Japanese National Press Club

Thank you for coming, it’s a pleasure for me to meet with you today. As New Zealand’ s Minister of Tourism, I represent an industry that is vital to our country’s future. Our tourist attractions have enticed growing numbers of Japanese to New Zealand in recent years.

I want to talk about the impact of the dreadful events of 11 September on our tourism industry and the implications for Japanese considering travelling to New Zealand. My message is simple: it is business as usual in our country.

New Zealand has traditionally enjoyed widespread international recognition as a safe place to travel. In fact, readers of two leading international travel magazines, Conde Naste and Wanderlust, recently judged us the world’s safest travel destination.

We have had no specific indication that this might have changed since 11 September. We are pleased to note that the Japanese Government still does not publish any travel risk information related to New Zealand.

In some ways we are fortunate in New Zealand, as we have a small population and are relatively isolated from the world’s “hot spots”, Our distance from our major markets is often a disadvantage, but it can be a blessing as well.

This does not mean that we have been complacent about the potential, however remote, for terrorism to strike our shores. We have tightened our security at airports to ensure a higher level of safety for passengers and crew. This has not affected travel industry facilities in New Zealand which continue to operate to their normal high standards.

The travel industry world-wide has of course been severely affected by the downturn in passenger numbers, and we have suffered from this, though we have not been affected as badly as many other countries. This pattern is repeated in terms of outbound travel bookings from Japan: bookings from Japan to New Zealand are down by around 25 per cent for November and December, but Japanese bookings to all destinations world-wide are down around 40 per cent.

Our national airline, Air New Zealand, has been through a tough period as well, although I’m pleased to say that the airline is now secure for the foreseeable future. Following the collapse of Air New Zealand’s Australian subsidiary, Ansett, my government agreed to fund a substantial re-capitalisation to save our otherwise sound national carrier from being dragged into insolvency by Ansett’s liabilities. This decision was not taken lightly, but it recognised the vital role Air New Zealand plays in our economy, which is heavily dependent on trade and tourism.

Despite the tough international travel environment, Air New Zealand has reaffirmed its commitment to the Japanese market. It has recently upgraded its regular services to Osaka, and plans to go ahead with all but three of the 22 originally scheduled charter flights from smaller Japanese airports to New Zealand during our summer months.

Apart from an increase in security, daily life in New Zealand has not changed following 11 September. Visitors from all countries are continuing to enjoy travelling to New Zealand. We expect Japanese planning to travel will be able to continue with their current itineraries.

There are many wonderful attractions and activities waiting in New Zealand. We are delighted to welcome Japanese travellers, and we know they will enjoy visiting our beautiful country.

Thank you.