The All Blacks’ progress at the Rugby World Cup wasn’t the only huge news out of New Zealand over the weekend, with the country electing a new Prime Minister in Christopher Luxon.
The new PM is many things: a devout Christian, centre-right conservative and long-time Unilever executive. But it is his more recent stint, from 2012 to 2018, as boss of the country’s national airline, Air New Zealand, that might buoy the spirits of NZ tourism authorities.
With a PM who pushed the agenda for air travel into and out of New Zealand for so long, one would imagine Tourism New Zealand and indeed Air New Zealand, are excited about the prospect of having a potential new ally in power – though neither body has yet officially comment on the election result.
One could at least assume, for instance, the former Air NZ CEO would be one to never fly the flag for closing borders again.
Luxon also joined the board of the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand in April 2014.
Air New Zealand success
After succeeding former CEO Rob Fyfe as the head of Air New Zealand in late 2012, Luxon oversaw record profits for the flag carrier in an eight-year tenure as boss.
During that time, Air NZ was also named Australia’s most trusted brand several times, Stuff reported.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Luxon though, with the ex-CEO often criticised by unions over pay disputes, like those that almost resulted in a multi-day strike over the peak Christmas period in 2018, around six months before he left the top job.
Only time will tell, what impact, if any, a Luxon Government will have on tourism in New Zealand. But the signs are there that it could be a positive one.
Aussie spending surges
Australian holidaymakers are forking out more in New Zealand than in pre-pandemic times, with tourism authorities reporting double-digit growth in spending by Aussie travellers.
According to Tourism New Zealand, Australian visitors spent NZ$1.59 billion (nearly AU$1.5 billion) in NZ in the last financial year (to June 2023) compared to NZ$1.32 billion in 2019.
With holiday arrival numbers still only at around 81 per cent of pre-COVID levels, the data shows that visitors are of higher quality than before, meaning they’re staying longer and spending more per person.
Tourism New Zealand also says Aussies are diversifying their travel across the country and seasons.
“Australian holiday visitors are spending around 20 per cent more than pre COVID, this result demonstrates that our strategy to grow value over volume is working,” Tourism New Zealand CEO René de Monchy said.
“Australian visitors are high quality – visiting evenly across all our seasons and different regions, staying on average 11 days and spending around $333 per day.
“Tourism New Zealand is focused on targeting high-quality visitors who stay longer and spend more, ensuring tourism gives back more than it takes. It’s about the quality of the visitors, not the volume of visitors.
“Tourism is a critical contributor to New Zealand’s economy and it’s important we continue to position New Zealand as an attractive destination for high-quality Australian visitors.”
Earlier this month, Tourism New Zealand tapped Taika Waititi to star in its latest promo film while the well-known Kiwi actor and director shot the latest season of his TV series in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Read our new interview with Air New Zealand GM Australia Kathryn O’Brien.
