Sudipta Dev – Mumbai
The increasing number of Indian visitors to New Zealand has led to India being included among the top 10 markets for the country. In 2013, as many as 35,000 Indians visited New Zealand. “The Indian market grew at a rate of 17 per cent last year. We have made significant investment in people and marketing budget in this country,” said David Craig, general manager, Asia, Tourism New Zealand. There are three focus areas in this market – young adventures (including honeymooners), families, and the new area of business events sector. The last 10 months have seen the arrival of 1500 MICE visitors contributing more than NZD five million.
The ICC World Cup in 2015 will be one of the important events to be promoted for incentive travel. The key conferencing destinations in New Zealand are – Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown. “We have dedicated resorts for the incentive travel segment. There are a wide number of corporate team building activities,” said Craig, remarking that one of the key factors that makes a difference is the extent to which the agencies work together and the Immigration Department plays a significant role in this.
Tourism New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) and six leading Indian travel agents have signed an MoU which will enable fast tracking of visa processing for Indian travellers attending business events in New Zealand. “Signing of the MoU is an important factor making sure that New Zealand is open for business, work and play. There are a lot of reasons why people from India want to travel to New Zealand,” said Michael Woodhouse, immigration minister, New Zealand. Under the MoU the visa applications will be processed in three working days. The MoU is effective till November 6, 2015.