Rugby World Cup bonus for New Zealand
The Rugby World Cup (RWC) is expected to drive up international visitor arrivals to New Zealand by more than a quarter.
Analysis of air bookings for the tournament, which runs from September 9 until October 23, indicates that international passenger arrivals to the host nation will increase by 25.4% compared to the same period in 2010.
The figures come from research by Forward Keys, a business intelligence tool launched by Forward Data in partnership with Amadeus.
Almost three quarters (72%) of all arrivals will be visitors from the world’s major rugby playing nations.
The largest number will arrive from Australia, with a 14.8% growth compared to 2010.
There will be a sharp spike in arrivals on October 7, coinciding with the start of the RWC quarter-finals.

Sari Vahakoski, managing director, Amadeus IT Pacific, said Forward Keys enabled hotels in New Zealand to anticipate the spike in visitors and more effectively leverage their commercial efforts.
“The analysis shows 2,000 passengers will arrive from France two days prior to the game with New Zealand, suggesting an opportunity for hotels to tailor their promotional efforts specifically to this customer segment,” Vahakoski said.
Ian Jarrett
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