On Monday, the airport company released figures showing the exponential growth in visitors from China in the past 12 months, up 31% on the previous corresponding period.
Some of that increased activity has flown through to Queenstown Airport, in which the Auckland company has a stake.
Auckland International Airport (AIA) hosted two Taiwanese celebrity guests - television news anchor HaiYin Chen and her architect husband, Lienchuan Yu - for an eight-day tour of New Zealand, which included a trip to the Queenstown Winter Festival.
AIA spokesman Glenn Wedlock said the tour marked the start of a campaign targeting the untapped market of Taiwan.
Taiwan had a population of 23 million and was considered a mature and high-value market that could increase to about 21,000 inbound visitors to New Zealand per year by 2020.
The Taiwan campaign followed the announcement of trade pact talks with New Zealand later this year. Taiwan was New Zealand's largest butter importer, fourth-largest fresh fruit importer and eighth-largest export market.
"Bringing HaiYin and Lienchuan here and showing them, and their fans back in Taiwan, what New Zealand has to offer is part of our successful strategy to promote local tourism destinations and develop our nation's reputation as a must-visit travel destination," Mr Wedlock said.
HaiYin drew in more than 25.6 million visitors to her online blog posts alone, a following AIA was hoping to tap into to grow tourism from Taiwan, he said.
During their visit to Queenstown, the Taiwanese pair visited Amisfield Vineyard, Arrowtown, Lake Hayes and the Winter Festival, and participated in night skiing and skydiving. They also went jet boating on the Dart River, Glenorchy.
Craigs Investment Partners broker Chris Timms said the Asian tourism market was "relatively young" in New Zealand terms, with the mature markets of the United Kingdom and Europe suffering from the ongoing cash crisis.
The growing Asian middle class was an ideal target for New Zealand tourism operators and AIA had already savoured success with its increased visitor numbers from China.
"Asia, particularly China and India, represents the key source of growth for AIA over the next decade. Attracting Asian low-cost carriers to AIA - including Jetstar - is a key mechanism for AIA to leverage this growth, given New Zealand is predominantly a leisure market."
A 1% increase in international passengers equated to about $1.6 million of additional reported profit for the company, he said.
His positive view of AIA reflected recovering passenger numbers, more property development initiatives and an improvement in retail spend per passenger.
Also, recent route announcements from China Airlines and Malaysia Airlines, in addition to earlier announcements from Jetstar and Continental Airlines, provided further stimulus for passenger growth, Mr Timms said.
At a glance
Auckland International Airport accounts for about 70% of all inbound passengers to New Zealand. The airport's commercial facilities include freight facilities, car parking, warehousing and offices. In addition, AIA owns more than 1500ha of freehold land, with about 180ha to be developed in the medium term. AIA owns a 24.55% stake in North Queensland Airports, which owns and operates Cairns and Mackay airports. In July 2010, it bought a 24.99% stake in Queenstown Airport.
