Draft Tourism Strategy Vital for Ongoing Success

May 16, 2007

Draft Tourism Strategy Vital for Ongoing Success of Industry

InterCity Group has welcomed the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015, which has been released for consultation today.

"We are currently going through a time of enormous change both within the sector and from our international visitors, with significant demands around quality, sustainability and service. The final strategy will need to be extremely bold and forward-thinking if New Zealand is to seize these as opportunities to cement New Zealand as a globally attractive destination," said InterCity Group chief executive, Malcolm Johns.

“The tourism sector needs to work together with the Government and be ambitious in its outlook. A shared long-term vision will enable individual tourism providers to plan and invest in a way that ensures the ongoing sustainability of the New Zealand tourism sector as a whole,” he says

InterCity Group has just announced that it intends to be the first national tourism and land transport system in the world to be carbon neutral.

“This long-term strategic investment is, in part, a response to demands from international tourism buyers, as well as our own desire to operate a sustainable business,” said Johns.

InterCity Group provides New Zealand’s largest scheduled national tourism and transport infrastructure and includes InterCity and Newmans Coach Lines, as well as Kings Dolphin Cruises & Eco Tours. The 100 per cent Kiwi owned and operated company carries about 1.5 million passengers nationwide each year, including 500,000 international visitors to New Zealand. InterCity Group operates more than 140 daily services a day to more than 600 towns, cities and communities across New Zealand.

ENDS

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