Top NZ Tourism Icons Join Forces

News release For immediate release 11 November 2004

TOP NZ TOURISM ICONS JOIN FORCES

Two of New Zealand's major tourism attractions have formed a marketing collective which they believe is a New Zealand industry first.

New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute and Skyline Skyrides have appointed a joint Japanese Marketing Manager, Jun Takemoto, to grow Japanese visitor numbers into Rotorua.

Takemoto-san is well respected in the tourism industry and in his thirteen years experience has deveoped close links with both Japanese based wholesalers and New Zealand based inbound operators.

New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute chief executive Andrew Te Whaiti knows of no other tourist operators who've done this.

"We see it as a positive move, not only for our two businesses, but for Rotorua as a whole, this is a long term commitment", he says.

Those comments are echoed by Skyline Skyrides general manager Neville Nicholson who says the potential of this joint venture is enormous.

"This is a huge step forward in the way New Zealand and Rotorua are marketed to the rest of the world. This kind of teamwork will result in increased Japanese visitor arrivals into Rotorua and benefit local businesses across all sectors".

Both parties agree on the importance of the Japanese market to New Zealand.

"With one of the highest daily expenditures per person and a genuine interest in eco-tourism activities and interactive experiences, Japanese visitors have become a vitally important part of the New Zealand Tourism industry," says Nicholson.

Around 170,000 Japanese visit New Zealand, some 60,000 of those visit Rotorua.

ENDS

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