Posted by on 17 July 09
New Zealand PM and Tourism Minister stresses need for closer tourism ties with India and China
The Prime Minister and Tourism Minister of New Zealand, John Key has stressed on the need to strengthen ties with India and encourage bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in the area of tourism promotion. Speaking exclusively with TravelBiz Monitor on the sidelines of TRENZ 2009, which concluded in Auckland last month, Key said that India and China were the key markets for New Zealand in future.
“We have to move quickly to tap the burgeoning tourism markets of India and China. The potential of these two markets can no longer be ignored and they are the key growth countries for the future of New Zealand tourism. We are hopeful of signing the FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with India in the near future and envision that tourism between the two countries will be one of the major beneficiaries,” stated Key.
Lamenting the current lack of air connectivity between India and New Zealand, Key stressed on the need for improvement in this area in the immediate future and expressed hope that air connectivity between the two countries can be improved soon. “It is crucial to the development of tourism between India and New Zealand. We are quite satisfied with the growth in Indian tourists to New Zealand over the last five years and hope that this growth will be greatly accelerated over the next five years. We are serious about the Indian and Chinese markets and they will be part of our prime focus and marketing efforts over the next few years,” stressed Key.
The New Zealand PM seemed fairly confident that more Indian tourists will visit New Zealand and the growth rate will see a significant increase over the last couple of years with an increased awareness of New Zealand in India through the most popular mediums- Cricket and Bollywood. “Yes Cricket and Bollywood will be key in promoting the image and appeal of New Zealand in India, as we have learnt recently,” added Key. He further added, “We will do whatever it takes to promote New Zealand as the next tourism hotspot for the Indian traveller.
In a three to five year span, Key feels that Indian tourism to New Zealand will move to the next stage of maturity and is bullish that his country will find favour with visiting Indians for its uniqueness,adventure activities and pure and safe destination status. India currently figures nowhere on the list of top tourism markets into New Zealand. “However, looking into the future, sheer growth estimates and purchasing power of the average Indian traveller will make it a potential market that is second to none,” opined the New Zealand Prime Minister.
Elaborating on the development of the New Zealand tourism product, Key stressed that the new focus was on the forthcoming Rugby World Cup in 2011 for which the city of Auckland will receive a complete overhaul and upgrade, inclusive of a waterfront/wharf development and fresh infusion of 60 million dollars for development of tourism infrastructure through till 2010. Marketing spends to promote the event and the destination will also be ramped up, asserted Key amidst applause from the entire audience at TRENZ 2009. Here is a Prime Minister (who is also Tourism Minister) who knows what he’s talking about when it comes to tourism, was the common consensus amongst the worldwide gathering in Auckland for TRENZ. So when will it ever happen in India?... I asked myself.
Resources:
No comments:
Post a Comment