Thing to do in Raglan

Not everyone comes to Raglan to surf and there is plenty to do aside from ripping up the surf such as bushes to walk, mountains to climb, horses to ride and a decent waterfall, Bridal Veil Falls, to oogle. You could learn how to surf, or just laze around and enjoy the colourful and picturesque town.

Places to eat and stay in Raglan

There are a whole range of places to stay in Ragland such as backpacker hostels, camp grounds, bachs, hotels and motels. There are a couple of lively pubs and lots of cool cafes too.

Rugby fans who stay afloat on cruise ships providing accommodation during the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand will find themselves in the heart of the action.

Three cruise liners that have been confirmed as floating hotels will provide beds and transport for several thousand rugby fans during the major event.

The ships will berth in Auckland, Wellington and in the South Island port of Lyttelton near Christchurch ensuring visitors are well placed to enjoy top class action on the field as well as luxury on the water.

In Auckland the cruise liners will berth in the central city, close to restaurants, shops and transport facilities. Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour is already an entertainment hub, and further development on Queen’s Wharf will increase the waterfront activity by providing a central visitor area for fans and cruise ship passengers during the event.

Domestic tourists spent $12.4 billion in the year ended March 2009, an increase of 2.6 percent from the previous year. While international tourist expenditure declined by 0.9 percent — the first fall since figures were first collected in 1999.

Ministry of Tourism research manager Bruce Bassett said the first half of 2009 was the most challenging period for international tourism globally.

“And to actually come through that with a pretty modest decline, I think is a pretty good result.”

Tourism Industry Association chief executive Tim Cossar said the impact of the global recession was softened by the large numbers of Australian visitors, New Zealand’s largest international visitor market.

Despite the slight decline in international tourism, it contributed $9.3b (16.4 percent) to New Zealand’s total exports of goods and services, second to dairy products at $10b (17.6 percent).

According to travel magazine Australia the numbers of Aussies crossing the Tasman will go up.

Overall, the tourism industry proved its resilience as total tourism expenditures rose by 1.1 percent ($226 million) to $21.7b.

Whilst the global recession has caused some countries to request temporary workers without work to go home or to severely slash the number of skills on immigration shortage lists, New Zealand has been less affected.

Andrew Annakin, head of Immigration New Zealand, said their policy towards skilled migration was “generally more moderate” than that of other countries. New Zealand was less affected than some other countries, allowing them to better control immigration to the country, minimising the “dramatic responses” to immigration that some nations have recently implemented.

Mr Annakin also said New Zealand’s 6 per cent unemployment rate was lower than in many OECD countries, where the average is 8 per cent.

He reiterated that New Zealand will always need skilled migration, and said that by allowing the “availability of unemployed New Zealanders and the reduction in employment to manage the flow of temporary work permits”, the country was able to ensure the skills base necessary for after the recession whilst managing employment levels and still allowing for skilled migration. LF

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his New Zealand counterpart John Key have this week agreed to a joint plan that aims to increase airline travel between the two countries. The trans-Tasman agreement will see the average time it takes Australians who travel to New Zealand, some one million every year, to get through custom processing reduced from twelve to eight minutes.

Under the new relaxation of border security between the countries, Australians not considered high-risk travelling to New Zealand would be able to check in electronically and scan their own passports through customs checkpoints.

Rudd spoke of both his and Key’s commitment to the “idea of a single economic market” as a way to improve both business communities. The two leaders have also discussed further unificiation of their economies, as well as the establishment of a joint military corps similar to the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) which first fought together in World War I.

Qantas spokesman David Epstein said that the changes would lead to increased tourism, providing mutual economic benefits, although ideally border controls between the two countries would be dropped completely, making travel between Australia and New Zealand like travelling between domestic airports. Such a shift could reduce trans-Tasman fares by up to thirty per cent.

The snow base at Coronet Peak is a very good 80cm which is excellent for this early in the seasons. The pre-season conditions have been attributed to consistent snowfalls earlier in the month and storms. Blizzard conditions created two metres of snow drifts at Cardona Alpine Resort, such conditions that the resort hasn’t experienced since 1995.Wanaka is also brimming with snow and excitement in hopes that the change in weather heralds a great season ahead.“It looks like mid-winter now and it’s only May,” said James Helmore, Lake Wanaka Tourism General Manager.

Nearly 700 Japanese travelers had canceled bookings with Southern Travel in the past week as a result of flu fears, with the prospect of more to come, said chief executive Jacqueline Walshe, the Dominion Post on Tuesday quoted the company’s chief executive Jacqueline Walshe as saying.

An advisory notice from Japan’s Education Ministry to schools to reconsider trips to New Zealand had had a major impact, Walshe said.

The managing director of another big large inbound tour operator agreed that the Japanese market had been hit severely, with some groups canceling and others postponing until later in the year.

JETSTAR chief Bruce Buchanan wants Australia and New Zealand to adopt a common border and drop travel restrictions across the Tasman.

The move would end customs, immigration and quarantine checks and allow the Qantas offshoot to operate from low-cost secondary airports.

He acknowledged that quarantine and border security issues would have to be resolved.

But the move could mirror airline operations in Europe where carriers, like Irish-owned Ryanair, fly unrestricted between capitals.

Mr Buchanan said return airfares between both countries were likely to fall by $60 under a common border arrangement.

The new site invites visitors to select their holiday accommodation, car hire, ski passes and ski hire equipment then book it all online in one place.

Ski New Zealand Director Ricki Shaw says the site lets users design a fully customised ski holiday ‘on the fly’, based on their own actual requirements.

if you are over 65 and heading to NZ on a holiday then you may wish to look at travel insurance over 60 for the latest deals.