17 April 2013
Offers up to $500,000 to support growth within the sector
In a move to continue stimulating demand within the tourism industry, Auckland Airport is launching a new charter/seasonal capacity funding programme as part of its Ambition 2020 initiative.
The programme offers up to $500,000 to tourism wholesalers/airline partnerships that are looking to develop programmes that will create new business opportunities with additional air capacity.
Glenn Wedlock, Auckland Airport General Manager Aeronautical Commercial, says “The programme is looking to encourage further development in High Opportunity Target (HOT) markets such as Asia and South America. We believe this can be achieved by working with key industry partners who have the ability to grow demand if they can secure additional air capacity and in turn encourage airlines to add capacity where there is proven strong demand.”
“We know that demand was very strong in HOT markets over the summer high season and that many travel wholesalers found it difficult to secure sufficient seats. We feel that our new charter/seasonal capacity funding programme can help mitigate this by providing opportunities for both airlines and trade sellers to grow business effectively together.”
“We believe it is crucial to build value across markets through new charter flights or direct seasonal services, where previously there were none. This new fund provides a way for Auckland Airport to help achieve this by sharing the risk of creating new programmes with the trade.”
“We have already partnered with airlines and travel wholesalers in the past to develop similar programmes throughout Asia, which have proved very successful in developing new demand and increased air capacity. This new charter fund provides the chance for us to extend this, making it more widely available to see what further opportunities exist in other areas.”
Auckland Airport sees the demand from the HOT markets of Asia and South America as being key areas for this programme. As well as this, the programme will look for opportunities to build traffic to Queenstown and the wider South Island. Queenstown Airport’s direct services to Auckland and Australia support the best opportunities to grow value to NZ Inc and Queenstown Airport’s growth as the premiere gateway to the best of the South Island.
As well as the new funding programme, Auckland Airport will continue to support tourism initiatives through its wider marketing programmes, as well as investing up to $10 million annually to attract new air capacity and build sustainable markets to New Zealand.
“Over 80% of all visitors outside of Australia arrive through Auckland Airport and we believe it is important that we keep finding innovative ways to attract more demand to build value for New Zealand tourism and trade,” continues Mr Wedlock. “We see our charter/seasonal capacity fund programme as a win-win for everyone involved – creating more seats, more demand and ultimately more arrivals for NZ Inc.”
To find more information or to apply for funding from the Auckland Airport charter programme, please go to www.aucklandairport.co.nz or talk to one of our Airport team at TRENZ.
For further information, please contact:
Glenn Wedlock
027 688 8063