Air NZ win great for tourism industry

10 January 2012

Air NZ win great for tourism industry

It is fantastic for the country’s tourism industry to have Air New Zealand recognised internationally for its success and innovation, says Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) Chief Executive Tim Cossar.

Air New Zealand has won Air Transport World’s Airline of the Year award for the second time in three years.

“Our national carrier is not the biggest airline in the world, but it is amongst the very best. It is great that New Zealand’s airline can be such a leader and trendsetter on a world scale,” Mr Cossar says.

“It’s an exceptional achievement for Air New Zealand to win this prestigious award twice in three years and it is positive for the wider industry to have such a high profile Kiwi tourism business acclaimed internationally.

“It also highlights to New Zealanders the innovation and quality of our multi-billion dollar tourism industry.”

Key Facts

• Tourism is one of New Zealand’s biggest export industries, earning $9.7 billion or 16.8% of New Zealand’s foreign exchange earnings (year ended March 2011)

• Tourism contributes almost 9% of gross domestic product (GDP) for New Zealand

• Tourism directly and indirectly employs nearly one in ten New Zealanders (179,800 total) full-time equivalent jobs

• Tourism in New Zealand is a $63 million per day industry. Tourism delivers $27 million in foreign exchange to the New Zealand economy each day of the year. Domestic tourism contributes another $36 million in economic activity every day.

• Total tourism expenditure reached $23 billion for the year ended March 2011.

Visit www.tianz.org.nz for more information.

ENDS

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