ITC Industry News Bulletin #76
In this week’s airline, travel and tourism news, New Zealand is ‘open for business’ after the quakes, regional tourism has received further funding, and much more.
TOP STORIES
New Zealand still ‘open for business’ in wake of quakes
On Monday November 14, another major quake struck the South Island of New Zealand. Measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale, it has caused damage to areas between Christchurch and Wellington, but Tourism New Zealand wants the world to know that the country is still open for business.
The main point to note is that while one area has certainly been affected, the rest of the country is still perfectly safe and is welcoming visitors with open arms. Any visitors wishing to travel between Christchurch and Picton or Blenheim won’t be able to travel along State Highway 1 and will have to take the inland route or fly instead.
“At this stage, it is impossible to predict the long-term impact the earthquake may have on tourism,” said Tourism NZ in a statement.
New budget set to allocate $20 million to tourism
An extra $20 million has been added to the budget that comes out next week, according to a TVNZ article. The funds will be specifically targeted to help smaller towns in regional areas cope with additional visitors and to further increase the country’s international profile.
The announcement comes off the back of a bumper tourism season, which has seen record numbers every new month, and annual tourism spending reach $10 billion. While all of these booms throughout the tourism industry have been a huge help for the economy, it has also put pressure on areas that require more facilities (such as public bathrooms and rubbish bins) to cope with the figures.
“The quantity is good, but really it’s the quality of those visitors – they are staying longer and spending more money. That’s the key driver,” explained Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett.
IN BRIEF
Sidharth Malhotra begins NZ tour with a dance
Bollywood star Sidharth Malhotra is in New Zealand for a second promotional tour of the country, and he kicked his trip off this week with an impromptu dance upon landing in Christchurch Airport. The move was inspired when local Bollywood dance group welcomed him with a performance, and he instantly joined in. Read more
Retro tourism posters return for short run
The immensely popular retro ‘Selling the Dream’ New Zealand tourism posters were created in the 1920s through to the 60s, and recently enjoyed a two-year stint as an exhibition in venues around the country from 2014. They will be returning to the Canterbury Museum for two months then heading north to the Waikato Museum in April. Read more
Tourism scholarships go to South Island students
Tourism scholarships have been awarded to three students, all from the South Island, to help cover the costs of their tertiary education in the field. The winners were announced at the Tourism Summit Aotearoa in Wellington and each one will receive $2,500 towards their studies. Read more
Air NZ boss to speak at Queenstown event
Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon will speak at the ‘Shaping our Future’ annual general meeting on November 21. He will specifically cover local tourism infrastructure and the company’s performance strategy. Read more
Air New Zealand wins another award
Air New Zealand continues to rake in the accolades, this time winning the honour of best for overall service by AirlineRatings. The carrier was followed by Qantas in second place, and Singapore Airlines in third. Read more
September figures show guest nights continue rising
Newly released figures for September show that the number of guest nights for the month were up 6.4 per cent compared with the same time last year. That brings the figure up to 2.6 million for domestic and international guests across all accommodation types. Read more
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