Claire Eeles left me a really good thought on Facebook, so I thought I would share it here...
And having only one airline service NZ directly (Air NZ) is a real restriction! As fantastic as Air NZ is, the reality is that most affluent North Americans travel/upgrade on the mileage points. Absolutely standard practice. And it's impossible to buy/upgrade a seat on Air NZ if you're not a Koru Club member!! All the Kiwis end up sitting at the front of the plane & the target affluent North American tourist needs to spend $8k+ per person for a Business Class fare. From LAX or JFK you can go absolutely anywhere for that price!! NZ is on people's bucket list...but not always #1.
This is especially true for the Nth American audience. And I wonder if it would ever be revealed in Market Research. Little of the factors that inhibit purchasing at the final "activation" or purchase phase get revealed through traditional research processes. Too often marketing of nations focused on perceptions of the brand rather than on activating latent demand and existing brand awareness. NZ needs to focus on activating demand.
Interestingly, the factor Claire highlights is also true for Australia, but less so due to the wide choice of airlines.