Honeymoon target
By
BRUCE ROSCOE
in Tokyo
A Japanese travel agency, credited with playing a big part in developing the Hawaiian tourist market for Japanese honeymooners, has added New Zealand to its itinerary. The agency, World Tour Operators, Inc., which markets tours under the Jetour label, ranks itself as one of the five biggest tour firms in Japan. It has calculated that, within a year from November 1, it will send more than 3000 Japanese holidaymakers to New Zealand, about 70 per cent of whom it expects will be honeymooners. In two to three years, World Tour believes the figure will grow to 10,000. "We have the chance to
make a New Zealand boom now,” said Mr Yoshihiro Kato, a Jetour planning manager, in an interview. “We have to develop a new destination and the only untouched regions are New Zealand and Australia. In some months, New Zealand is now cost-competitive with Hawaii, and the Hawaiian market is saturated. Travel “beginners” are looking to New Zealand, New Caledonia, and Fiji.” Mr Kato said New Zealand had become a competitive destination because of Air New Zealand’s new jumbo jet service to Japan. World Tour was promoting eight different New Zealand tours, each of more than eight days, and all tours would depart and return on Air New Zealand flights. The firm’s decision to send
tours to New Zealand is expected to have a big influence on the growth in the number of Japanese visitors to New Zealand. The firm is confident that it can capture 10 per cent of the New Zealand market for Japanese travellers within a year. If the tours sell well, other Tokyo travel firms may follow suit as Hawaii becomes more “old hat.” World Tour last year catered to 199,083 tourists, including the dispatch of a daily average of 58 honeymoon couples to Hawaii. One of the eight-day tours that Jetour advertises in its “I’m Dreaming of New Zealand” brochure is called, “Wedding in Christchurch.” It costs $2960. Applicants are advised to bring their wedding dress and ring from Japan. '
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Press, 1 November 1982, Page 6
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343Honeymoon target Press, 1 November 1982, Page 6
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