http://news.msn.co.nz/article/royalwedding/8244589/william-and-kate-to-visit-new-zealand-in-2012

Prince William will head to New Zealand again, but it won't be for the Rugby World Cup.

He and Kate, the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will reportedly visit next year to help ease the Queen's diamond jubilee workload.

Australia and the Caribbean are also on their list of planned stopovers.

The couple will be separated during the World Cup in September as William will be posted in the Falkland Islands for work.

Because he is unable to attend any of the games in New Zealand the country was a "priority destination" for a world tour starting in March.

The visits are planned to coincide with the jubilee – celebrating 60 years on the throne - because traditionally the Queen visits Commonwealth countries in the year of the celebrations.

But the 85-year-old has asked family members to relieve her from some travel this time, the Sun reports.

A palace official told the Sun that Kate and William were planning the minimum of official engagements to settle into married life, but the jubilee was an

Hopes airfare war will keep 'em coming

Visitor numbers from the US are expected to be down by 10 to 15 per cent this year, but an airfare war may help stimulate demand.

Tourism New Zealand US regional manager Annie Dundas said New Zealand's third largest market had been more resilient than expected in 2008, but the tide had turned quickly this year.

"Compared to competitors, New Zealand came out better than some."

US visitors to the UK were down 12 per cent while numbers to France dropped 10 per cent.

But the start of the year has seen New Zealand fall to the levels of its European rivals. While official figures have yet to come out, Dundas said US visitors in January were down between 10 and 15 per cent.

Slain backpacker's family will attend trial

The family of slain Scottish backpacker Karen Aim arrives in the country today, with her father vowing to sit through each day of the murder trial.

"The main question for me is how was Karen killed?" Brian Aim told the Herald.

"Was she chased and terrorised, or was she clubbed from behind and never knew it had happened? I hope that question will be answered through the trial. It may not be but I am quite determined to hear as much as I can of the trial. I might not be able to face it."

A year after Karen's January 17 killing - while on a working holiday in Taupo - the family still think about her every day.

Eden-like beauty found in New Zealand

Don't get me wrong. I don't mean to imply that there's no action to be found here at the bottom of the world. To the contrary, this is the place that gave us modern bungee jumping and the Lord of the Rings movies. These people know how to get the blood flowing.

But nothing quite beats leaving the cities behind for a trek across the country, which is divided into two main, narrow islands, North and South. The terrain is sparsely populated - sheep outnumber humans 10 to one - and as varied as it comes.

New Zealand is, in short, a country begging for a road trip.

A good place to start is at the top of the South Island at Abel Tasman National Park. This classically beautiful park is a paradise for trampers, a New Zealand term for hikers. Tucked along the coast, the quiet coves and golden beaches are accessible only by sea or by foot and preserve an innocent, Eden-like quality.

Air New Zealand to Double Premium Economy Seats on Boeing 777-200ER Fleet

Air New Zealand is to double the number of available Pacific Premium Economy seats on its fleet of eight Boeing 777-200ER aircraft in line with growing demand.

Expected to be reconfigured by June 2009, each aircraft will have an additional 18 Pacific Premium Economy seats added taking the total available to 36.

Air NZ Cuts Fares to Australia 15% to Revive Sales

Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Air New Zealand Ltd., the nation's biggest airline, will cut fares to Australia by an average 15 percent next month to boost passenger numbers amid slowing demand.

The new fares, effective Oct. 14, coincide with a NZ$60 million ($40 million) investment in new layouts and entertainment systems on the A320 jetliners and Boeing Co. 767 aircraft the airline flies to Australia and the Pacific Islands, the company said today in an e-mailed statement.

Flights to and from Australia and the Pacific account for about a quarter of Air New Zealand's passenger traffic. They are also less affected by the record-high fuel prices and declines in international travel demand that have prompted rivals including Qantas Airways Ltd. and Korean Airlines to cut some long-haul services.

British backpacker dies in New Zealand quadbike plunge

It took emergency services almost four hours to retrieve the body of Sarah Katie Bond, 24, of Ilford, Essex, from the rugged terrain.

“Unfortunately, when we arrived on the scene there was nothing we could do,” an ambulance service spokesman said.

Miss Bond was among a group of young overseas travellers visiting the Waitomo Caves area, a popular tourist attraction in the central North Island, on Saturday.

New Zealand Truckers Plan Gridlock as Protest Over Charges

New Zealand truck drivers plan to create gridlock on the streets of the nation's biggest cities tomorrow in protest at an increase in government charges.

Police are advising motorists to expect delays and avoid unnecessary travel in cities including Auckland and Wellington. At least 1,000 trucks are expected in Auckland's central business district, the Road Transport Forum which represents commercial operators, said in a statement.

On July 1, Transport Minister Annette King increased road user charges by an average of 7.5 percent, effective immediately. Truckers face a delay before they can increase prices to recover the extra costs, at the same time as fuel costs soar and an economic slowdown crimps demand, Forum Chief Executive Officer Tony Friedlander said.

New Zealand looks to boost tourism industry

The guides, from the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA), focus on key areas of visitors, business, the environment and community, according to Oscar Nathan, the acting chief executive of the TIA. He told the website: "We know operators are already working hard to enhance their businesses but new ideas are always valuable. These guides have been designed to be easy to read and practical, so I strongly encourage operators to download a copy."

