Auckland Airport corporate relations manager Richard Llewellyn said during the Trenz conference in Queenstown, which finishes today, the airport would work to promote New Zealand's best tourism products.
Chinese travellers already knew flights to Auckland and Queenstown existed - now the aim was to let Chinese people know what activities and products were available to them once they arrived at those destinations, Mr Llewellyn said.
The latest initiative, started soon after the $10 million campaign around the launch of direct China Southern Airlines flights to Auckland in April, would run indefinitely, depending on its success.
There would be 14 direct flights a week by China Southern Airlines and Air New Zealand by August this year.
The opening of a direct Houston-to-Auckland route by United Airlines, in November 2012, was expected to access a new affluent travel segment of the American market.
"We want to talk to premium tourism products and this is where Queenstown comes in - it's full of very high-quality products," Mr Llewellyn said.
Auckland Airport business development general manager Glenn Wedlock said staff on the airport's stand at Trenz had been fielding inquiries from buyers, particularly from China.
Queenstown's casinos and high-end retail outlets and Arrowtown's Chinese mining heritage were drawcards for a Chinese middle-class fond of gambling, shopping and ancestral stories, he said.
One wholesaler was looking to deliver 500 Chinese passengers into Queenstown for Chinese New Year.
"We started to develop smaller route plans focused on golf, wine trails, high-end activities and we are entering into advertising campaigns and social media in China," Mr Wedlock said.
A Boston Consulting Group report estimates the number of middle-class and affluent consumers from China will increase from 150 million to more than 400 million over the next decade.
