Tourism New Zealand’s Chief Executive Kevin Bowler says today’s announcement from Air New Zealand regarding the commencement of flights between Houston in the USA and Auckland, is a spectacular one for the industry. 

 

“Visitor arrivals from the USA have been a stand-out performer in recent years, driven in large part by Tourism New Zealand and Air New Zealand’s work to capitalise on the Americans’ love of The Hobbit Trilogy,” says Kevin.

 

“This new service will enable us to broaden New Zealand's reach into the USA and the states that already deliver our second, third and fourth largest arrival numbers namely Texas, New York and Florida. 

 

“Residents of southern states are known to travel during their summer to avoid the heat, which aligns perfectly to Tourism New Zealand’s strategy to encourage shoulder season travel.  

 

“By providing visitors with an alternative to LA or San Francisco gateways we know that this announcement will have a significantly positive impact on the industry.

 

“It provides a meaningful market change that will help us to sustain the double digit growth we've been achieving.”

 

USA holiday arrivals for the year-ending February 2015 are up 13.8 per cent while holiday spend was up 32 per cent for the year-ending December 2015. 

 

For the past two years, Tourism New Zealand and Air New Zealand have delivered joint marketing activity internationally under a MOU valued at $20 million each year. 

 

ENDS

 

Contact Emma Carter, Senior Communications Advisor, Tourism New Zealand

emma.carter@tnz.govt.nz; phone +64 21 243 0386