SYDNEY – The New Zealand Automobile Association (NZAA) and Australian Motoring Services (AMS), representing each of the State/Territory based Australian Automobile Clubs, have combined resources to form a trans-Tasman tourism partnership.
NZAA and AMS have combined their respective tourism marketing, guide and web operations into a partnership that will trade in Australia under the name AAA Tourism and in New Zealand under the name AA Tourism, effectively becoming one of the South Pacific region’s leading tourism, publishing and media business.
A key component of the new partnership’s overall marketing strategy will be the publication of a range of tourist accommodation guides, maps and websites delivering targeted travel information to the 7.7 million members currently belonging to New Zealand and Australian motoring clubs.
AMS chief executive Michael Reed said NZAA had played a key role in helping to revitalise New Zealand’s domestic tourism in recent years via the release of several highly innovative and penetrating marketing campaigns, including the successful ‘101 Must-Do’s for Kiwis.
NZAA’s current general manager of AA Tourism, Peter Blackwell, will be CEO of the new partnership.
Reed added, “With both countries representing each other’s biggest source of visitor arrivals, the establishment of this trans-Tasman tourism model has created a valuable business proposition for both Australian and New Zealand companies.
“More than 5,000 New Zealand tourism businesses and their 10,000-plus Australian counterparts will now have direct promotional access to 7.7 million potential ‘local’ customers.â€
