China Southern Airlines’ return to Christchurch a boost for the South Island

Friday, 30 June 2023

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner makes its first visit to Christchurch with the arrival of a China Southern Airlines charter flight. (File photo)

Tour operators are already seeing the return of Chinese visitors post-Covid, and more flights between New Zealand and China will “very likely” give another boost to the South Island’s tourism industry.

China Southern Airlines this week announced its return to Christchurch, resuming direct flights to Guangzhou, a metropolis of 18 million people in southern China, on November 10 with three flights a week.

“It started this week. We’ve got numerous calls from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan,” said Simon Cheung, chairperson of New Zealand Chinese Travel and Tourism Association.

It was currently the summer school holidays in China, Singapore and the like, meaning demand for overseas holidays was “overwhelming among Chinese”, Auckland-based Cheung said.

Many Chinese parents and students would arrive in New Zealand for a short-term study holiday in July.

“It is a very popular tour package. The kid will enrol in a local school for a couple of weeks, then the parent and the kid will travel around.”

The association, which launched in 2018 and now has over 800 members, targets “free independent Chinese travellers looking for adventure, not group tours”.

China Southern Airlines has announced its return to Christchurch, resuming direct flights to Guangzhou, a metropolis of 18 million people in Southern China, on November 10 with three flights a week.

The return of China Southern Airlines to Christchurch would “very likely” boost the South Island’s whole tourist industry, Cheung said.

“Before this week, there were basically no calls. Then, boom, they are back. We are so excited about their return.”

Cheung said he’d had “a bunch of bookings” from Chinese families visiting Queenstown and the wider South Island for skiing.

“They’ve been locked [down] for such a long time. They just want to get out again.”

The bookings were happening both ways.

After China relaxed restrictions late last year, including quarantine rules for international travellers, many Chinese living in New Zealand were visiting their home country, he said.

“The flights to China are fully packed. The waiting time for check-in at the Auckland International Airport is over three hours.”

Tourism expert Girish Prayag said South Island tour operators will be ready as there is room for growth in tourist numbers to Christchurch, West coast, Banks Peninsula, and Southland.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Rebecca Ingram told RNZ on Thursday that China Southern Airlines’ return was a boon for the tourism industry and exporters.

“Chinese travellers are interested in camping, which is definitely new for a Chinese visitor coming to New Zealand,” she told RNZ.

“It will be really interesting to see in summer what our Chinese visitors are going to do and how they want to experience New Zealand after the Covid.”

Tourism expert Girish Prayag said South Island tour operators would be ready as there was room for growth in Christchurch, the West Coast, Banks Peninsula, and Southland.

However, Queenstown could potentially get too many tourists too quickly.

“Already last summer it was difficult to get a booking in restaurants in Queenstown,” said Prayag, a researcher on the airline, tourism and hospitality industries at the University of Canterbury.

The first Chinese tour group to New Zealand in three years lands. (Photo first published on March 10, 2023).

Safety and security was paramount for tourists, irrespective of the market they came from, he said.

“Having local staff that can explain the experience to Chinese tourists in their mother tongue would allow them to better understand what is expected of them during the activity, and how they could keep themselves safe.”

Self-drive tourists also needed to be aware of New Zealand’s road rules and how to interact with any wildlife they encountered when camping, he said.

Josef Lawrence, from Abel Tasman Kayaks, said he had not seen much difference in the numbers of Chinese tourists.

“Typically, Abel Tasman kayaking is not a destination for Chinese tourists. They prefer walking and water taxis.”

Lawrence, who has been doing kayak tours for over 20 years, said those who paid for kayaking experiences in Abel Tasman National Park were “mostly from Europe”, but China was “definitely a big, potential market”.

China was New Zealand’s second-largest international market in 2019, with 407,000 visitors, according to Tourism New Zealand’s visitor snapshot.

On average, each visitor spent $476 a day in 2019. Most visited during Lunar New Year and about half stayed for more than a week.

Earlier this month, Cathay Pacific also announced its return to Christchurch, resuming direct flights to Hong Kong over the summer months.

The seasonal service would be offered from December 16 to February 29, with three Airbus A350-900 flights a week.