Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) has announced a new partnership with Thai Airways and Auckland Airport promoting special airfares for Indian tourists for the travel period of November 2014 to March 2015. This new venture aims to increase traffic on the Auckland route from India.
The promotion will target Indian travellers with high disposable incomes – both young adventurers and trend-setting families – looking to experience a unique holiday. With the bookings available until December 2014, the initiative also gives tourists a unique opportunity to encounter a variety of New Zealand experiences during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
Speaking about the joint venture, David Craig, General Manager Asia, TNZ said, “We are very happy about our new partnership with Thai Airways and Auckland Airport, especially since it is open to travellers right before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. India is a priority emerging market in South and South East Asia and is central to the long term strategy of both Tourism New Zealand and Thai Airways.”
The Indian outbound holiday market to New Zealand has been seeing steady growth especially in New Zealand’s autumn and spring shoulder seasons, making India an important market for offsetting seasonality.
Korakot Chatasingha, General Manager, Thai Airways stated, “Thai is happy to partner with Tourism New Zealand and Auckland Airport to stimulate more visitors to Auckland. Our main focus this winter is to increase tourists to Auckland especially with our daylight flights from New Delhi and new additional daylight services from Kolkata, effective December, which will give greater and immediate connectivity into Auckland.”
Charles Spillane, Acting General Manager Aeronautical Commercial, Auckland Airport said, “India is an important market for New Zealand that has been experiencing great growth recently. When we compare the period October 2013 to September 2014 to the same period the year before, we can see that Indian arrivals to New Zealand have increased by 17 per cent. Also, for this same period, Indian holiday arrivals have increased by 14 per cent, signifying the growing popularity of New Zealand as a holiday destination. Thai Airways is a key provider of services between India and New Zealand and this partnership in India will certainly help to stimulate further growth from this market and support our work with Tourism New Zealand in India.”
