Attracting visitors from Japan to New Zealand is the aim of a summer charter service announced by Air New Zealand.
The airline plans to run charters from Nagoya and Okinawa over the peak December to January tourist season, bringing an extra 1100Japanese tourists to New Zealand.
The airline says the service is the result of discussions last year with the JTB travel agency, the largest in Asia, about ways to stimulate travel between the countries.
Air New Zealand has previously operated charter services from Japan and says the opportunity to do so again is part of a longer-term strategy to grow the market.