Maori Flavour for Major New Zealand Push in Dubai
Media Release
27 April 2005
Maori Flavour for
Major New Zealand Push in Dubai
Emirates is flying the
Maori experience into Arabia, with the departure
for
Dubai today of a Maori culture group that will be
part of a major thrust
aimed at developing tourism from
the Middle East to New Zealand.
Tourism New Zealand, the
Maori-Experienz (Menz) cultural cluster and
Emirates
Airline have combined to present New Zealand at a number of
events
and venues in Dubai over the coming three weeks in
the biggest tourism push
in the Middle East yet.
The
Pounamu kapa haka group, which flew out today, is part of
the Menz
group, a new initiative which includes
representatives of Maori tourism,
food, wine, art and
contemporary entertainment.
Tourism New Zealand and Menz
will have the live attraction of Pounamu at
two major
tourism events in Dubai, the Emirates Holiday World travel
show
and the Arabian Travel Market. The Maori cluster
will also combine for an
evening reception at the
upmarket Mina A'Salam Hotel and they will take
part in a
New Zealand food and cultural week at another top-ranking
Dubai
hotel, the Shangri-la.
In addition, during the
entire month of May, Dnata Agencies, the travel
agency
and travel management arm of the Emirates Group, will also
be
promoting New Zealand as its "destination of the
month". There will be an
integrated consumer marketing
push in Dubai, which will include newspaper
advertising
and a large New Zealand billboard between lanes on the
city's
main thoroughfare, Sheikh Zayed Road.
"Visitor
arrivals from this region to New Zealand have been
growing
consistently over recent years, and we're keen to
make sure our target
market know what New Zealand has to
offer," said George Hickton, Tourism
New Zealand Chief
Executive. "As the largest trade and consumer
travel
show in the Gulf region, Arabian Travel Market
presents some great
opportunities for New Zealand. That
is why this is the sixth year we have
coordinated a New
Zealand presence at the show.
"We are pleased to be
working with such high quality New Zealand
tourism
operators and to have the support of Emirates
Airline in making the New
Zealand presence at the show
possible."
Emirates' Senior Vice President Commercial
Operations Far East and
Australasia, Richard Vaughan,
said: "Along with Tourism New Zealand, we
have been
promoting New Zealand in the Middle East and across our
global
network on an ongoing basis, since the
inauguration of our services to New
Zealand. Emirates is
pleased to support this latest initiative from
Tourism
New Zealand, which we are confident will produce
excellent results."
Emirates Airline started services to
New Zealand in mid-2003. The
Dubai-based international
airline now operates 28 return flights a week
from New
Zealand. Its services connect New Zealand to Australia and
Dubai,
as well as beyond, into Europe, Africa and other
cities in the Middle
East.
ENDS