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Friday, March 29, 2024

New Zealand wants more Filipino visitors

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New Zealand, one of the world’s premium destinations, wants to attract more tourists from the Philippines in what can be viewed as an international recognition of the Filipinos’ rising spending force.

“The Philippines is a new key source market for us,” Steven Dixon, regional manager for South Asia and Southeast Asia of Tourism New Zealand, tells journalists at Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel in Pasay City.

Dixon says Tourism New Zealand, the nation’s tourism promotion agency, decided to hold Kiwi Link for the first time in the Philippines on Oct. 2 to Oct. 4 to connect Filipino travel trade communities with New Zealand tourism operators and suppliers.

Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, is an emerging market for New Zealand with significant growth predicted in the future.

“The Philippines has grown as an interesting emerging market for Tourism New Zealand.  For the year ending August 2017 alone, more than 22,780 Filipinos visited New Zealand, with those on holiday staying an average of 13.7 days—the highest across our South and Southeast Asian markets,” Dixon says in a separate statement.

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Steven Dixon, regional manager for South Asia and Southeast Asia of Tourism New Zealand

The increase in visitor arrivals from the Philippines is attributed to an emerging middle class and improved airline connectivity, making the Philippines an interesting market.  New Zealand is considered a premium destination in the Philippines as the cost of the tour packages is one of the highest among the different long-haul destinations.

Dixon says tourism is now the biggest export generator in New Zealand and an important contributor to its economy.  International and domestic tourism contributed $34.7 billion to its economy in the fiscal year ending March 2017.  Of the total figure, foreign tourists accounted for $14.5 billion.

Tourism New Zealand now seeks to strengthen tourism ties between New Zealand and the Philippines through Kiwi Link’s different programs and other key initiatives. Kiwi, which was derived from a native flightless bird, is a nickname used internationally for people from New Zealand.

Dixon says last year, some 3.6 million foreign tourists visited New Zealand, a country of 4.4 million Kiwis, who are mostly of European descent.  Maori represents 14.6 percent of the country’s population, while 9.2 percent are Asians.  The rest are other Pacific islanders.

Auckland and Wellington are the two largest cities located in the North Island, where three quarters of Kiwis live.  

Dixon says Kiwi Link in Manila sought to strengthen travel trade ties between the two countries.  He says the event demonstrates Tourism New Zealand’s commitment to the growing Philippine market for holiday tourism and business events.

“With the upcoming launch of Philippine Airlines’ non-stop, three-times a week service from Manila to Auckland in December 2017, we’re expecting a further increase in visitor numbers from the Philippines.  This new service will reduce the flight time between Manila and Auckland to 10 hours and is expected to increase seat capacity by 21 percent,” he says.

“We are confident Kiwi Link Manila will help attract more high-calibre visitors from the Philippines to New Zealand,” says Dixon.

Kiwi Link Manila hosted 39 tour operators from Singapore, Jakarta, Indonesia and the Philippines and 31 from New Zealand consisting of accommodation, inbound operators and experience travel operators.

“New Zealand is a destination where you can experience so much, so many different types of activities—all amazing, and very diverse landscapes—all within a short span of time.  You will never be out of experience,” says Dixon, referring to experience tours of national parks, film locations of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, wine regions, glaciers, mountain resorts, rainforests and islands.

Dixon says Kiwis are very welcoming of foreign tourists.  “We had a survey recently, and it is almost 100 percent satisfaction for tourists out of New Zealand.  It is a very safe destination. It is very friendly. It is a part of what we do in New Zealand.  You will be greeted with a smile just like you have a great smile here in the Philippines,” says Dixon.

Dixon says many Filipinos now want to go to New Zealand.  “That is a part of why we think that it is really, really an attractive market,” he says.

“The one thing that we want Filipinos to understand is the ease of getting around when you are in New Zealand.  It is very easy to go from one location to another and experience is really different in diverse landscape in a short space of time.  You can be in our biggest city, then you can take a quick flight to the bottom of New Zealand and you can be among the glaciers. In the afternoon, you can experience natural rainforest.  It is incredibly easy to get around and it is safe and family-friendly as well.  There are a lot of families coming to New Zealand,” says Dixon.

Dixon says while Filipinos need to apply for a visa to go to New Zealand, the process is easy and the approval rate is high.  “We have one of the highest approval rates in this market.  Our process is affordable fast and streamlined.  You can do it online.  From start to finish, it is smooth and fast,” he says.

He says arrivals in New Zealand from the Philippines increased 29 percent as of end-August, a growth figure that is expected to continue in the coming years. 

Dixon, however, says New Zealand is not a budget destination.  “For a lot of people, it is an aspirational destination.  It is not a destination that everybody can get into.  We are a premium destination, but the type of experience you will have here you will never forget.  People who come to New Zealand and go back home say a little part of New Zealand never leaves them.  It is a premium destination, but you will be rewarded,” Dixon says.

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