Air New Zealand Domestic Fare Cuts Will Benefit Wellington Tourism
19 January 2007
Air New Zealand’s announcement today to cut domestic airfares comes as good news for Wellington, says the city’s tourism marketing organisation.
The national airline announced today that fares will fall by up to 26% from January 24 for travel effective from February 24. This will impact on airfares between Wellington and major centres, with the cheapest one-way fares between Auckland and Wellington dropping from $115 to $89 and between Christchurch and Wellington from $93 to $79.
“We’ve always maintained that capacity, frequency and price are critical to driving growth out of any visitor market,” says Positively Wellington Tourism CEO Tim Cossar. “Air New Zealand’s recent announcements are great news in these areas.”
“Late last year we saw Air New Zealand boost its domestic services to the capital, with increased flights between Wellington and Dunedin and Wellington and Queenstown, plus a new non-stop link between Wellington and Invercargill. This cut in airfares, paired with the increase in regional services to and from Wellington, is good news for the capital’s domestic visitor market.”
“The domestic visitor market is vitally important to Wellington,” Tim Cossar says. “We’ve seen positive growth in this market over the past year, with the latest figures showing a 9.9% increase in domestic guest nights at year end November 2006. The flight increases and fare cuts are exciting. They signal an opportunity to drive further market growth.”
“Positively Wellington Tourism partners with Air New Zealand in our award-winning New Zealand marketing campaign, ‘Have a Love Affair with Wellington’. The airline plays an integral role in growing the domestic market, and such moves as today’s announcement can only but support that growth.”
Fast Facts:
- Domestic tourism is worth approximately $500 million to the Wellington regional economy.
