Airline services between New Zealand and Indonesia will be given another boost when Garuda Indonesia follows up on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with Auckland International Airport.
The MOU signals an intention from Garuda to begin a direct service from Indonesia to Auckland as soon as market conditions and aircraft availability allow.
There are currently no direct services between Indonesia and New Zealand, although Air New Zealand is scheduled to begin a limited season of twice-weekly flights to Bali in June.
Tourism New Zealand chief Kevin Bowler said MOU "offers the tourism industry an opportunity to attract greater number of Indonesians in coming years".
Indonesia is a growing tourism market for New Zealand, with 11,824 visitors coming to NZ in the year to February 2012 (a year-on-year increase of 22.5%).
Bowler added, "We will be conducting further market analysis to learn more about Indonesia’s travel trade and the habits of consumers, but we would certainly be interested in discussing joint-venture opportunities with Garuda and with Indonesian travel sellers with the aim of increasing the number of Indonesians visiting New Zealand."
