awarded the ‘Green Accommodation Initiative’ for its “longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible tourism”. Read more.
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