The roadmap rightly calls out the need for aviation and cruise connectivity as future initiatives, which are undoubtedly a requirement to achieve the inbound tourism targets. Whilst it’s not often you can say that importing (outbound travel) supports strengthens exporting (inbound tourism), in this instance, it is absolutely the case. Air and cruise capacity are only ever truly sustainable with a balance of outbound and inbound passengers.
When the high-season tourist demand wanes, who fills the aircraft? Kiwi leisure and corporate travellers heading into the world to holiday and sell NZ Inc.
To truly maximise the economic benefits of Upston’s plan, both the travel and tourism sectors will need to work together, alongside the Government, to lay strong foundations for air and cruise connectivity.
It’s been an exciting time to be in travel, with airline strategies and investments playing out here, leading to Qantas, Jetstar, Air New Zealand and other carriers announcing new direct routes and increasing flight capacity. The potential exists for the Government’s tourism plans to attract even more inbound visitors, which will drive more airlines to fly more planes on more routes, leading to even more choice, convenience and value.
Historically, we have seen that more competition drives down fare pricing, which is fantastic news for our customers. Leaving the country is a lot more attractive and achievable for a business or leisure flyer when more options are available to suit their budget. For Kiwi exporters, increased air capacity also brings more freight capacity, which is great news for getting Kiwi products overseas fast to international markets.
The roadmap’s focus on regions and communities aims to spread the benefits across the country, which I have no doubt will be welcomed by regional tourism operators and economies alike. Connectivity to the regions will be crucial to the success of the plan, with the benefit also flowing to Kiwis looking to travel domestically and overseas, with more seamless domestic connections or direct international options from a broader range of airports across the country.
There’s no overnight fix, but the more attractive New Zealand becomes as a destination and hub, the more airline investment will follow. And that cycle benefits everyone, with the new transtasman direct routes from Hamilton, Christchurch, and Dunedin examples of the opportunities at hand.
But the conversation can’t stop at air travel – because without substantial improvements in cruise connectivity, the full economic benefit of the Government package risks leaking offshore. Currently, New Zealand’s cruise losses are other countries’ gains – and we need a righting of home-porting capacity, which has declined significantly over the last year or so.
Thousands of cruise passengers board and disembark in destinations like Fiji rather than Auckland. The New Zealand Cruise Association has said cruise ship visits are expected to drop by as much as 40% in the 2025/26 season when compared to 2023/24, with an impact to ports all over the country because of border processing fees, regulations, rising operational costs and, put simply, other destinations making themselves more cruise-line friendly.
This means in our port destinations (think Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Picton), businesses are losing accommodation revenue, airlift business and spending across local tourism and hospitality sectors. We’re effectively funnelling potential economic gains into other countries’ economies – and that needs fixing.
The challenges are well-documented and acknowledged in the roadmap. What is not as well understood is that, as it is with increased air capacity, if we restore home porting here, the travel industry’s support will be required to ensure ships are carrying enough domestic customers to make New Zealand a viable destination for cruise lines, bringing tourists with them. Of course, that dynamic also delivers a huge benefit to Kiwi travellers.
We will have more options to cruise directly from home and avoid the cost of flying elsewhere to start our cruises, which means we will have more money saved to spend on cabin upgrades and experiences while travelling or even a holiday to a domestic destination with the time and savings gains by cruising from home.
The tourism growth plan is evidence of the Government’s understanding of the outstanding role tourism can play for this country. Achieving the plan relies in no small part on enhancing air and cruise connectivity. To ensure this is achievable, both the outbound travel and inbound tourism sectors will need to be on board (excuse the pun!) – two sides of the same coin, if you will.
There’s a lot of hard work ahead, but we’ve always been a resilient bunch. The Government has given us a roadmap for the years to come and we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and make it happen. Let’s grow our tourism economy, support jobs here and make it easier and more affordable for Kiwis to sell their products and explore the world.
