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Speaker 1: A little bit of visa talk for you. The Golden

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Speaker 1: Visa in terms of business investment, we learned this week

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Speaker 1: that's a hit three billion on its way, and then

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Speaker 1: the Chinese tweak. It's paying off big time. Over thirty

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Speaker 1: six thousand Chinese and Pacific visitors have entered because of

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Speaker 1: this new Enzeeta pathway it sets through Australia. But I'll

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Speaker 1: explained it in the minute. Grant Webster's the chief executive

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Speaker 1: of Tourism Holdings and is back with us. Grant, very

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Speaker 1: good warning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning.

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Speaker 1: Did this decision make sense? When I talked to the

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Speaker 1: Prime Minster about it several times, it couldn't work out

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Speaker 1: why we're being so tough on the Chinese, and I

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Speaker 1: think we all know why we're being tough on the Chinese.

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Speaker 1: But he sort of worked this thing through Australia, so

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Speaker 1: of Australia clear as you can pop into New Zealand.

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Speaker 1: I wondered whether it would work. It seems it has.

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Speaker 2: It absolutely seems it has, and that's what you want

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Speaker 2: from government right actually making steps that make things easier,

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Speaker 2: removing friction and encouraging the economy.

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Speaker 1: That way, could it have been easier and better if

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Speaker 1: we've done it directly, because it still requires them to

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Speaker 1: be cleared by Australia and not every Chinese visitor Doesustralia

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Speaker 1: and New Zealand versus just New Zealand.

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Speaker 2: Oh look, I think it's an end both, right. I

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Speaker 2: mean we're getting faster and quicker in terms of our

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Speaker 2: responsiveness from a New Zealand perspective. We've seen that in

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Speaker 2: the number of visas approved and arrivals from China. This

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Speaker 2: is just an end both, right. So this is just saying, hey,

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Speaker 2: look we can leverage the work. There my understanding, it

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Speaker 2: doesn't work the other way. So we're very fortunate that

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Speaker 2: we're getting that efficiency out of Australia that putting the

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Speaker 2: cost and effort in and we're leveraging it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, it would China. Is China back or coming back,

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Speaker 1: because that's been the missing piece in this whole overall equation,

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Speaker 1: hasn't it in terms of visits?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you'll bang on. So look, we're well over ninety

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Speaker 2: percent now in terms of total arrivals. I think China

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Speaker 2: arrivals are about ten points plus behind that. But if

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Speaker 2: you look at that recovery over the last part of

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty five. That's significant and obviously the generary numbers

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Speaker 2: will be a little bit distorted because of Chinese New

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Speaker 2: Year movement. But when we see the February numbers, and

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Speaker 2: obviously a few weeks time, I think you're going to go, yep,

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Speaker 2: that really worked.

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Speaker 1: Are you feeling bullish? The Auckland airport numbers this week,

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Speaker 1: that's good. Queenstown Airport, good car sales numbers. That's a

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Speaker 1: lot of rental purchases. I'm assuming only by a rental.

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Speaker 1: If you're feeling good about life, that's all tailwind, isn't it?

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Speaker 2: Very much? So very much? Say New Zealand is in

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Speaker 2: a good place from a tourism perspective. Let's see if

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Speaker 2: we can. I don't. I won't put a date on it.

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Speaker 2: But New Zealand become number one exports. Tourism become New

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Speaker 2: Zealand's number one export earner again beating dairy. Let's see

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Speaker 2: when it happened.

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Speaker 1: Oh do you see that happen? I mean, once upon

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Speaker 1: a time that was it was a ding dong, wasn't

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Speaker 1: it. It was tourism, dairy, dairy tourism. So tourism is back

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Speaker 1: to the point, because dairy is booming.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, no, bet give us a chance. You look at

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Speaker 2: the growth rate over the next couple of years and tourism,

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Speaker 2: you know that whole double export arnings that the Prime

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Speaker 2: Minister announced a couple of years ago that he wants

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Speaker 2: within ten years. I think I've said it before. Tourism

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Speaker 2: can be a key driver of that host. The growth

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Speaker 2: we've had in last two years, it's not much compounded

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Speaker 2: growth beyond that will be there.

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Speaker 1: Fantastic Good to have you on the program as always,

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Speaker 1: you have a good weekend. Grant Webster, Chief Executive. Tourism

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Speaker 1: holdings are the aforementioned by the way. Auckland Airport six

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Speaker 1: months revenue up four percent, underlying up six percent, Total

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Speaker 1: passenger numbers up two percent. Capacity till still seven percent

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Speaker 1: shorter pre COVID, so we need more planes and more seats. Meantime,

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Speaker 1: Queenstown half year up eight in terms of revenues. International

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Speaker 1: arrivals up eleven they're coming in from Australia though that

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Speaker 1: link with you know, Jetstar and Quantus and all of

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Speaker 1: that foot count one hundred and fifteen thou five hundred

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Speaker 1: and thirty two almost forty three hundred arrival and departures

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Speaker 1: per week domestic numbers that's you and me up seven

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Speaker 1: internationals out of Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast up eleven percent.

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Speaker 1: So you can't argue with any of that, because numbers

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Speaker 1: don't like.

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Speaker 2: For more from the Mic Asking 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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