Assisting travel for Chinese visitors to New Zealand will be a special focus for the AA this year.

AA Traveller will publish a unique New Zealand travel guide designed to cater to the needs of the 260,000 inbound Chinese to this country every year alongside the 170,000 who have made it home.

The book will be written in Chinese and will complement the existing production of almost three million guides, directories and maps already published by AA Traveller with a focus on New Zealand’s major tourist destinations and the areas around them.

AA Traveller General Manager Moira Penman says while there is travel information available to Chinese visitors, there is no comprehensive printed material available in their own language to assist them in deciding what to do while in New Zealand.

“Combined with ethnic Chinese residents, there are more than half a million people who can benefit from targeted travel information. While the industry is well catered for in terms of available travel information, most of it’s in English which is less than helpful for visitors if they can’t read it,” Ms Penman says.

However, Tourism New Zealand research on inbound Chinese visitors shows that 45% look to guides and books about the country for information while they are here.

Many also visit i-Site information centres, talk to accommodation staff and other Kiwis and find brochures along the journey.

“This year we decided to produce a comprehensive visitor guide in Chinese as a way of introducing new parts of New Zealand they might not have explored and what to do while there.”

Ms Penman says alongside travel and attraction material, the guide will include information on road safety, New Zealand culture, Maori history and also Chinese history in New Zealand.

The largest group of visitors to New Zealand come from Australia, but China is next ahead of the United States, United Kingdom and Japan.

The guide will be available from AA Centres and i-Sites along with many accommodation, attraction and tour operators by November.

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