Auckland Airport’s China tourism cluster project accelerates

Published on : Wednesday, August 27, 2014

auckland-airport-appAs part of its tourism cluster project to accelerate high value tourism growth out of China, Auckland Airport has employed Deng Carson Chen to develop the project on-the-ground in Guangdong.

The cluster project aims to grow high-value passenger numbers from China by promoting the premium holiday activities that New Zealand has to offer, with a focus on quality food and beverage production.

Mr Chen has joined Auckland Airport from iconic New Zealand tourism company, Real Journeys, and Charles Spillane, Auckland Airport’s acting general manager aeronautical commercial, says his role is an integral part of the Airport’s cluster project.

“Our project was a recipient of co-funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s (MBIE) Tourism Growth Partnership Fund,” says Mr Spillane. “The purpose of this fund is to lift New Zealand’s export performance by investing in projects that will help the tourism sector achieve greater commercial returns from high-value international visitors.”

“We believe that Deng’s presence as an on-the-ground representative in Guangdong will be hugely beneficial to achieving the Tourism Growth Partnership Fund’s desired outcomes,” continues Mr Spillane.

“Deng’s role will focus on attracting high-value Chinese visitors to New Zealand by creating unique customer experiences under our new, “Four Seasons, Five Senses,” programme.

This programme has been developed to use premium New Zealand food and beverage experiences as the foundation for building high-end holiday offerings for Chinese visitors.”

Mark Frood, Auckland Airport’s international development manager, says, “Research has indicated that New Zealand has great brand awareness within China and is a highly desirable destination for high-value Chinese tourists but it remains a challenge to convert this desire into actual visitor numbers.

 

The Four Seasons, Five Senses programme aims to close this gap by creating new experiences that are more attractive and more relatable to the Chinese audience.”

“Deng brings with him a wealth of market knowledge and we strongly believe that his presence in Guangdong, facilitating New Zealand travel options for Chinese customers, will be invaluable to our cluster project. We look forward to working with him,” finishes Mr Frood.

Mr Chen says, “It is very exciting to join Auckland Airport as senior vice president of Chinese business development. Auckland Airport plays a vital role in developing air connections between New Zealand and China, which bring huge economic value to our tourism industry.

 

In order to further realise premium opportunities from the Chinese market, I will work closely with key industry partners both in New Zealand and China.”

Source:- Auckland Airport

Tags:

Comments are closed.

arrow2Follow Us
 
facebook-logo  twitter-logo  LinkedIn_logo  stumbleupon-logo   rss_logo 

SUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTER:

Email 
 

ADVERTISEMENT

    TRAVEL INDUSTRY EVENTS

    More Events...