Latest News from Tourism New Zealand

The winners of Tourism New Zealand’s ‘Great Kiwi Invite’ campaign were announced on Friday. The 15 winners hail from several of New Zealand’s major tourism markets including the US, UK and Australia.

More than 80,000 Kiwis sent invitations to friends and family offshore as part of the campaign. The invitations reached all corners of the globe, with the largest numbers being sent to the UK, Australia, US, Europe, Canada and South Africa.

Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton says the response to the campaign exceeded expectations and boosted New Zealand’s profile in a number of key markets.

Read the full story online

Catch up with what's happening in our offshore markets. Video updates from Tourism New Zealand's regional management team are now available on our corporate YouTube channel.

Filmed at the Inbound Tour Operator's Conference in August, these short videos update the economic situations and travel outlooks for some of our key markets.

Japan
Arrivals have taken a hit following the outbreak of Influenza A (H1N1), but Japan's economy is beginning to show signs of recovery and New Zealand may see some growth in arrivals during October through December.

UK and Europe
Arrivals from the UK continue to be down and this slump is expected to continue over summer, although there are some signs that bookings may pick up after Christmas. Tourism New Zealand has campaigns and trade activity planned for several European markets this summer.

Australia
Australia's economy is bouyant and consumer confidence is increasing. This will remain a key market over the next 12 months and Tourism New Zealand is continuing high profile marketing activity to keep pressure on arrivals.

North America
A stabilising economy is creating "glimmers of hope" in the US, with good travel deals helping drive interest in New Zealand. But competition is fierce. Campaign activity in both the US and Canada during September and October will focus on boosting summer bookings.

China and South Korea
Influenza A (H1N1) is still impacting travel, but there has been strong interest from the travel trade in New Zealand training opportunities during the recent quiet period. In South Korea, Tourism New Zealand's focus is on building the fully independent travel sector.

Watch all video updates on YouTube

For more detailed information on all of Tourism New Zealand's offshore tourism markets, see our online market guides.

A seminar series is set to provide insights about the Australian market for New Zealand-based operators.

Tourism New Zealand’s team from Australia will visit six main centres in September, offering one-day seminars in conjunction with the local regional tourism organisations (RTOs) about the current situation in Australia.

Seminars will cover the economic situation in Australia and outlook for travel, as well as Tourism New Zealand’s marketing, trade and public relations strategies in this market and an update on trans-Tasman aviation.

Tourism New Zealand Regional Manager Australia Barry Eddington says the seminar series will provide a valuable update for operators and all New Zealand RTOs that are already active in Australia.

Find out more

Kiwi Link India is about to kick off, with 25 New Zealand companies and regions making the trip to the four-day event running in New Delhi and Mumbai.

The bi-annual trade training event provides the New Zealand tourism industry, regional tourism organisations and tourism operators with a unique opportunity to educate frontline Indian sales staff and airlines selling New Zealand throughout India.

This year, the event will be attended by over 350 staff from more than 120 Indian travel companies engaged in selling and promoting travel to New Zealand.

Find out more online
See what other offshore trade events are coming up