Tourism New Zealand Targets Thai Families with Promotion

Tourism New Zealand, Thai Airways and Auckland Airport, have just launched a new initiative offering special deals to families travelling from Thailand to picturesque New Zealand.

The campaign aims to encourage Thai families to explore New Zealand’s stunning landscapes and experience the golden season of autumn by road.

Themed ‘Explore 100% Pure New Zealand Autumn Colour by Road’, this strategic collaboration offers Thais the chance to visit and experience international attractions like the geothermal city of Rotorua for its unique Maori culture, The Hobbit Movie Set & Farm Tours in Matamata, and New Zealand’s largest fresh water lake of Lake Taupo.

Other outdoor attractions include the rustic Kiwi country life, the amazingly scenic Queenstown which is also known as the “Adventure Capital” of New Zealand where modern-day bungy jumping was born, the quaint and picturesque village of Arrowtown which comes to life with vibrant colours every autumn, and the awesome Aoraki Mount Cook range of snow-capped mountains, pristine glacial lakes and a network of powder-blue canals.

Mischa Mannix-Opie, Regional Manager South and Southeast Asia, Tourism New Zealand, said, “New Zealand definitely has a lot to offer to Thai travellers, and we want to become one of the top vacation choices for Thais looking to experience something different. New Zealand offers one of the world’s best road trip experiences, either by coach or self-drive. It is a destination that is readily accessible and filled with diverse and spectacular landscapes that will surprise any traveller, who will go home full of memories of our warm hospitality. In the year ending December 2012, we welcomed 16,944 visitors from Thailand and we look forward to welcoming more Thai travellers to our shores.”

Glenn Wedlock, Auckland Airport General Manager Aeronautical Commercial, added, “We’re right behind this family initiative. Thailand is an important visitor market for New Zealand. We have seen increasing numbers of visitors here of late, with our last month showing a 30% increase from the year before, including holidaymakers up 26%. It’s great to see these encouraging growth signals as a result of the hard work going into Thailand. The future is bright. We’re targeting between 25,000 and 30,000 visitors from Thailand per annum as part of our Ambition 2020 programme, which we believe can be achieved through innovative partnerships such as this with Thai Airways, Tourism New Zealand and key agent partners in Thailand.”

The promotional airfares and holiday packages are now available online, and through select travel agents specializing in New Zealand holiday/travel packages.

Thai Airways flies direct to Auckland from Bangkok five times per week. The Bangkok-Auckland route is serviced by Boeing 777-200ER, which has a capacity of 292 seats.