New Zealand is actively campaigning to attract more British travellers to the country and to increase the number of people applying for a New Zealand working holiday visa. The campaign is also encouraging visitors to take their holiday sooner rather than later.

Anyone interested in taking a working holiday to New Zealand should confirm their eligibility by taking the New Zealand Visa Bureau's online New Zealand visa assessment.

New Zealand’s snow the place to go for Aussie travellers

New Zealand gets nearly a quarter of its annual tourism income from Australian holiday-makers, according to the Dominion Post. Every year, the ski fields welcome 20 per cent more visitors from Australia, amounting to 70,000 people last year.

Australians are flocking to the slopes of New Zealand year after year because of the “much better, much more reliable skiing”, claims Matthew Hassan, a Westpac senior economist. And with the great exchange rate and another season looking packed with snowfalls, the influx of holiday-makers to New Zealand from Australia is expected to increase by another 20 per cent this year.

NZ tourism may survive climate change, but travel costs a risk

Climate change due to global warming will help determine a new crop of winners and losers - in tourism.

And a report from Deutsche Bank Research says some of the biggest polluters will be among the biggest winners - with New Zealand among the countries which will initially be better off.

The Deutsche Bank report said that the countries responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions will be least influenced by the predicted storms, droughts or rising seas.

New Zealand Wine Tasting Breaks

A few days wine tasting whilst surrounded by some of the world's most beautiful scenery is always a winning combination - and New Zealand is becoming more and more popular for wine lovers.

The North Island offers places such as Hawke's Bay and Gisbourne - whereas the South Island's party capital of Queenstown is also noted for its wine production.

However, the most famous wine region is Marlborough at the top end of the South Island.

New Zealand tourism operators encouraged to woo Chinese

In the TNZ-run magazine Tourism News issued on Tuesday, TNZ regional manager for North Asia Mark Frood said many New Zealand tourism operators were waiting to see where the China market was headed. "But we can't afford to wait," he said.

"It is moving fast and if New Zealand is not in there, if we don't have a good, solid presence to help the Chinese understand what we are about as a destination, our ability to attract this market will become much more difficult," he said.

Tourism New Zealand said New Zealand attracted only 0.6 percent (122,000) of the 39.8 million Chinese who traveled every year. They stayed in New Zealand for three days on average, spent a total of 337 million NZ dollars (265 million U.S. dollars) with an average spending of 3240 NZ dollars, and most were satisfied with their New Zealand holidays.

New Zealand travel and vaccination centre welcomes new dengue vaccine research

The New Zealand Worldwise Travellers Health and Vaccination Centre says the development of a new dengue vaccine by a Hawaiian company is exciting news.

Hawaii Biotech has won a grant to develop and trial a new dengue vaccine and is expected start its clinical tests by the end of the year.

There are four different types of the potentially fatal dengue virus, which is transmitted through mosquito bites.

A company in Europe and another one in Thailand are also working on a vaccine.

Kia Ora to New Zealand's South Island

Anna Kainberger is taking a year-out from her career to travel in south-east Asia, Australasia and the South Pacific, along with Hawaii and the USA. This month she is reporting from New Zealand. Here is her fourteenth blog entry:

I arrived in New Zealand after a rather short flight from Sydney (three hours) and my hopes after a very rainy week in Sydney were indeed high. I was not to be disappointed.

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The Langham Auckland will celebrate Earth Hour

Earth Hour takes place from 8.00pm – 9.00pm on Saturday 29 March. Earth Hour is a global movement celebrated by millions of people across the world in international cities including Copenhagen, Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Brisbane and Tel Aviv with the aim of raising awareness of climate change. The movement was initiated by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature).

The Langham will be extinguishing up to an estimated 3000 lights which will be replaced by thousands of natural, non-carcinogenic, paraffin (petroleum) and chemical free, non-toxic, bio-degradable, New Zealand made soy candles.

New Zealanders who are booked on trips to Tibet are being urged to contact their travel agent

Reports from Tibet suggest permits are no longer being issued for travel to the region.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday warned against non-essential or tourist travel to the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.

New Zealand citizens in Lhasa are advised to avoid areas where protests and riots are taking place.

Air New Zealand deciding not to take part in a major tourism trade event

G'day New Zealand Australia Week, organised by Tourism Australia, aims to market Australia to New Zealand's wholesale travel industry.

This year for the first time the trade show has tacked on a travel expo day to market Australian tourism direct to the general public.

But because Qantas is the key sponsor of the week, competing airlines have been blocked from having a stall at the public open day, prompting Air NZ to skip the entire event.

Air New Zealand's Cam Wallace told Travel Trade that without its participation at the consumer day, the investment in the event did not stack up to the rewards.

New Zealand International Arts Festival

More than 800 artists and performers from 29 countries showcase their art at the New Zealand International Arts Festival in Wellington from February 22 to March 16.

A broad range of styles encompass theatre, music, dance, opera, writing and the visual arts.

The arts festival takes place in various venues in Wellington, New Zealand's capital city at the southern end of the North Island.