Auckland Airport volumes climb 0.5%

Auckland Airport volumes climb 0.5%, Australian arrivals surge 22%, Asia drops 36%

August 26 – Auckland International Airport reported a 0.5% increase in passenger volumes last month, led by a surge in arrivals from Australia, evidence that a marketing campaign and cheaper fares are luring more visitors across the Tasman.

Arrivals from Australia, the biggest source of visitors, jumped 22% to 47,156 in July from the same month of 2008, the airport company said in a statement. That helped make up for a 36% slide in visitors from Asia, where recession and fears of swine flu have deterred some tourists.

The government has made tourist promotion in Australia a priority, with Prime Minister John Key pushing for streamlined trans-Tasman border processing and a NZ$5 million campaign with Air New Zealand. In May, Key predicted NZ$65 million of economic benefits from the campaign.

The national carrier this month reported an 11% increase in Tasman and Pacific passenger numbers and announced a new twice weekly service between Rotorua and Sydney.

Auckland Airport said domestic passenger volumes rose 2.1% in July.

Shares of the airport fell 0.6% to NZ$1.74 and have gained 7.4% this year. The company is scheduled to report its full-year results on Friday. Forsyth Barr forecasts a 10% decline in reported profit to NZ$101.2 million.

(BusinessWire)

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