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Speaker 1: We might have some real hope and tourism here. I

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Speaker 1: think international visitors were up seven and a half percent

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Speaker 1: in August, so we now set at eighty eight percent

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Speaker 1: pre COVID. It's it's all Australia though, I mean Australia

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Speaker 1: is over half of all arrivals of fifty two percent.

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Speaker 1: China's at nine, the US is at five. Grant Webster

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Speaker 1: is the chief executive Tourism Holdings and is with us.

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Speaker 1: Grant morning, good morning. How bullish are you?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? Really bullish. Let's get excited about tourism. It's time good.

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Speaker 1: So some talk that summer could see us back at

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Speaker 1: one hundred. Do you think that's true?

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Speaker 2: And no, not the summer. But you know we're well

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Speaker 2: on track. Look at that percentages that you were just

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Speaker 2: talking about. So we're well on track. We're heading to

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Speaker 2: the right place.

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Speaker 1: Do you think we're overly reliant on Australia or it

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Speaker 1: is just what it is.

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Speaker 2: Now, it's a time of the year and it's where

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Speaker 2: some of the campaigns have been. So if you look

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Speaker 2: at the forwards from some of our more traditional markets

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Speaker 2: that are all well up as well. So now that's

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Speaker 2: just a time of year and things that are being

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Speaker 2: focused on at the moment.

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Speaker 1: Okay, good, So the campaigns I was going to ask about,

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Speaker 1: do campaigns work and if they do, should we do

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Speaker 1: more of them?

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Speaker 2: Yes? And yes, And the funding is there to do

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Speaker 2: more of them, and we've just got to make sure

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Speaker 2: that we're not taking a sugar hit, sugar rush kind

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Speaker 2: of approach to things and making sure that we're getting

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Speaker 2: sustainable about that funding.

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Speaker 1: Because we did an interview a couple of weeks ago,

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Speaker 1: there was a regional initiative representing the North Island. Should

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Speaker 1: we be selling New Zealand as New Zealand or can

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Speaker 1: individual bits of New Zealand sell themselves internationally without splitting

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Speaker 1: the market too much?

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Speaker 2: Again, it's and both. So the South Island's been campaigning

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Speaker 2: in that way for a number of years. They're great

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Speaker 2: to see the North Island respond accordingly. You do get

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Speaker 2: customers that do one island all the other, so that's fine.

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Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, touris of New

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Speaker 2: Zealand sells New Zealand and they sell it well, so

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Speaker 2: let's just keep supporting them and keep going. It's good

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Speaker 2: for the economy, we know.

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Speaker 1: I read some Golden Week's stats the Chinese are moving again,

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Speaker 1: particularly to the UAE, but we were in there is

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Speaker 1: is there something coming with the Chinese? Are they back ish?

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Speaker 2: I think that coming back? I think you know, the

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Speaker 2: Minister went up there a couple of weeks ago. Everything

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Speaker 2: I heard from that trip was extremely positive. Air capacity

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Speaker 2: starting to come back, Visa situations have been pretty well sorted.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, that's another one of those momentum points. So

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Speaker 2: I think you're going to see the next twelve months

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Speaker 2: really positive for news cialenters good.

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Speaker 1: So is the government doing all they can on those visas,

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Speaker 1: pulling all those leaders they can.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the Minister Apsman has listened really really well to

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Speaker 2: the industry and when you look at the event funding

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Speaker 2: it was announced a few weeks ago. When you look

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Speaker 2: at the visa changes, yes is the simplanswer to that.

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Speaker 1: And the capacity on airlines where are we at with it?

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Speaker 2: So we still want more. So we've only got small

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Speaker 2: single digit growth in their capacity this calendar year. Australia

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Speaker 2: is outstripping us in the air capacity and that's something

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Speaker 2: we have to continue to watch. It'd be great to

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Speaker 2: see the government lean into that as their next initiative

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Speaker 2: and then that would set us up again for much

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Speaker 2: much better under twenty six and we can get back

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Speaker 2: to that one hundred percent sooner than what some of

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Speaker 2: us are anticipating.

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Speaker 1: And your company is doing, how New Zealand is doing

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Speaker 1: or have you got a different story?

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Speaker 2: No, from an international tourism into New Zealand, we are

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Speaker 2: doing the same more better than the broader stats. I

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Speaker 2: mean from an employment perspective, Mike, we're looking at employing

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Speaker 2: right at the moment, we've got about one hundred and

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Speaker 2: fifty people we're looking to employee for the summer and

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Speaker 2: that's up about close to twenty percent on last year. Wow,

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Speaker 2: that gives you a pretty good indication of the difference

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Speaker 2: that this industry can make to the economy.

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Speaker 1: Fantastic And are people easy to get or not?

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Speaker 2: It's much easier than what it's been historically. Now that

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Speaker 2: obviously is not necessarily a good indicator for the broader economy,

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Speaker 2: but no, we're happy with large, large number of applicants

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Speaker 2: for all sorts of roles. Good.

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Speaker 1: And what do you make of the dollar? I mean,

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Speaker 1: if you're handing over forty three p or whatever it

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Speaker 1: is at the moment, I mean that we've got to

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Speaker 1: look at bargain.

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Speaker 2: Don't we exactly right? You're on it again. We are.

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Speaker 2: We are a bagain. Australia is a bargain. So this

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Speaker 2: region in particular when you think that the US still

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Speaker 2: hasn't got the mojo back yet. So you know, we've

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Speaker 2: got to make the most of that at the moment,

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Speaker 2: and we are well done.

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Speaker 1: I know you're in a part of the world where

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Speaker 1: it's four thirty in the morning, so I do appreciate

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Speaker 1: you getting up early.

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Speaker 2: For us very much. Nice to no worries.

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Speaker 1: It's nice to talk to your Grant Webster, who is

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Speaker 1: the chief executive Tourism Holdings. Four thirty five here Wednesday.

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Speaker 1: Simon Watts Award for appearing on the program at an

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Speaker 1: inopportune moment.

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Speaker 2: For more from the my Casking Breakfast, listen live to

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Speaker 2: news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow

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Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio