TNZ Jakarta marketing communication manager Aristo Kristandyo said that the team would have a lot of activities in the near future to strengthen New Zealand's position as a holiday destination.

"We are now working on short- and medium-term plan programs as we will have a lot of events in Indonesia in the future," Aristo told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

He said that the short-term program consisted of plans that would be carried out between October and December this year while the medium plan would cover plans in the first half of 2014.

"Recruitment to complete the team with a trade and business executive is well underway. The full team will be in place by early November, and they will lead TNZ's activities to secure a strong, long-term position for the New Zealand tourism industry," he said.

In an attempt to ensure a sound understanding of the market and what actions the office can take to improve visitor numbers, they have also completed a detailed analysis of the market's potential for delivering visitors to New Zealand.

This included examining general consumer trends as well as the market's size and behaviors, before delving into the defined target market of 'emerging considerers' - who, like 'active considerers', already had a preference for New Zealand as a holiday destination, but were further from choosing it as their next destination, he said.

Indonesia's economic growth coupled with the emergence of low -cost airlines, has fueled demand for outbound travel at 9.7 percent a year.

Travel to New Zealand was growing at a similar rate, with 12,500 Indonesian visitors recorded in the year ending May 2013, he continued.

In addition, as with any market, aviation links were critical to the success of sustainable visitor flow.

He said that the office had engaged with Indonesia from the TNZ Singapore office, and New Zealand had been promoted through indirect services with Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines.

The obvious goal was to secure direct air links to Jakarta. Both Auckland International Airport and TNZ have recently been in positive discussions with national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.

"No date has been committed to at this stage. In the meantime, we welcome Air New Zealand's increase to four flights per week for the 2014 seasonal service," he went on.

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