NZ Governor-General to visit India on Monday to discuss tourism

The New Zealand Governor-General will visit India on Monday for seven days to discuss issues of bilateral relations and tourism, reports Three News.

The Governor-General, Anand Satyanand, will be attending a tourism event held in Mumbai in conjunction with Tourism New Zealand to encourage more Indians to holiday in the country. Indian visitor arrivals to New Zealand in the year ending January 2008 were 22,244, contributing around NZ$70 million a year to the economy, reports Sindhtoday.net.

Currently, there are 120,000 Indian citizens living in New Zealand, and the Government is recruiting thousands more Indian students and skilled workers to migrate to New Zealand to ease critical skills shortages in the workplace.

"Our ties are underpinned by the significant community of New Zealanders of Indian origin who have made their home here. While I was born and bred in New Zealand, it is a great honour to return to the homeland of my grandparents, representing my country as governor-general of New Zealand," Satyanand said.

The New Zealand Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people emigrate to New Zealand.

Article by Jessica Bird, New Zealand Visa Bureau.