Activity in Market

Tourism New Zealand Activity

Campaign

Tourism New Zealand has confirmed advertising activity around the Indian Cricket Team’s New Zealand tour in March 2009. The tour will include five one day matches, two tests and a Twenty20 game. The campaign with Sony Ent TV, which owns the broadcast rights to the matches, will increase the visibility of New Zealand tourism products during the tour.

The 100% Pure New Zealand campaign launched in India for the first time in February 2008. Online banner advertising and nation-wide television advertising saw visits to www.newzealand.com soar from just over 3,000 to 13,270 within the first week.

New Zealand is a popular choice among Indian honey-mooners and Tourism New Zealand participates in high-end consumer wedding shows in order to capture the attention of this market.

Trade

Tourism New Zealand recently conducted training sessions in Hyderabad and Bangalore for a total of 74 agents, who were trained in New Zealand self-drive holidays and itinerary planning.

Twelve Indian agents attended Kiwi Link Asia in Shanghai in October. Three received 2008 Tourism New Zealand Asia Awards: Strawberi Holidays (Highly Commended Dedicated New Zealand Brochure); Cox & Kings (Best Self-Drive Brochure); and Beacon Holidays (Best Luxury Product Development).

Media

Tourism New Zealand recently hosted a freelance writer on a self-drive trip through the North Island and Abel Tasman National Park. Stories are expected in as many as 12 media outlets in February and March.

Vogue India (circulation 50,000) and leading Indian fashion designer Manish Arora visited New Zealand in November. Their visit encompassed luxury tourism experiences in Wellington, Nelson, Hamner and Christchurch.

Plans are also underway to host influential Indian business people and other ‘opinion leaders’ during the Indian Cricket Team’s tour of New Zealand in March next year.

Competitor Activity

With the economic slowdown hitting the global travel industry, international airlines and hotels at destinations such as Australia, South Africa and Egypt are offering discounts to attract Indian tourists. Hotel operators in several international destinations have cut room rates by 20 to 25 per cent.

After having a representative office in India for ten years, Tourism Australia has opened its first tourism office in Mumbai. In the past five years, the number of Indians visiting Australia has grown by more than 20 per cent per annum, from 45,593 in 2003 to 95,200 in 2007, with India now the twelfth largest inbound market for Australia in terms of visitor arrivals.

Maison de la France’s annual trade show, French Connection 2008, has been held with the aim of attracting tourists to France. The French Tourism Board intends to tap into independent travellers and the Indian meetings and incentives market.

Finland Tourism has significantly increased investment in India since the commencement of direct Mumbai-Helsinki flights. It plans to introduce a ‘Finland Specialist’ programme for the travel trade. The North Finland Film Commission is targeting Bollywood production houses to attract them for future shoots in Finland.

Meanwhile SAS Scandinavian Airlines re-entered the Indian market after a break of six years by launching a Delhi-Copenhagen non-stop service. The flight will operate three times a week and will offer connections from Delhi to 60 different destinations via Copenhagen to all of Scandinavia, Europe and the US.