Skift

Ask Skift Is the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry: Ask Skift Your Questions Episode Notes Taylor Swift is heading to Australia next February for her Eras Tour — but not New Zealand. However, Air New Zealand is boosting capacity for the thousands of Swifties eager to travel to Australia for her shows, writes Reporter Jess Wade. Wade reports 10,000 Kiwis have booked flights on Air New Zealand coinciding with the concert dates. One Air New Zealand executive said the surge is one of the greatest it’s ever seen for travel between the two countries. Wade adds the airline recently announced it’s adding 2,000 new seats from three major New Zealand cities to Melbourne and Sydney.  Australia airlines have also seen enormous demand for Swift-related travel. Virgin Australia registered a more than 600% jump in bookings to Melbourne and Sydney during Swift concert dates.  Next, the U.S. tourism industry is continuing to make strides in its recovery from the pandemic. International travel to the country hit 83% of pre-C