Corporate Travel News For South Pacific

Qantas agreed to compensate those businesses affected by a spill of toxic firefighting foam from one of its hangars at Brisbane Airport into waterways (The Courier Mail, 23-Apr-2017). Qantas Domestic CEO Andrew David met with stakeholders from the fishing industry and stated where there was clear evidence of any commercial harm to the business "we will make that good". Mr David also acknowledged that the issue was a Qantas issue, which has now been fixed.

Tourism New Zealand and Tourism Industry Aotearoa released (21-Apr-2017) the results of the latest 'Mood of the Nation' survey. The research, which was initiated in 2015, measures New Zealanders' perceptions of tourism. The latest survey was conducted by Kantar TNS in Mar-2017. Survey results:

• 96% agreed or strongly agreed that international tourism is good for the country;
• 10% know international tourism is New Zealand's biggest export earner;
• Approximately 50% feel the country attracts about the right number of international visitors; a quarter feel New Zealand should be attracting more, and 21% think New Zealand attracts too many;
• 35% think international visitors put too much pressure on New Zealand;
• When told of forecast growth in annual visitor numbers, 37% felt there was too much growth, while 54% said it was just right and 9% not enough. [more - original PR]

New Zealand Government plans to showcase New Zealand at Expo 2020 in Dubai in order to boost trade in the region (NZ Herald, 23-Apr-2017). The expected cost is set to reach NZD53 million (USD37 million). New Zealand Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges said the opportunity was "relatively big play" for the government however the United Arab Emirates had been one of the fastest growing markets of the past decade.

Fiji Airways and the Fiji National University signed a MoU guaranteeing intern positions within the Fiji Airways Group be available for select students from the university (FBC News, 23-Apr-2017). Under the MoU, internships will be available within airport operations, finance, customer service and back office operations. Fiji Airways CEO Andre Viljoen said the long term goal is that collaborations like this will help reduce unemployment.

Jetstar plans to develop its virtual assistant Ask Jess to include customer promotions and complete bookings (Straits Times, 24-Apr-2017). Launched in Nov-2013, Jetstar restricts the chatbot's access to its reservation systems, which includes customers requesting to view their booking, payment status and resending of itineraries.

New Zealand installed (21-Apr-2017) 15 eGates at Auckland Airport's arrivals, with one more unit due to arrive in Jun-2017. The new equipment is part the government's NZD6.6 million (USD4.6 million) programme to double eGates capacity across the country's major international gateways. With 50 eGates currently fully operational across the nation, the final delivery to Auckland Airport in Jun-2017 will mark the completion of the programmes. [more - original PR]

South Australia Tourism released (20-Apr-2017) data related to the 2017 Santos Tour Down Under. Key findings for 2017 include:

• AUD56.5 million (USD42.5 million) in economic value;
• 840,000 total spectators;
• 43,000 event specific visitors;
• 683 full time equivalent jobs. [more - original PR]

Cobham Aviation Services announced (20-Apr-2017) it has been awarded a two year contract by Australian mining company, OZ Minerals, to provide fly-in, fly-out services between Adelaide, Port Augusta and Prominent Hill copper-gold mine in northern South Australia. As previously reported by CAPA, Alliance Airlines recently announced it lost the contract and would no longer be servicing OZ Minerals. Cobham Aviation Services CEO Peter Nottage stated approximately 15 new aviation jobs are being created in Adelaide as a result of the contract being awarded, which includes a three year extension option. Services will commence in Aug-2017 and involve up to 20 services a week using a mix of jet and turboprop aircraft to suit OZ Minerals' requirements. [more - original PR]

Jetstar CIO Claudine Ogilvie discussed the carrier's key innovations for 3Q2017 stating: "Jetstar is focusing our innovation on growth across Asia with technology as a leader and enabler to improve customer experience and employee engagement" (CIO, 19-Apr-2017). Ms Ogilvie believes Jetstar will continue to invest in infrastructure within the cloud to remain flexible and agile; while improving decision making and technical direction and ensuring it aligns with Jetstar's business strategy.

Christchurch International Airport signed (21-Apr-2017) a MoU with Alibaba to boost micro trading for small and regional businesses in New Zealand with Chinese visitors before, during and after their visit. The agreement covers Alibaba's existing apps such as Alitrip, Fliggy and Ant Financial's Alipay and Tmall Global. Airport CEO Malcolm Johns stated "Our goal is to build a better experience for Chinese visitors… Alipay's availability in New Zealand not only makes it easier for visitors to buy while they are here, but also unlocks value a Chinese visitor can provide to New Zealand". Mr Johns commented the "raw power" of Alibaba Group "is not its mass, but its individuality…it's about the one-on-one direct trading relationship that allows for surgical micro-exporting to develop", New Zealand "is one of the best placed countries for micro-exporting" with so many small/medium businesses. [more - original PR]