The New Zealand Ski season, the largest in the Southern hemmisphere is about to open with a good season of snow expected. The Remarkables area near Queenstown is expected to open within a week. Travel Insurance for seniors is advised for anyone over 60 and heading to the slopes.
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.
June 11th, 2009 | Category: tourism | Leave a comment
New Zealand is risking losing one of their most wealthy source of visitors, the Japanese are threatening to
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.
June 1st, 2009 | Category: tourism | Leave a comment
Airlines are joining the growing chorus for the Tasman twins to open up their border control so there will be no border between them, similar to how Continental European countries have.
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.
May 5th, 2009 | Tags: nz immigration, trans tasman travel | Category: tourism | Leave a comment
A discovery by officials that the existing names had never been adopted in law has increased pressure from Maori nationalists for the names to be dropped.
However, some opposed to the idea criticised the suggestion as “political correctness of the worst kind”.
The New Zealand Geographic Board, the statutory body charged with gazetting placenames, said it stumbled on the anomaly after a member of the public proposed changing the name of South Island to Te Wai Pounamu, the Maori alternative.
The Maori name means “place of greenstone” after the island’s outcrops of jade, from which tribes traditionally crafted weapons and jewellery.
Maori know North Island as Te Ika a Maui or “the fish of Maui”, based on a legend about how the god Maui hauled the island up from the sea while fishing.
“The English names North and South Island are not official,” said Don Grant, the board’s chairman.
If you are heading to NZ and need travel cover then look out for travel insurance over 75 for deals.
April 22nd, 2009 | Category: General | Leave a comment
New Zealand ski holiday website www.ski-newzealand.co.nz has just unveiled its exciting new redesign, featuring an innovative ‘holiday brochure style’ format that lets users design and book their own New Zealand skiing vacation.
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.
April 15th, 2009 | Category: tourism | Leave a comment
New Zealand wants to shun backpackers and budget travellers in a move that’s bound to alienate itself from many. This is particularly true in these times of economic hardship when even wealthy travellers are looking at budgetting more.
The move is bound to anger many, particularly as NZ built its industry on attracting young backpackers who generally dont spend much and add little to the economy.
NZ are particularly targetting travellers that sleep in their cars and park their campervans down residential streets so they have a free nights sleep.
NZ wants to move more into the upper end of the market and attract more high class travellers who dont mind getting ripped off by the over charging of tourism operators in NZ.
March 23rd, 2009 | Category: Travel | Leave a comment
So it’s now official, NZ is one of the top destinations in the world based on economic competitiveness.
At the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) third annual Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report showed that New Zealand was ranked 20th out of 133 countries, primarily because of its natural rich resources.
Switzerland, Austria and Germany took the lead, while Australia came in at ninth place.
As the report focused on different regulatory and business-related issues in relation to tourism development, it said New Zealand’s environment (including World Heritage Sites), airport infrastructure, high quality human resources, safe and secure environment and overall policy rules and regulations were its best factors for developing tourism.
March 6th, 2009 | Category: tourism | Leave a comment
New Zealand tourism sector is starting to feel the effects of the global recession, as November’s figures from Statistics New Zealand show that fewer people are visiting from overseas than the same period in 2007.
Short-term accommodation shows the biggest decline in bed-nights – there were 1.3 million guest nights in November 2008, which is an eight per cent difference from the year before.
All five accommodation types showed signs of a tourism downturn, including hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, backpackers and campgrounds.
January 27th, 2009 | Category: Travel | Leave a comment
NZ tourism industry says new taxes imposed by the UK on long-distance air travel are a serious concern, and will have a big impact on visitor numbers in God’s own.
The taxes are aimed at penalising those people who use the most fossil fuels and will make travel to this part of the world more expensive.
New Zealand second-biggest tourism market after Australia, over 280,000 British holidaymakers generate almost $1 billion a year for the New Zealand economy, many of them screwed over by inflated prices for activities.
But the tourism industry here says new taxes being put on long distance travellers leaving Britain look likely to dramatically cut those numbers.
So the tourist activities people will have to go and screw some other people!
November 25th, 2008 | Tags: nz overcharging tourists | Category: Travel | Leave a comment
New Zealand Government has praised the travel industry for receiving yet another award for tourism. Tourism Minister Damien O’Connor said in a press release he is proud his country is being recognised so often in the international travel industry for its continued excellence.
The long-time running Australian travel show Getaway has labelled New Zealand ‘Country of the Year 2008′, because its diverse nature as a travel destination, natural beauty, thriving Indigenous and modern cultures, gourmet food and wine and wealth of unique travel experiences make it a world-class travel destination.
“It’s great that our international visitors are recognising the diversity and uniqueness of New Zealand as a tourism destination. This award shows that our tourism industry is delivering a high-quality experience to visitors,” Mr O’Connor said in his statement.
The Regional Manager of Tourism New Zealand, Barry Eddington, said, “Both the North and South Islands of New Zealand are distinctly different, boasting beautiful landscapes, adventure, luxury and a wide range of activities and events throughout the year.”
October 1st, 2008 | Category: Travel | Leave a comment
