New Regional Manager at Tourism New Zealand South and South East Asia

Steven Dixon has been appointed as Regional Manager, South and South East Asia at Tourism New Zealand based in Singapore.

Dixon, who previously held the position of Business Events Manager for North America based in its LA office, will now lead Tourism New Zealand's activities across the region including the markets of India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and Thailand.

Steven joined Tourism New Zealand in 2011 and has been fundamental in spearheading NZ’s Business Events offering with North American convention and incentives trade.

Prior to joining Tourism New Zealand, Steven worked in hotel management and development roles in Dunedin and Christchurch, including the highly successful launch of Hotel So in Christchurch. Before that, Steven spent time working in Japan and managing the New Zealand arm of a Japanese Inbound Tour Operator.

David Craig, General Manager Asia for Tourism New Zealand said, "I am delighted that we have someone of Steven's calibre to head the team in South and South East Asia. We are already seeing high double digit growth across a range of markets in the region, and under Steven's leadership, I am confident there will be much more to come."

Tourism New Zealand’s Singapore office works closely with staff in Thailand as well as overseeing trade, PR and marketing activity in Malaysia. The priority emerging markets of India and Indonesia have both grown significantly over the past year, as a result of both the Mumbai and Jakarta offices having four dedicated staff since October last year.

Overseas holiday arrivals to New Zealand from the region has grown steadily over the years with the month of October registering a total of 98,128 visitors, up 12,288 - 14.3% increase from October 2013. Total visitor arrivals year-on-year as of end of October sits at 1.34million which amounts to a 6.4% increase.

For South and South East Asia, an overall upward trend sees India leading with 20.2% growth, Singapore 16.3%, Malaysia 11.9% and Thailand closely following at 10.8%. 2014 was the Jakarta office’s first year of operation, and the team have been working to build a foundation for future growth.

Nick Mudge, who has been covering the role of Regional Manager for South and South East Asia since July, returns to Tokyo as Regional Manager of Japan and Korea.