New Safety Service for travellers in New Zealand

For Release: Thursday April 17, 2014

A new Safety Service for Domestic & International travellers to New Zealand

A new Safety Service for Domestic and International travellers to New Zealand will now be available at the touch of a screen.

New Kiwi company TravelsafeNZ has just launched an interactive service which will help travellers avoid disruption to their journey and also provide them with a much needed sense of security.

TravelsafeNZ pulls together information on disruptions like earthquakes, floods and severe weather conditions as well as road closures and also links them to local support, should a problem be unavoidable.

The information is then sent out as timely, accurate and useful advice courtesy of a smartphone application aptly called TravelsafeNZ.

“Safety is a matter that concerns everyone. While New Zealand is generally considered a ‘safe’ place to visit, we sometimes make headlines for the wrong reasons. This service will be particularly useful for international visitors who don’t have local knowledge or a support network if something goes wrong,” says TravelsafeNZ Sales and Marketing Manager, Koro Carman.

The number of international visitors to NZ last year totaled 2.6 million and the domestic market is considerably larger, so providing support for these travellers is imperative.

“Travellers to New Zealand are sometimes exposed to forces that can create conditions that challenge and disrupt journeys. Helping travellers to avoid problems benefits not just the traveller but also New Zealand’s reputation and it’s for exactly these reasons that this service has been developed,” said Mr Carman.

“A unique point of difference is that TravelsafeNZ is an interactive service. We have real people who send and receive real messages in real time and to top it all off it’s backed by real partnerships.”

Other key features of TravelsafeNZ include:

• TravelsafeNZ will highlight ‘traffic black spots’ and promote driving and general safety messages
• Travellers can report incidents
• TravelsafeNZ provides users with links to their Embassy or Consulate
• Hitchhikers can report registration details of vehicles they catch a lift with and then report that they have left the vehicle

TravelsafeNZ has been endorsed and supported by a number of Government agencies in the Emergency Services and Tourism sectors. Tourism Export Council NZ’s CEO Lesley Immink said at the NZ Tourism Symposium late last year that “This app can position New Zealand as one of the safest destinations in the world. I think it has global potential.”

New Zealand’s largest car rental providers Avis Rent a Car and Budget Rent a Car have also joined the crusade to ensure their clients safety and welfare. All rental car customers will be encouraged to download the service.

“The TravelsafeNZ service is about ‘manaakitanga’ one of the core values that underpins the 2015 New Zealand Tourism Strategy. It’s more than just about achieving and maintaining safety it’s about enhancing it by adding a layer of prevention which adds to New Zealand’s reputation of being a safe destination“ said Mr Carman.

TravelsafeNZ is currently available in English and on Android phones version 4 or later. It is envisaged that at a later date it will be translated into other languages as well as be available to iPhone users.

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