NEW DELHI: Tourism New Zealand is looking at achieving a double digit growth in the number of Indian travelers visiting the country during the current fiscal as it tries to hard-sell it as one of the preferred global destinations.
The country, which received nearly 30,000 visitors in the financial year ended June 2013, said apart from Indian honeymooners, it is also looking at business travelers to drive the growth as it focuses on the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) segment.
“We are looking at double digit growth in the number of Indian travelers visiting New Zealand in the current financial year,” Tourism New Zealand South & South East Asia Regional Manager Mischa Mannix-Opie told PTI.
For Tourism New Zealand, India is one of three key emerging markets from where it sees the potential of getting lots of visitors, the others being Indonesia and Latin America, she added.
“To make this happen the budget to tap the Indian market has been increased by four times to NZD 3.5 million,” Mannix-Opie said.
Indians look at traveling to New Zealand mainly for honeymoon and family vacations. Now Tourism New Zealand has also started targeting the MICE market in India, she added.
The increasing spending power of Indians are also making them an attractive target. On an average, a visitor from India spends NZD (New Zealand dollar) 3,400 (around Rs 1.64 lakh) per visit, excluding airfare. This is well above the global average of NZD 2,300, Mannix-Opie said.
Tourism is the second highest in foreign exchange earnings for New Zealand after dairy and around one in 10 jobs in the country is linked to it, she added.
On the marketing plans of Tourism New Zealand in India, she said the target market here is being tapped by its global ‘100 per cent Pure New Zealand’ campaign. It has been adapted for India to specifically focus on the family, honeymoon and business events (incentives) market, she added.
“Partnerships with travel trade and airlines will continue to be part of our ongoing strategy in India,” Mannix -Opie said.
Tourism New Zealand is the organization responsible for marketing the country to the world as a tourist destination.
It is funded by the New Zealand government and governed by board members who are appointed by the Minister of Tourism. – PTI
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