Latest News from Tourism New Zealand

The early Easter break and volcanic ash cloud over Europe resulted in a dip in international visitor arrivals in April, with total arrivals down 4.0 per cent compared with April 2009.

Although much of this decrease can be attributed to the earlier Easter break and Australian school holidays, which saw a larger number of visitors arrive in New Zealand in the last few days of March, last year’s economic downturn is still impacting travel from long-haul markets.

Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Kevin Bowler says reversing the downward trend in key long-haul markets including the US and China will be a priority this year.

Australia also remains a focus for Tourism New Zealand. Although visitor arrivals were up only 0.4 per cent in April, arrivals from our biggest market were up 10 per cent for the months of March and April combined compared with 2009.

Read the full market update, including latest commentary from our key offshore markets

Chinese tourists can look forward to better quality group tour experiences, following changes to New Zealand's Approved Destination Status (ADS) programme released this week.

A revision of the ADS Code of Conduct, jointly developed by Tourism New Zealand and the Ministry of Tourism, will help address quality issues impacting travel from China and improve the value of this market. Shopping is one area that will come under increased scrutiny in the new code, with souvenir shops visited by ADS tours requiring a Qualmark endorsement from 1 January 2011.

Read more on our website
 

Travellers who use New Zealand’s i-SITE Visitor Information Centre Network are doing more and spending more while on holiday, according to new research by Tourism New Zealand.

The i-SITE New Zealand perception research surveyed more than 2,000 international and domestic visitors and tourism businesses in 2009/10.

The research found most international visitors go on to make bookings or pay for a service as a result of their visit to an i-SITE Centre. More than half said they would have missed a highlight of their holiday if they hadn't visited an i-SITE.

Read more on our website

New Zealand will soon be a step closer for thousands of Americans with the announcement last week of a new direct daily Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Auckland.

The new service, from one of America's biggest air hubs, will start in November 2011. The new route will open up the East and Central US, and connecting flights into Europe.

Tourism New Zealand and Tourism Auckland welcomed the announcement as a valuable development for New Zealand.

Read full details on our website

Tourism New Zealand's Explore New Zealand Programme gives New Zealand tourism operators the opportunity to offer their products and services at discounted rates to visiting international media and travel sellers.

The Explore guidebook is published every two years, with the next edition - Explore 2011-2012 - due to be released in late 2010.

Registration opens on Tuesday 8 June. Don't miss out on this opportunity to increase your visability - diarise to register before registrations close on Friday 16 July!

Find out more about Explore and how to register

• Congratulations to everyone involved in making this year's TRENZ event a success. Tourism New Zealand looks forward to seeing you in Queenstown in May 2011. Find out how our TRENZ Blogger, Ruth Atherley, found TRENZ 2010 in a special blog post.
   
• Designed for the international and domestic cruise industry, the new Cruise New Zealand website went live last week. Content includes information for travel sellers, supplier details and cruise schedules plus news updates, statistics and research for members.

• Innovation is the focus for the 2010 Tourism Industry Awards, relaunched last week following a review by the Tourism Industry Association (TIA). The Awards will acknowledge leading and highly innovative operators from across the industry. Entries open 4 June. Read more on our website

• New Zealand has once again taken centre stage as a leader in responsible tourism, with Whale Watch Kaikoura winning the Community Benefit Award at the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, hosted by the World Tourism and Travel Council in China last week. Read more on our website
   
• A reminder that nominations for the 2010 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards close on 14 June. It would be fantastic to see more New Zealand tourism organisations among the finalists (and winners)  in 2010. Find out more and make your nominations online at www.responsibletourismawards.com