Two ancient trees, both tourism icons of cultural significance,
have united New Zealand and Japan in an agreement that is expected
to boost tourism.
Waipoua Forest's giant kauri tree Tane Mahuta and Jōmon Sugi, a
giant cedar on Yakushima Island off the coast of Japan, have
brought together two communities in a ground-breaking 'Family of
Ancient Trees' agreement.
Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton says
Yakushima is Japan's most popular World Heritage Site in terms of
domestic travel with around 250,000 Japanese visiting the island
each year. The connection between the two trees will give Japanese
nature-lovers a compelling reason to visit New Zealand.
"New Zealand's natural beauty is already the key attraction for
international visitors and the Japanese market is no exception,"
says George Hickton.
"The ancient trees project will add another dimension to promote
New Zealand to this market as well as providing the regions
increased opportunity for economic growth and employment through
tourism."
Japanese officials including Tonao Hidaka, the Mayor of
Yakushima, arrived in New Zealand on Tuesday and will travel to
Northland to sign the agreement. The group is accompanied by media
outlets Kyodo News, MBC TV, Nishi Nihon
newspaper and Minami Nihon newspaper, which have a
combined audience of more than 3.5 million.
The signing ceremony will be attended by New Zealand guests
including members of local iwi Te Roroa, local councillors, Tourism
New Zealand representatives and the Minister of Conservation Tim
Groser.
Alex Nathan, Chairperson for Te Roroa Whatu Ora Trust, says the
relationship provides a significant opportunity to develop into
practical and tangible gains for Te Roroa as an iwi and as a
corporate identity.
"Te Roroa is proud to be in this relationship with the people of
Yakushima; we have a lot we can learn from their experiences and
look forward to sharing our experiences and knowledge with them.
This is the beginning, the seed."
George Hickton says Tourism New Zealand intends to expand the
initiative to include trees of significance from other countries
around the world.
"The family tree project is a living example of kaitiakitanga,
or guardianship of the environment, a core value of the New Zealand
Tourism Strategy. This project fits well with Tourism New Zealand's
work in Japan to promote walking in our country and provides an
opportunity to share New Zealand's environmental attractions with
others."
Japan is New Zealand's fifth largest tourism market and one of
our highest spending markets. Though visitor arrivals from Japan
have been in decline in recent years, we continue to welcome close
to 100,000 Japanese visitors to New Zealand each year. In the year
to December 2008 average spend by visitors from Japan increased 16
per cent to NZ$4,290.
Read more about Japan
in the Japan Market Guide