Survey will help travel take flight

Business travellers now have a voice on effective air travel. Pictured are Hawke's Bay Airport aeronautical and infrastructure manager Olivia Pierre and BHB business connectivity project manager Carolyn Neville. Photo / Duncan Brown

Hawke's Bay business travellers are sharing experiences to help the region's air travel infrastructure.

An online commuter survey has been created by Business Hawke's Bay as part of its Business Connectivity Programme, a year-long project to enhance business connectivity between Hawke's Bay and beyond.

Business Hawke's Bay project manager Carolyn Neville said a database of business travellers is being gathered through contacts and business associations such as Hawke's Bay Tourism.

The survey is not a snapshot, running from the end of June until Christmas. Participants will receive a newsletter along with their monthly survey link email.

Results will be shared with stakeholders including airlines, Hawke's Bay Airport and its shareholders Napier City and Hastings District Councils.

Mrs Neville said questions could vary from month to month.

"It might come in that there aren't enough taxis at the airport at a particular time," she said.

"If it comes through as a consistent message then that would be shared through to taxi companies."

She said the project was aimed at "growing the pie and ensuring we have sustainable choices in the region for air travellers".

"With choice in the air travel space, we have businesses being able to connect with other businesses, developing and maintaining the personal connections that are so important to business growth and success."

"The project looks at how business-led economic growth could be positively impacted and stimulated by business travel brought about by choices in air travel, and extended regional services. In turn, this business growth could lead to new jobs, contracts and sales opportunities."

Jetstar has been credited with sparking record passenger numbers through Hawke's Bay Airport since its Auckland service was introduced last year. Both Jetstar and Air New Zealand have increased capacity since the introduction of Jetstar,

Mrs Neville said a separate "hands-on" survey would be conducted at the airport over several months to quantify how many people were business travellers.

"Some estimates initially were that business travellers made up 60 per cent of travellers in and out to Hawke's Bay. We don't yet know that number for sure."

The survey was one of several initiatives planned after networking with hundreds of local business people since she joined the regional business development agency in March.

"It was a case of finding common threads, and evaluating the patterns and trends, to identify the requirements of business travellers and then validating those."

The project went beyond the needs of local business travellers.

"We are also working on ways to make it easier for those outside the region to do business with and in Hawke's Bay."

The Business Connectivity project is jointly funded by Hastings District Council and Napier City Council for 12 months.

- To sign up for the survey go to hawkesbaylandingpad.co.nz (or hblp.co.nz).