Auckland Airport has shared a plan to tempt Australian tourists back to New Zealand by promoting travel to two key cities.

It’s been almost two years since New Zealand reopened borders to international tourists and recent numbers show international visitor arrivals are 80 per cent of what they were in 2019.

In good news, visitor numbers from the United States, United Kingdom and India have not only recovered but surpassed 2019 levels.

However, one of New Zealand’s most important inbound tourism markets still lags behind.

Australian visitor numbers have recovered 83 per cent since 2019, meaning 265,000 fewer Aussies visited Aotearoa between February 2023 and 2024 compared to pre-Covid.

This nudges Australia to above average levels but still represents New Zealand’s largest visitor volume shortfall, Auckland Airport’s chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui said at the Auckland Airport Tourism Forum in Wellington.

Since Australia was the largest inbound tourism market pre-Covid and represented 40 per cent of all international visitors, its recovery was crucial, she said.

“While numbers are tracking well and in-line, or even surpassing, other inbound tourism markets, Australian tourists have an outsized impact on New Zealand’s traveller recovery because they make up such a large portion of the market.”

New Zealand isn’t the only country eager to attract high-value Australian holidaymakers. In 2019, New Zealand was a priority destination for Aussies and made up 13 per cent of outbound international trips. Today, we sit at 12 per cent while Indonesia has risen to the top with 14 per cent.

This competition means New Zealand must “remain attractive and relevant”, according to Hurihanganui.

One way of doing this is increasing seat capacity, which offers travellers more options and pressures airfares to drop. Another is to promote the destination to Australians.

Auckland Airport partners up with two key cities

Today, Auckland Airport announced a plan to tempt Aussies across the ditch for a holiday in Auckland and Rotorua.

The airport has partnered with RotoruaNZ and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited to attract Australian leisure tourists and encourage them to visit Auckland and Rotorua in a single trip.

The trio have signed a memorandum of understanding as a sign of commitment to the strategy.

Hurihanganui said they hoped the partnership would make Auckland-Rotorua a go-to holiday itinerary for Australians.

Tātaki Auckland Unlimited’s director destination Annie Dundas said the combination of cities offered nature, islands and culture that one couldn’t find in, say, Sydney.

“Our aim is to share experiences in both Auckland and Rotorua that are distinctly different from what you can get in Sydney, for example, a day trip to Waiheke Island or a geothermal and Māori experience in Rotorua,” Dundas said.

RotoruaNZ Chief Executive Andrew Wilson said they were delighted about what the collaboration could achieve.

“We’re really excited about the opportunities this partnership presents and look forward to working closely with Auckland Airport and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited to increase visibility in the Australian market and drive visitation,” he said.

This article was originally published on the NZ Herald here.