Source: Radio New Zealand
despite the pressure on the world economy and the disruption to air travel, Christchurch Airport chief executive Justin Watson remained optimistic. 123rf.com
The South Island benefited from a buoyant summer travel season with international visitor numbers soaring at Christchurch Airport.
The airport said international visitor numbers over the November to March period rose 22 percent on the year before.
It recorded 3.1 million passengers travelling through the airport, with 287,000 of them being overseas passengers.
Based on government data, the airport said the international travellers contributed $861 million to the South Island economy.
Christchurch Airport chief executive Justin Watson said the growth levels were “exceptional”, and all of its key markets saw improvements.
“A 22 percent increase in international visitors is a fantastic result, and when you look at the $861 million they’ve contributed to the South Island, that’s real money going into our restaurants, hotels, tourism operators, and the wider economy,” he said.
“It shows just how important growing connectivity is. Our aeronautical development team, alongside our partners, has really delivered.”
Australia was the biggest source of overseas visitors, rising 17 percent, followed by China, up 103 percent.
However, just as the strong summer period ended, the global economy was plunged into uncertainty following the United States and Israel-led war against Iran.
The war has resulted in soaring jet fuel prices due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane for the world’s oil and gas exports.
But despite the pressure on the world economy and the disruption to air travel, Watson remained optimistic.
“It’s certainly a headwind for the [tourism] recovery, but we haven’t seen it translate into significant reductions at this point,” he said.
Watson said airlines appeared to be trimming the schedules, rather than major cancellations, and while airfares had increased, they had not gone up markedly.
“That’s not to say over time if it continues we won’t see more reductions and further increased costs.”
He believed Christchurch was in relatively a strong position to withstand the pressure, and although fuel prices would be a barrier to recovery, he pointed to underlying demand in the city to help drive visitors.
“With the revitalisation of the city, a strong events programme, a really strong university and work choices in Christchurch, we’ve got a lot of tailwinds.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
