Great Journeys New Zealand has announced that its premium tours, regional rail packages, and the new Scenic Plus premium dining experiences are exceeding sales expectations.
This financial year, the rail tourism company carried approximately 190, 000 passengers. That’s around 82 per cent of pre-Covid levels and on par with the wider tourism sector internationally. However with a new business model moving away from volume and focusing on quality visitor experiences, revenue and customer satisfaction, targets have exceeded expectations.
“Our new strategy saw the launch of several new tourism products post-Covid, including multi-day fully-guided rail tours, self-guided rail packages, rail event packages and Scenic Plus,” Great Journeys New Zealand executive GM passenger Tracey Goodall said.
As part of that strategy, Great Journeys New Zealand created a selection of regionally focused short-break rail packages, allowing customers to experience less-frequented New Zealand regional destinations through ‘off the beaten track’ rail experiences.
“We know that many domestic and overseas travellers are looking for experiences with a lower carbon footprint and we are excited to see our strategy paying off as we move towards the end of the financial year,” Goodall said. “Our regionally focused short-break packages are already generating revenue in excess of expectations and this business area continues to grow at pace.”
With a focus on premium customers, the top selling guided tour – the Signature ‘Up Close’ tour – is considered among the best in New Zealand. Valued at $15,000 for a 17-day tour, it was nominated by The New York Times last year as the fourth best thing to do in the world.
The team also launched ‘The Southerner Returns’ for May. Packages for all four departure dates are sold out for this popular trip, which offers a unique opportunity to journey by train between Christchurch and Dunedin. Following the trend, the brand new Matariki evening experience train to Kaikoura has also sold out well in advance.
“It’s great to see so many people excited to experience New Zealand by rail,” said Goodall.
