The tourism industry in Niue is celebrating the news that Air New Zealand is re-introducing a twice-weekly service, departing Auckland on a Tuesday and Saturday from April 2, 2024.

Demand for the destination continued to grow throughout 2023, and this was initially recognised with a larger aircraft for the weekly flight being provided, which was later expanded to a seasonal twice-weekly service from November to the end of January.

A re-introduction of an agent self-familiarisation (famil) programme, in addition to recently hosted trade and media trips, has seen Niue get the travel trade re-acquainted with Niue as a destination for active clients seeking a unique destination, and it is paying big dividends.

“The second flight confirmation has come at a perfect time. After just getting back from hosting two big groups in Niue, and with the famil programme introducing other travel professionals to Niue, I am confident 2024 (and beyond) will be huge. It seems everyone is looking for something a little different, very relaxed, yet full of adventure… and Niue ticks all those boxes and more. Although this opens three- and four-day travel options, my tip is that most will want to stretch it out to seven or more days as there is just so much to do in our island paradise,” says Sarah Porter, Niue specialist and travel trade point of contact in New Zealand.

Delivering a quality, authentic experience whilst visiting Niue is high on the list of priorities for Niue Tourism, with some major upgrades to the tourism infrastructure and services being undertaken over the last year. A few months ago, free Wi-Fi was introduced for departing passengers with a short satisfaction survey attached to it. The results of this survey have shown a staggering 99.5% of visitors would recommend Niue to others. A whopping 98% have said they would return to Niue in the future, and for an overall rating of their experience not one respondent selected a poor experience!

The final touches will be complete for 2024 with the resealing of the airport runway and the terminal receiving an inviting makeover, including new seating, lighting, PA system, artwork, and signage.

Director of Tourism Micah Fuhiniu-Viviani is absolutely thrilled with the announcement of the second air service from April 2024.

“This really does compliment the hard work our team and the wider tourism industry has put in over this last winter, where not only demand to travel to Niue was at an all-time high but satisfaction levels of our visitors are off the charts. While we did get the larger A321 arriving to service some of this demand, we really needed another one. We appreciate the commitment Air New Zealand has shown to Niue in acknowledging this and making the flight a fixture for 2024.”