New American air service brings economic benefits - TIA

The new air service between the US and New Zealand announced today by Qantas and American Airlines will benefit all of New Zealand, the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) says.

"This new Los Angeles-Auckland service will grow the valuable US visitor market and encourage American travellers to see more of New Zealand by offering connections with JetStar’s growing regional network," TIA Chief Executive Chris Roberts says.

The US market is growing at 11% a year, with 237,000 visitors arriving in the last year. Their total spending has grown by an estimated 39% to $967 million a year.

"This is the goal of New Zealand’s tourism industry - to grow volume but grow value faster," Mr Roberts says. "The US is our third biggest visitor market and they enjoy what we have to offer. Tourism operators around the country will be keen to support this new service with activities and experiences that appeal to North American visitors.

"It’s fantastic to see airlines responding to the strong demand out of North America to visit New Zealand by increasing the supply. Sustainable air connectivity is a key theme of the Tourism 2025 growth framework. This new service adds to the expansion of Air New Zealand services to North America and the announced return of United Airlines to New Zealand."

TIA supported the Qantas-American Airlines Joint Business Agreement earlier this year. New Zealand’s distance from international markets means air services are critical to our global connectivity, with such services facilitating not only tourism, but also business, freight and wider trade objectives.

To read TIA’s submission on the Qantas-American Airlines Joint Business Agreement, go to www.tianz.org.nz/content/library/Submission_QantasAmerican_Airlines_JBA__final.pdf