Singapore star teams with Jetstar to promote NZ

8 February 2011

Low fares airline Jetstar hosted Singapore’s favourite media personality for a whirlwind tour of some of Auckland’s key attractions last weekend.

Jetstar’s Singapore ambassador, Joanne Peh, made a flying visit to New Zealand to shoot a series of tourism commercials around Auckland between 4 and 6 February as part of a multi-million dollar campaign by Jetstar, Tourism New Zealand and Auckland International Airport to encourage Singaporeans to choose New Zealand as their next holiday destination.

Next month, Jetstar is set to become the first low fares airline to commence long haul operations to and from New Zealand*.

The new campaign will support the launch of the airline’s daily direct international service between Auckland and Singapore*, which commences on 18 March 2011. (*Subject to regulatory approval)

Joanne Peh is one of Singapore’s best-loved television and film personalities, having shot to fame after winning the titles of Miss Elegant and Miss Personality in the 2002 Miss Singapore Universe competition.

After being named Best Actress in the 2009 Star Awards for her role in The Little Nyonya, in 2010 Joanne Peh cemented her position as one of Singapore’s most popular celebrities by winning the Female Media Darling of the Year Award. Having recently completed work on Activist Journey – an eight-episode travel documentary offering different perspectives on the spirit of humanity around Asia – she will soon be introducing her fans to the adventurous spirit of New Zealand.

Joanne visited downtown Auckland and the Viaduct Harbour, and tried high profile adventure activities such as jetboating and sailing on the harbour.

Jetstar Chief Commercial Officer David Koczkar said having Joanne involved in the campaign was an exciting development for tourism in New Zealand and that her widespread appeal would attract visitors from Singapore and across Asia to Auckland and throughout New Zealand.

“Joanne Peh is a household name in Singapore, and her involvement in this campaign is very significant for audiences across the region. We’re excited about the opportunity to broaden the reach of Jetstar’s fast growing Asia network, and introduce this enormous travel market to everything New Zealand has to offer,” Mr Koczkar said.

“We believe the campaign will be hugely rewarding for Auckland and New Zealand tourism, as visitors from Singapore and across our Asia network choose to fly with Jetstar to see as much of this beautiful country as possible.”

Joanne was equally excited about her visit to New Zealand.

“New Zealand is such an amazing country and it’s a place I have always wanted to visit. I loved experiencing all of the exciting activities in Auckland in one fun-filled weekend,” Ms Peh said.

“I know the people of Singapore are going to be just as excited as I was about visiting and seeing your gorgeous country.”

Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Kevin Bowler welcomed the campaign and said he looked forward to seeing it succeed in further growing visitor numbers from Asia.

“The new Singapore-Auckland* route creates opportunities for growth, not only from Singapore, but also from neighboring Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Additionally, the route creates a new link for visitors coming from Europe,” Mr Bowler said.

“The Asian visitor market is critical to New Zealand, as the growth in the number of people travelling internationally is continuing to grow month on month.

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“Attracting visitors from South East Asia to come to New Zealand has proved challenging in the past due to the availability of airline seats. Jetstar's new daily direct service to Singapore* is a big boost to New Zealand's visitor arrivals and is great news for our country.”

The new advertising campaign with Jetstar will highlight a broad range of experiences and feature New Zealand’s diverse landscapes and attractions.

In the last 12 months ending December 2010, New Zealand welcomed 30,300 visitors from Singapore (up 2.4%); 29,486 from India (up 16.4%); 21,434 from Thailand (up 8.6%); and 21,843 from Malaysia (up 10.9%).

Auckland Airport Chief Executive Simon Moutter can't wait for the new Jetstar route from Auckland to Singapore to start, saying "opening up more low-cost connections with the tiger economies of Asia is critical to growing New Zealand tourism and Jetstar are doing just that through their new Auckland and Singapore service.

“It's really exciting, not just because the Jetstar hub in Singapore brings a huge range of terrific Asian destinations within reach of more Kiwis, but it also opens up New Zealand to more of the Asian tourists who we know are keen to explore our fantastic country." Mr Moutter said.

ENDS

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