TOURISM New Zealand and Christchurch International Airport have jointly launched a first-ever culinary tourism guidebook targeted at Muslim travellers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and India.
New Zealand – A Cultural Haven for Muslims provides a list of over 100 halal-classified F&B outlets – from those that are halal-certified to those that offer vegetarian dishes or vegan cuisine – and descriptions of the main regions throughout the North And South Islands.
Tony Everitt, general manager-Asian markets, Tourism New Zealand, said the new guidebook would enhance New Zealand’s position as a destination for emerging Muslim markets.
“The Muslim market presents an enormous opportunity for the New Zealand tourism industry,” he said. “Indonesia and Malaysia are two of our key growth markets and have been identified in the top 10 Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries for Muslim outbound tourism expenditure. There are also identified Muslim tourism market opportunities for New Zealand in India and Singapore.”
Mischa Mannix-Opie, regional manager South & South-east Asia, Tourism New Zealand, said the ramped-up focus on Muslim travellers was in response to encouraging arrivals growth from Muslim markets, rather than to shore up inbound numbers from traditional markets hit by the global financial crisis.
For the year ending August, New Zealand received 29,712 visitors from India (+4 per cent year-on-year), 12,784 from Indonesia (+8.7 per cent), 34,480 from Malaysia (+15.8 per cent) and 38,416 from Singapore (+15.7 per cent).
The guide will be distributed globally to travel trade partners and their customers, New Zealand embassies, and to travel consultants at events attended by Tourism New Zealand. An online version will be also published on the NTO’s consumer and trade websites.
