New Zealand tourism investment to see boost in arrivals from U.S.

New Zealand government has recognized the tourism sector in the country as a key economic growth driver and significantly increased its investment. The move of the government has also been welcomed by Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Kevin Bowler.

The tourism sector in New Zealand will receive an additional $8 million funding for a period of over four years, according to an announcement made recently by Prime Minister John Key. The funding is aimed at targeting increased tourist arrivals from the United States and India.

American Airlines and United Airlines have already announced that they would be launching direct flights services to New Zealand in partnership with Air New Zealand. It may be known that New Zealand’s national carrier is currently operating flights to Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The announcement of new flights services by American Airlines and United Airlines are being seen as a great opportunity to increase the tourist arrivals from the United States even further.

The announcement by the two leading U.S. carriers has come at a time when the arrivals of visitors from the United States are showing a strong growth. Media reports said that the total arrivals from the U.S. increased 11.8 percent for year ending March 2016. A study by Tourism New Zealand has indicated that from June 2016 onwards access to New Zealand for nearly 16 million Americans would further open up with many tourists actively considering visiting the country.

The reports further stated that American Airlines would be launching its new daily flights to Los Angeles from Auckland starting from June 23, 2016. The airline will be operating the service in association with its oneworld partner Qantas Airways. Moreover, United Airlines has also said that it would be launching its flights between Auckland and San Francisco starting from July 1, 2016. United Airlines has entered into revenue sharing agreement with Air New Zealand. According to the pact, both the airlines would be jointly promoting and marketing the services of each other to mainland United States and New Zealand.