New Zealand: The arrival of the first direct Air Canada flight from Vancouver on Saturday (Nov 12) in almost two years means Auckland Airport is now the most connected airport to North America across the whole of Australasia, Stuart Nash said.
“This addition to North American airline capacity is another welcome step in our tourism recovery. We are projecting 180,000 – 200,000 arrivals during the 2022-2023 summer season, which will contribute an estimated $810 to $890 million to our economy,” said Stuart Nash.
Canada is an important tourism market to New Zealand with 73,037 visitors from Canada welcomed in 2019. These visitors spent an estimated $296 million while they were in the country. Over 56 percent of these arrivals traveled to New Zealand for a holiday.
“Research tells us that 5.6 million Canadians are actively considering a trip to NZ in the next three years. We are very active in this key market with our global campaign which showcases a range of New Zealand experiences and shows audiences what is on offer across our fantastic regions,” said Stuart Nash.
Extensive airline schedules now connect Aotearoa New Zealand directly to eight destinations in North America. Auckland Airport confirmed that October was the busiest school holiday since 2019, with 600,000 passengers flying both domestically and internationally via Auckland Airport.
“In the four weeks leading to 23 October, we welcomed around 140,000 international visitors to shores and now our City of Sails will see visitors from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, New York, Honolulu, and Vancouver.
“We have some fantastic upcoming events that will really appeal to the North American market such as the Men’s Softball World Cup from late November in Auckland and the 102nd edition of the New Zealand Golf Open teeing off in Queenstown in early March.
“I know our tourism and hospitality operators have been excitedly preparing for the return of our North American friends and family to offer up world-class experiences, adventures, and the manaakitanga we are known for,” Stuart Nash said.
