Sunny South Pacific tempts British

Air New Zealand will fly 160 of Britain's top travel agents to Fiji in May in a bid to tempt tourists to the South Pacific.

The national carrier will host a five-day seminar to encourage passengers to New Zealand and Australia to enjoy a South Pacific stay on the way.

A similar seminar in 1994 and resulted in an 18 per cent increase in tourism from Britain and Ireland to Fiji, and substantial increases to other destinations, including New Zealand.

The agents will be able to explore New Zealand and Australia as well as Samoa, Tahiti, the Cook Islands, Hawaii and Tonga.