3 MAY: Costly tickets and over-priced accommodation are slowing sales of NZ Rugby World Cup packages in Australia, according to a report today.
Total Sports Travel, an official Australian agent for the tournament, said sales have been "less than ideal".
General manager Mike Jones said there’s been "plenty to put people off this year", including the Queensland floods and Christchurch earthquake.
But the price of match tickets and accommodation are also factors, he told news agency AAP.
He said there are cases of hotels charging up to 500% more than their normal rate.
"Australians like to think of New Zealand as a cheap destination and usually it is but, as is usually the case in these situations, the prices of hotels are well up and the price of tickets are up too", he said.
"Trying to explain all this to people is really difficult."
He said Australians booked well in advance of the last RWC tournament in France, but that isn’t the case this time.
Total Sports Travel has sold about 1500 packages, but that’s short of its target.
Mr Jones hopes that with five months to go, there will be a late run on sales.
"We think of New Zealand as just across the ditch, a domestic market really, so we believe there will be a lot of late bookings," he said.
About 85,000 international visitors are expected in New Zealand for the tournament, among them 29,000 Australians.
