Technology

Go with Tourism has launched a new virtual reality experience for students in high schools throughout New Zealand.

Air New Zealand will trial the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) digital Travel Pass app designed to help enable safe international travel.

Lightning Lab’s Tourism Design Accelerator demo day is going virtual and starts at 10am today, Thursday 18 February.

The Government has approved funding for 22 new low-emission transport projects.

Direct bookings via STAAH climbed up globally from the number six spot to number three, beating some of the top online channels.

New online video travel guide, See and Do NZ, has launched a new free-to-list booking platform for Kiwi tourism operators.

Auckland Unlimited’s Study Auckland and Northland Inc have launched a new one-stop tourism website to help international students explore the northern regions.

The tool allowed virtual planners to navigate their way around popular islands such as Rarotonga and Aitutaki from a computer, tablet or mobile device.

Online business travel booking company Serko has posted a $10m loss for the half-year ending September 2020.

The tool is designed to activate domestic tourism and incentivise Kiwis to try new things and share their experiences on social channels.

With concepts ranging from virtual reality experiences to operator-specific sustainability tools, seven teams meet in Wellington today to kick-off Lightning Lab and Tourwriter’s Tourism Design Accelerator.

Online travel booking and expense management company Serko says its $10m share purchase plan has closed oversubscribed with applications totalling approximately $25m.

The founders of Everything Travel Group (ETG) and industry stalwart Chris ‘Squid’ Bradley have launched a new deals site, Deal Champ.

Biosecurity NZ has installed a new 3D scanner at Auckland Airport, which will undergo trials with passengers before they collect their check-in baggage from carousels.

Central Economic and Development Agency is providing tourism and hospitality businesses with a free workshop to help their marketing.

Online travel booking and expense management company Serko has raised $47.51m in a share placement.

Online travel booking and expense management company Serko is seeking new equity of up to $55m.

Tourism businesses needing digital transformation support to adapt to a Covid-era market can now tap into the Government’s $20m digital capability funding.

Wellington-based Creative HQ will host the Tourism Design Challenge, a 48-hour innovation weekend to find better travel solutions for suppliers, travellers and the environment.

The firm owned Real Time Booking Systems Limited and Queenstown Visitor Guide Limited, both of which have also gone into liquidation.

Whether you are a long-standing operator or a brand new venture, IBIS Technology’s complete tourism management platform can add value and improve your business.

Serko has been included in the S&P/NZX 50, S&P/NZX 50 Portfolio Index, and the S&P/NZX MidCap Index.

The trade partnerships manager on the loss of famils and using virtual technology to bring the international travel trade to New Zealand.

Tourism New Zealand has released its first Spotify album, Mindful Journeys, designed to transport listeners virtually around the country.

Serko has been named as the 2020 Hi-Tech Company of the Year as it fights the financial effects of the Covid-19 downturn.

Lightning Lab has teamed up with tourism tech company Tourwriter to revive the planned tourism business accelerator postponed by Covid-19.

The Great New Zealand Bingo Bonanza is calling on regional tourism organisations to join the initiative by submitting two free bingo activity cards in preparation for September’s launch.

Businesses in the West Coast and Southland are set to benefit from upgraded communication services with new funding from the Provincial Growth Fund.

Air New Zealand has received approval from the Civil Aviation Authority to proceed with full RNP AR operations on its ATR turboprop flights into and out of Queenstown Airport.

Regional Tourism Organisations were able to submit two bingo cards free of charge to the platform.

Candice Pardy is behind the Jobloads app, whose business idea came from the challenges she faced trying to find a reliable labour supply for her Gisborne persimmon orchard.

Avis Budget Group has launched Digital Check In, an online service enabling customers to spend less time at the counter when picking up a vehicle.

More than $1.36m in credit has been redeemed by Air New Zealand customers via the airline’s new online credit redemption tool, which went live yesterday.

Tourism marketing company Tomahawk has taken on GO Rental’s entire app team of eight staff to help develop a new product designed to boost New Zealand tourism.

The Great NZ Roadtrip would be a “one-stop shop” to search for local activities and places to stay, priced from from $15 per month for users. 

Avis Budget Group will enable customers renting in New Zealand to confirm a vehicle condition in real-time.

Electric cars could help the tourism industry improve its impacts on local communities and environments, according to a Lincoln University researcher.

Experience Co has selected Queenstown-based IBIS Technology as its tourism business systems software provider for the company’s skydiving operations in both New Zealand and Australia.

A new travel booking site has launched this week with a no-commission model in a bid to get income flowing into New Zealand’s tourism industry.

Adventure tourism software developer Wherewolf is offering its digital waiver service free to operators.

Roadtrip app CamperMate has experienced a surge in users over the past month with New Zealanders itching to get on the road, says chief executive Nick Baker.

Plummeting demand for passenger and recreational vehicle rentals due to the tourism shutdown looks set to continue for quite some time, according to Westpac.

The reopening of Eichardt’s and Spire hotels in Queenstown will be unaffected by problems affecting owner Andrew Cox’s other companies, including Website Travel.

Queenstown-based tourism technology companies including Loaded, Guest HQ, Wherewolf, First Table and Safer Lines have adapted to solve new challenges faced by the industry in a Covid-19 environment.

Waikato Museum has launched a new website experience for visitors keen to try their hand at creating an online exhibition using images of items from the Museum’s collection.

The 85km Old Ghost Road on the South Island’s West Coast has been captured to create an interactive 360-degree virtual tour for Google Earth Voyage.

Sharemarket investors remain cautious despite cash flow assurances by NZX-listed online travel booking software company, Serko.

Callaghan Innovation and NZ’s wider startup community has put the call out for individuals keen to generate innovative ideas to support businesses – including tourism and hospitality – and communities in post Covid-19 New Zealand.

New Zealanders self-isolating on their return from overseas have been asked to consent to being contacted by text message, for the purposes of compliance checks.

Online travel booking company Serko’s share price is among the tourism-related stock to take a hit this week.