| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 12/06/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 47 |
| Copyright: Other |
Visitor levels hit all time high for April
New Zealand reached its best-ever performance of UK visitor levels during the month of April.The number of Britons who travelled to the country during the month stood at 15,360, compared to 9,724 in April last year – a jump of 58%.
New Zealand Tourism Board regional manager Europe Barry Eddington puts the rise down to the deferred travel period at the start of the new millennium and the fact that April was a good time to travel due to Easter and the two other public holidays during the same month.
However, he said other factors have helped boost the market. These include a favourable exchange rate and competitive air fares, which have brought a number of special rates to the market since January.
“We are seeing fares of £560 return to New Zealand which represent good value,” he said.
He expects the total number of UK visitors to be around 195,000 for the financial year ending June 30 – an increase of about 12% on last year.