AirNZ charters to boost Japanese arrivals
AUCKLAND – Air New Zealand is to operate a summer charter service to help grow visitor arrivals from Japan into New Zealand.
The airline will operate charters from Nagoya and Okinawa over the peak December-January tourist season, Chris Myers general manager Japan said today.
Among those supporting the initiative are Tourism New Zealand, Auckland Airport and Asia’s largest travel agency group JTB.
Myers said the charter service was the product of discussions last year between Air New Zealand and JTB about ways to stimulate travel between New Zealand and Japan.
The airline will be utilising 223-seat Boeing 767 aircraft, bringing in an additional 1100 Japanese tourists to the country over summer.
“Japan remains a very important market for New Zealand, contributing 96,000 tourists last year – our fifth largest market. It is also one of our highest spending markets,†says Myers.
“We are committed to growing tourism numbers from Japan and have been working hard to promote the “new†New Zealand, with the aim of attracting tourists to experience-based activities such as hiking and kayaking.â€
Myers said the airline was deliberately focusing on potential tourists from Nagoya and Okinawa as a complement to those already travelling on Air New Zealand’s scheduled services from Tokyo and Osaka.
“Japan is a challenging market, however we believe we can grow visitor numbers by working closely with our partners to identify potential opportunities, particularly in niche groups of travellers,†he said.
The charter services are scheduled to operate, on 28 December, 4 January, 11 January, 18 January and 25 January.
Ian Jarrett
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