Media Centre

Queensland: Creepy crawling
Ooh! That's a big ... !" These are four words you never want to hear from the guide who's walking ahead of you through the Australian bush. Particularly when said in tones of great surprise. And especially when the crucial fifth word...

Christchurch tourism open for business after earthquake
Christchurch's tourism industry is open for business despite the earthquake.The International Antarctic Centre next to Christchurch International Airport re-opened yesterday.Owner and director Richard Benton said it was business...

Christchurch earthquake sightseers risk themselves and others
The growing number of sightseers in central Christchurch are putting themselves and others in danger, say police.Cordons in the earthquake-ravaged central business district were reduced in size yesterday and limited access was...

South America: So Machu more
Paddington Bear came from "darkest Peru". What a fortunate fictional character he is. Peru is a bewitching country where the people are warm, the Kiwi dollar goes a (relatively) long way and the sights just keep on coming. There's...

Pub tribute for dead plane crew
On a pool table at a Fox Glacier pub, a variety of drinks were arranged alongside the words "RIP Boys", as locals remembered their friends killed in Saturday's fiery plane crash.A few hundred metres away, the bodies of pilot Chaminda...

Thrillseekers to get chance to fly jetpack for $320
New Zealand's adventure tourism industry is leaping into the future with plans to offer thrillseekers a chance to fly a hi-tech jetpack.Jetpack inventor Glenn Martin has told the Herald on Sunday he is negotiating to lease land...

Editorial : Mid rise hotel approval positive for Britomart
Good on the Auckland City planning commissioners who have approved a mid-rise hotel on Quay St in the Britomart precinct.The independent officials rejected opposition from the Auckland Regional Council to the developer's plans...

Hotel 'won't be a burden on taxpayers'
Christchurch developer Dave Henderson says his Hotel So will not cause the taxpayer financial agony.Henderson, with companies in receivership after trouble at the funky Cashel Street hotel, borrowed more than $20 million from...

Troubled Irish hotels like zombies'
The Glashaus hotel used to be a symbol of the regeneration of one of Dublin's toughest neighbourhoods. Empty and shuttered, it now represents one of the toughest economies Ireland has ever endured.Developer Liam Carroll opened...

Neighbours slam council over run-down buildings
A "disgraceful" eyesore of run-down buildings opposite one of the country's top international hotels has angered an Auckland official, heritage campaigner, hotelier and neighbouring apartment owners.Auckland Regional Council chairman...

Giant rugby ball in Sydney
Tourism New Zealand's Giant Rugby Ball has landed in Sydney, where it will spend the next week.The ball - which can accommodate about 200 people - has been travelling the world to promote next year's Rugby World Cup, as well as...

Cost structure 'inflaming Westin war'
An international hotel broker has called for a truce at Auckland's Westin.Dean Humphries, national director Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, said it was important that an impasse between two fighting factions be resolved."The unit...

Westin workers to fight for their jobs
Westin Hotel workers, organised by the Unite Union, have issued a press release saying they have "vowed to fight for every job".The union is setting up a picket line outside the hotel today."These workers are asked to pay...

Merger OK boosts Jetset
Shares in Jetset Travelworld have taken off after Australia's competition watchdog said yesterday the tour operator could buy Stella Travel Services.Jetset shares added 13.5 cents, or 19.71 per cent, to 82 cents.Australian...

Beach houses draw record protests
Plans to build houses on an unspoilt Coromandel beach have drawn more than 1000 submissions in protest.It is understood to be a record number for a resource consent in the district.Queenstown developer John Darby wants to...

Receivership fight splits hotel
Just over half of Auckland's five-star Westin will be off-limits to guests after a fight between receivers and suite owners.Out-of-pocket investors fear receivers might disconnect electricity, phone, television and access to their...

Westin hotel shuts rooms, large job cuts
About 100 staff at the Westin hotel in Auckland are losing their jobs as most rooms there are shut down.Receivers of Lighter Quay Hotel Management - the company involved with the Westin Hotel complex - today said the five-star...

Westin disarray a concern for RWC plans - investor
Receivers for the company that operates the troubled Westin Hotel are planning to shed up to 100 staff, throwing the plans of hundreds of guests booked for the Rugby World Cup into disarray, say investors in the property.Receivers...

Car rental rip-off directors fined
Two Christchurch car rental companies have been ordered to pay $43,710 in fines and reparations for ripping off foreign tourists, prompting a warning from the Commerce Commission that it is watching the tourism sector closely.Directors...

Brazil's slums now a tourist attraction
Tourists used to try to avoid Rio's notorious slums. Now officials are inviting them to come and visit instead.The Santa Marta shantytown has become the first community in a programme meant to promote tourism in the poor neighbourhoods...

Close to home: Striking sculptures
The first New Zealand exhibition by internationally renowned sculptor Ron Mueck runs at Christchurch Art Gallery, October 2 to January 23. Mueck is known for extraordinarily lifelike, compelling sculptures that represent all stages...

My Auckland: Te Atatu Peninsula
We'd lived in Sandringham for six years and Kingsland before that, but when we got engaged we decided we wanted to have a house before the wedding in November.I was in Amsterdam for work when Sharde called and said 'I've found...

North Shore: Over the Bridge and far away
The Bridge is the illusory key. The sprawling seaside city on the North Shore is connected to the Auckland isthmus by this eight-lane vehicular link. It is "The Bridge", that steel and tarmac umbilical cord, that provides proximity...

Hot deals: Hong Kong special
House of Travel has Hong Kong packages from $1599 each, including return airfares from Auckland and four nights in four-star accommodation. From Wellington $1899 each, from Christchurch $1959. Valid for sales until September 10 and...

Invercargill: Blast from the past
Invercargill has a sense of humour; it must do. The city turned a film - The World's Fastest Indian - into an annual festival that pulls punters from as far afield as Japan, the US and the UK. During one week in November you can...

Gore: Southern men turn to art and fashion
Gore might have one of the least appealing names on the planet, but this pint-sized Southland town is proving a hit with everyone from European art fanatics to Auckland fashionistas.There's certainly a lot more to it than a large...

Domestic air services boosted
Travellers between Tauranga and Christchurch, and Invercargill and Wellington, are the big winners in Air New Zealand's latest boost to domestic capacity.More than 9500 additional seats per week were being added across its regional...

Editorial : Pacific Blue - it was good while it lasted
In hindsight, airline passengers may well look back on the period between 2007 and 2010 as a golden age for travel in New Zealand. It was too good to last.Pacific Blue has announced it will quit the domestic market after totting...

Jetstar to expand in NZ, Virgin exits
SYDNEY - Low-cost carrier Jetstar plans to increase its fledgling New Zealand operations, taking advantage of Virgin Blue's departure from the market.The airline, owned by Qantas, says it will add two extra A320 aircraft to its...

Agent: Fewer cheap airfares when Pacific Blue goes
There will be fewer cheap seats up for grabs with Pacific Blue pulling out of the domestic market, says a travel agency.Pacific Blue is to stop flying domestic routes and redeploy its New Zealand-based aircraft on to the trans-Tasman...

Pacific Blue axing NZ domestic flights
Pacific Blue is to stop flying domestic routes in this country and redeploy its New Zealand-based aircraft on to the trans-Tasman and medium haul international routes.The decision is included in the first phase of a network review...