Sally Furniss
Well-known member
Japanese avoid NZ after swine flu
By ANDREW JANES - The Dominion Post Last updated 05:00 12/05/2009
Japanese tourists spooked by swine flu are pulling out of tours to New Zealand in droves, tour companies say.
Southern Travel chief executive Jacqueline Walshe said her company had nearly 700 Japanese bookings cancelled in the past week as a result of the swine flu fears, with the prospect of more to come.
Bookings from Japan for May and June were down by about 75 per cent, she said.
An advisory notice from Japan's Education Ministry to schools to reconsider trips to New Zealand had had a major impact, Ms Walshe said. The company had not seen the same effect in other markets.
The managing director of another big large inbound tour operator agreed that the Japanese market had been hit severely, with some groups cancelling and others postponing until later in the year.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said that, although there had been pockets of swine flu-related concern from other markets, Japan's reaction was the most significant.
Japanese travellers were more sensitive to health scares and government warnings, he said. "We see it every time."
The New Zealand tourism industry was working hard to allay Japanese concerns.
No new confirmed or probable cases of swine flu have been reported since Saturday, the Health Ministry says. The number of confirmed cases remained at seven and the number of probable cases stayed at 12.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/2402612/Japanese-avoid-NZ-after-swine-flu
By ANDREW JANES - The Dominion Post Last updated 05:00 12/05/2009
Japanese tourists spooked by swine flu are pulling out of tours to New Zealand in droves, tour companies say.
Southern Travel chief executive Jacqueline Walshe said her company had nearly 700 Japanese bookings cancelled in the past week as a result of the swine flu fears, with the prospect of more to come.
Bookings from Japan for May and June were down by about 75 per cent, she said.
An advisory notice from Japan's Education Ministry to schools to reconsider trips to New Zealand had had a major impact, Ms Walshe said. The company had not seen the same effect in other markets.
The managing director of another big large inbound tour operator agreed that the Japanese market had been hit severely, with some groups cancelling and others postponing until later in the year.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said that, although there had been pockets of swine flu-related concern from other markets, Japan's reaction was the most significant.
Japanese travellers were more sensitive to health scares and government warnings, he said. "We see it every time."
The New Zealand tourism industry was working hard to allay Japanese concerns.
No new confirmed or probable cases of swine flu have been reported since Saturday, the Health Ministry says. The number of confirmed cases remained at seven and the number of probable cases stayed at 12.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/2402612/Japanese-avoid-NZ-after-swine-flu