English tuition an attraction to N.Z

Press, 1 February 1983, Page 28

English tuition an attraction to N.Z

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BRUCE ROSCOE

in Tokyo About 18 Japanese travel agents have shown great interest in promoting New Zealand as a destination for Japanese wanting to brush up their English, according to Mr Christopher Woolcott, the director of the Aucklandbased Languages International school. ‘‘Certainly the interest is there. Several agents have asked for more details,” said Mr Woolcott, after a week in Tokyo selling his school’s New Zealand English study programme. The programme is one of the so-called “special interest tours” the New Zealand Government Tourist Office and Air New Zealand are promoting in the face of declining package tours. Mr Woolcott said the cultural centre of Japan’s National Broadcasting Corporation would send groups of 25 students to New Zea-

iana m Marcn. July, and August. Japan International Summer Schools had decided to send groups of doctors' children in July and January, and a Kagoshima. Kyushu, Primary school would send about 50 pupils ,in March. “The agents are making no secret of the fact that there is no profit left in standard package deals,” Mr Woolcott said. “They are moving into special interest tours (such as fishing and ski-ing) and New Zealand English is becoming one of those tours.”