He credited increased flight connectivity and capacity and visa changes as three of the main drivers.<\/p>\n
Callaway said international airlines like China Southern have created direct flight links between New Zealand and China since 2015.<\/p>\n
The airline is based in Southern China and offers direct flights from China\u2019s five major cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. This creates a connection which draws from \u201ca huge pool of people\u201d.<\/p>\n
Christchurch Airport\u2019s Scott Callaway said the introduction of a “visa-free” scheme for Chinese travellers coming to New Zealand from Australia “was the cream on top”.<\/p>\n
But increasing flight capacity \u201cis a huge part of us being successful\u201d, Callaway said.<\/p>\n
Over the past year until June, China Southern brought 65,994 passengers to Christchurch Airport \u2013 a figure it aims to increase by a further 57% this northern winter period, from October to March.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to have a plane with lots of seats on it, but to actually be able to fill those seats is really good,\u201d Callaway said.<\/p>\n
Callaway said that changes in New Zealand\u2019s visa policies also provided a \u201chuge boost\u201d. <\/p>\n
In November 2025, the Government launched a 12-month trial allowing Chinese passport holders to travel to New Zealand visa-free if they have an eligible Australian visa and arrive directly from Australia.<\/p>\n
Instead of applying for a visitor visa, eligible tourists can travel to New Zealand for up to three months with a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA).<\/p>\n
Callaway said this \u201cwas a relatively minor change in position that had a really strong result\u201d. <\/p>\n
He said since the visa-free scheme\u2019s introduction, Christchurch Airport has seen a boost in travellers from China, as well as indirect travellers from over the Tasman. These include Chinese passport holders in Australia, such as university students and those on working visas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all doing well, but that was the cream on top.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many South Island tourism operators have also experienced this boost from the Chinese market.<\/p>\n
Elijah Robinson from Lake Tekapo\u2019s Dark Sky Project said the company has \u201cdefinitely had an increase\u201d in Chinese visitors.<\/p>\n
Lake Tekapo’s Dark Sky Project has seen the biggest increase in Chinese visitors over the past two years, as visitor numbers have returned to pre-Covid levels.<\/p>\n
The stargazing company saw the biggest change over the past two years, where \u201cwe\u2019ve been looking at the same numbers as pre-Covid\u201d.<\/p>\n
Robinson said he had seen a shift towards the outdoor experiences Dark Sky offers, as New Zealand\u2019s natural environment appeals to Chinese travellers. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve always been into the outdoors, but we\u2019ve also historically had groups coming through and doing an indoor experience as well, which is more culture-focused,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut recently, over this past year, we\u2019ve seen a bit of a decline in that area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robinson said advances in technology meant the company could not necessarily compete with attractions in China on technology alone, but New Zealand\u2019s natural night skies were difficult to replicate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got an admiration for the outdoors, for the multicultural and for the night sky, because they don\u2019t get that over there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robinson said their presence on Chinese social media platform RedNote has helped push business. Some of their experiences, including visiting the Astro Caf\u00e9 at the summit of \u014cteh\u012bwai\/Mt John have gone \u201cviral\u201d.<\/p>\n
Dark Sky Project experiences like the Astro Caf\u00e9 have gained traction on Chinese social media platform RedNote, bringing in more visitors.<\/p>\n
Multiple RedNote users have posted photos of Astro Caf\u00e9, featuring panoramic views of Lake Tekapo and coffees topped with planet-inspired latte art.<\/p>\n
This growing interest in outdoor experiences is also being felt further west, where glacier operators are seeing Chinese visitors return to the ice.<\/p>\n
Rob Jewell, who manages Mt Cook Glacier Guiding and is the CEO of Fox Glacier Guiding, has been involved with the China market since 2007.<\/p>\n
He said up until Covid-19, China was New Zealand\u2019s second-largest visitor market, accounting for about 35% of visitors to Fox Glacier.<\/p>\n
Since the pandemic, the Chinese market has made up 30% of the business.<\/p>\n
Jewell said it continues to increase, but has been a \u201clittle bit slower to return since Covid\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said Southeast Asian visitors account for 65% of Fox Glacier Guiding\u2019s heli hike visitors and 80% of Mt Cook Glacier Guiding\u2019s visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cGlaciers aren\u2019t easily accessible for them, and neither are helicopters.\u201d<\/p>\n
The most important part of attracting international tourists is \u201cbeing China-service-friendly\u201d.<\/p>\n
Hiking on Fox Glacier. Photo \/ Tourism West Coast<\/p>\n
Websites translated into Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin marketing material and a social media presence on Weibo and RedNote are just a few initiatives the glacier guiding companies have.<\/p>\n
Jewell also has a dedicated Asia business development manager, two Mandarin-speaking frontline staff and a basic Mandarin training programme for his guiding team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just goes to show with that market that it\u2019s important, we value them and we like having them in our business,\u201d Jewell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust make your business China-service-friendly, keep them happy and they\u2019ll keep spreading the good word and they\u2019ll just keep coming,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For Chinese visitors, the decision to visit New Zealand can be made long before they arrive, with recommendations and advertisements on social media.<\/p>\n
Ivy Zhang, visiting Christchurch from Shanghai, said online recommendations helped shape her family\u2019s itinerary.<\/p>\n
On a girls\u2019 trip with her daughter and cousin, Zhang said, \u201cThere are some commercial advertisements. They recommend everything for us. We just follow their decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ivy Zhang (from left), her daughter and her cousin chose to visit New Zealand after following recommendations from commercial advertisements. Photo \/ Indiana Bell<\/p>\n
The group had seen a lot of recommendations on RedNote for things to do in the South Island and Queenstown.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people follow these recommendations,\u201d Zhang said.<\/p>\n
But while social media can help Chinese visitors decide where to go, the experiences themselves remain the biggest drawcard.<\/p>\n
The Li family, visiting Christchurch from China, said New Zealand\u2019s natural beauty and outdoor experiences appealed to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Zealand is a beautiful country and has a lot of wild spots,\u201d Sean Li said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe can see a lot of stars in the night, the air is fresh and we can see a lot of different kinds of animals.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He credited increased flight connectivity and capacity and visa changes as three of the main drivers. Callaway said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607608,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[806,12509,4500,4444,4480,70,5838,5345,4493,2514,225,111,43,139,3591,69,38950,1881,82743,13382,1240,10097,9182,10708,3590],"class_list":["post-607607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-as","tag-capacity","tag-changes","tag-chinese","tag-drive","tag-flight","tag-help","tag-increase","tag-increased","tag-island","tag-market","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-numbers","tag-nz","tag-rebounds","tag-recovery","tag-requirements","tag-returning","tag-south","tag-tourism","tag-tourists","tag-visa","tag-visitor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}