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With 100 days left for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 to begin, Tourism New Zealand is banking on the star power of Stephen Fleming, former New Zealand captain, to woo Indian tourists to the country.
‘Easy job’“It is an easy job for me as New Zealand sells itself. All I am doing is selling a good product,” Fleming told BusinessLine .
David Craig, General Manager-Asia, Tourism New Zealand, said, “India currently ranks 10th in terms of importance of the market for us but its rate of growth in number of tourists exceeds most countries.”
New Zealand receives around 35,000 Indian tourists in a year.
Growth in arrivals“We witnessed 17 per cent annual growth in arrivals from India from September 2013 to September 2014 compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. We expect the number to grow significantly,” he added.
The tourism board is investing in back-end infrastructure, training agents, and working closely with airlines to make it easier for Indians to travel to the country.
“We have worked towards introducing a single visa with Australia for the period of the tournament,” Craig said, without sharing investment details for India.
It is expecting 30,000 visitors during the World Cup. Of this it expects Indians to account for 5,000 to 10,000.
On whether sports could drive growth for tourism, Fleming said, “We have a potential for adventure tourism with activities such as bungee jumping, kenyan swing, among others. We have now started using the natural resources to encourage outside recreational activities.”
With Australia and New Zealand as co-hosts, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will begin on February 14 and end on March 29. Forty-nine matches will be played across 14 cities in the two countries.
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