Tourism heats up with Chinese flights returning
Friday, 10 November 2023
The first direct flight from a Chinese metropolis since the pandemic closed borders is due to land in Christchurch on Friday .
Business-class tickets for the China Southern Airlines flight from Guangzhou “were sold out weeks ago”, with only 50 to 60 economy tickets remaining, according to a booking agent for the company.
“More than 70% of the tickets in the coming weeks have been booked,” added the agent.
The seasonal service to Christchurch International Airport will be offered from 10 November to February 25, with three flights a week using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
Amongst the first passengers using the resumed service is a 20-member tour group, organised by Guangzhilv, South China’s international travel giant.
“It is our first tour group, exclusively to the South Island,” said Guangzhilv spokesman, Jian Guan.
“They are going to start their trip right away on Saturday, solely in the South Island”, he added.
Most of the tourists are from Guangzhou itself, a metropolis of 18 million people in Southern China that is home to a large business community and China's busiest airport.
“Currently our tour groups are forced to fly via Auckland or Sydney to come to the South Island.
“The direct flights [to Christchurch] will encourage more tourists who are attracted by the unique sightseeing in the South,” he said.
New Zealand remains a favourite holiday hotspot, especially for long-haul travellers.
“Our tour packages sold out within two weeks. We are expecting more people, especially young families with children to travel overseas during the Lunar New Year holiday,” Guan said.
Bookings and inquiries have been “in high demand” since the airline announced its return in June, according to a Christchurch-based Chinese tour agent.
“Tickets right before the Lunar New Year [starting on February 10] are the most sought after,” they added.
China Southern Airlines initially started flying to Christchurch direct from Guangzhou in 2015, with three services a week. This increased to daily flights, in response to demand, before the airline was forced to suspend its Christchurch service in February 2020, due to the Covid pandemic.
Tourism expert Girish Prayag believesmore direct flights were “certainly a good thing” for tourism businesses based in and around Christchurch.
“Queenstown [is] already at full capacity and will be dealing again with over-tourism.
“So Christchurch can benefit from flights from these South-East Asian countries, but we need also to think how our tourism products can be adapted for these markets,” said Prayag, professor in tourism marketing and management at University of Canterbury.
Current offerings remain very much focused on Western tourists, he said.
Leeann Watson, chief executive of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce, said the return of the Chinese airlines to Christchurch will boost “not just tourism, but also exporting industries”.
“China is the largest market for a huge number of Canterbury exporters, who export just under $4bn of goods and services there a year.
“That’s nearly four times more than we send to Australia, our next biggest export destination as a region,” said Watson.
Direct flights also allow better access to business travel in both directions which is important in building people-to-people relationships, and also increases air freight capacity.
“The potential benefits are huge, and will flow on to the wider Canterbury economy and through the supply chain that supports our exporters.
“It couldn’t have come at a better time with the cost of living at an all time high and concern about consumer confidence starting to rise,” she said.
Chinese tourists were New Zealand’s second-largest international market in 2019, with 407,000 visitors, according to Tourism New Zealand figures.
On average, each visitor spent $476 a day in 2019. Most visited during the Lunar New Year and about half stayed for more than a week.
In the 12 months up to August 2023, Christchurch International Airport received 325,000 international visitors. Among the international tourists, the major countries of origin were Australia, the UK, US, Singapore, Germany and China.
Before the China Southern Airlines service was paused in 2020, there were 120,000 passengers a year flying direct to Christchurch.
Cathay Pacific services will also return to Christchurch from mid-December, with direct flights to and from Hong Kong being offered over the summer months.