U.S. travel to N.Z. increases sharply

Press, 16 September 1976, Page 17

U.S. travel to N.Z. increases sharply

From

JOHN N. HUTCHISON

San Francisco

American Government statistics show that travel to New Zealand is up very substantially this year.

New Zealand's senior North American travel commissioner, Mr Lang Manning, quoting figures from the United States Immigration and Naturalisation Service, said that the increase for the first six months of 1976 was 41.4 per cent over the same period in 1975. Air New Zealand’s eight flights weekly from Los Angeles had been fully booked for months, said Mr Manning, whose office is in San Francisco. The manager of Air New Zealand’s San Francisco office, Mr John Senone, said that business was so brisk that the airline’s DC 10 passenger craft would be altered to provide additional seating, from December. The new configuration would have nine seats abreast instead of the present eight, he said, without reducing comfort. Air New Zealand, he noted, had been the only airline that had not converted to at least nine seats abreast. Some lines have gone to 10. The change will increase the capacity of the DClOs

from 244 economy-class passengers to 268, which is almost equivalent to adding another weekly flight.. Mr Senone credits the New Zealand Government's intensive North American promotion effort of the last three years with stimulating the trend. Representatives of the New Zealand Tourist and Publicity Department, with the co-operation of airlines serving the South Pacific, have conducted an aggressive campaign across the United States and Canada, to tell the story of New Zealand’s attractions to travel agents and their prospective clients, the general public..

"I think we are nowreaping the benefits of that exceptionally good job,” Mr Senone said. An American, he expressed his admiration for the energy and efficacy marking the long promotion, as well as for the policy of the New Zealand Government in making the funds available.

Mr Manning said the corner appeared to have been turned at the beginning of 1976. The increases had been especially gratifying during the American summer, normally not the peak period for travel to the Southern Hemisphere.

In addition to the heavy promotion, two other factors have been suggested as contributing to New Zealand's popularity for tourists. “New Zealand is a ‘non-turmoil’ area,” Mr Senone remarked. So many countries suffering from crises which make tourists nervous, New Zealand offers a quiet atmosphere.” The exchange rate, with the New Zealand and American dollars at virtual parity, is also a new advantage to the traveller from the United States. Americans now rank second to Australia in the supply of tourists to New Zealand, the United Kingdom third. The increase in travel to New Zealand has not been matched by that to Australia. While New Zealand was enjoying the 41.4 per cent increase for the first half of 1976, Australia’s gain was only 8.5 per cent