Prime Minister and Tourism Minister John Key says tourism industry optimism is recovering along with annual national visitor numbers after national and international disasters in 2011.
Mr Key also told Trenz reporters on Thursday he believed adventure tourism in New Zealand was "very safe".
"There is always some risk when you undertake that kind of activity, but we are determined to make sure that our operators operate at the world's best standard and we'll be continuing as a government to make sure that when someone hops on one of those rides or experiences they can feel confident they can feel safe."
The prime minister said New Zealand's distance from major markets was a challenge and the Government was working hard on connectivity.
He said he was pleased to hear when he was on a trade mission to Indonesia in mid-April that Indonesian national airline Garuda would be starting direct flights between Jakarta and Auckland.
Negotiations were under way with Latin American destinations about flight paths to New Zealand and on greater flexibility with Japan and on landing rights in China, he said.
China was a rapidly growing market, with year-on-year arrivals up almost 24%, and Southeast Asian arrivals were up about 20%, he said.
The 2011 Rugby World Cup brought 130,000 overseas tourists to the country, and one of the opportunities it offered was to be able to show the world earthquake damage was "isolated" to Christchurch and should not deter visitors, Mr Key said.
The tournament was an example of the calibre of events New Zealand could host, with future events including The Hobbit world premieres; the 2012 International Triathlon Union World Championship Series Grand Final in Auckland from October 18 to 22; the 2015 Federation Internationale de Football Association Under-20 World Cup; the 2015 International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup; and the 2017 World Masters Games.
The New Zealand Cycle Trail initiative would comprise 18 trails totalling 2500km, with work due to be completed by end of 2013, Mr Key said.
Visitor arrivals from the United Kingdom were declining because of the country's economic issues, but it remained New Zealand's No 1 source of permanent migration, with family and friends visiting migrants, Mr Key said.
"Very much like Germany, the UK tourists are great.
"They come for long periods of time, they spend lots of money and they travel round.
"The one concerning thing is the departure tax because that is putting a lot of pressure on those outward-bound tourists.
"They are paying very large sums now to leave and we think it's discriminatory to New Zealand paying this massive departure tax, so I'm having dinner with [British Prime Minister] David Cameron in a couple of weeks and I'll bend his ear again."
NZ beautiful but boring: Indonesians
New Zealand is quiet and beautiful, but boring, difficult to get a visa and all about sheep, according to white-collar Indonesians quizzed by New Zealand's ambassador to Indonesia, David Taylor.
Mr Taylor told Trenz reporters on Wednesday those misconceptions needed to change if New Zealand was to cultivate holidaymakers among the country's huge and growing middle class.
The signing of an agreement in April for direct flights between Jakarta and Auckland by Indonesian airline Garuda was part of a "massive opportunity to take our relationship with Indonesia forward", Mr Taylor said.
The value of the 150 richest Indonesians was $133 billion, he said.
The number of Indonesian overseas travellers last year was 7 million, a 37.25% increase on 2010, the ambassador said.
Indonesian social media expert David Chalklen said social media could correct misconceptions. Indonesia had 50 million internet protocol addresses by the end of 2011, but how many Indonesians were online was unknown because of the popularity of internet cafes, Mr Chalklen said.
Flights from Perth to increase 20%
Air New Zealand announced a 20% increase in its capacity to Perth, "one of our fastest-growing routes, with a significant increase in demand over the past 12 months", deputy chief executive Norm Thompson said.
Australia accounted for about half of all visitors to New Zealand, he said.
"Capacity on the Tasman increased 4% over the past year and we continue to introduce initiatives such as the hugely popular Seats to Seat to stimulate traffic between the two countries," Mr Thompson said.
"And for the first time this winter, residents of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland will be able to fly directly to New Zealand, as we launch our first international service into Sunshine Coast Airport as part of our transtasman alliance."
The new direct service between Auckland and the Sunshine Coast will operate twice a week, on Tuesdays and Sundays, on a seasonal basis between July 1 and September 18.
An Auckland Airport analysis shows Australia could provide $2.35 billion in visitor value to New Zealand by 2020, up from $1.67 billion in 2011.
Footage of quake aftermath spurs reluctance to visit
Australians have been reluctant to come back to Christchurch because the aftermath of the February 2011 earthquake was beamed live into their homes for 72 hours, Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism chief executive Tim Hunter says.
"What was ingrained on the minds of Australians was a shattered inner city and rescue operation," Mr Hunter said.
"They didn't see the fact that half of Christchurch, the western side, was in pretty good nick ... and none of the rest of the South Island was affected at all."
Mr Hunter told national and international Trenz reporters "the year of earthquakes is over" and quoted GNS Science, which said aftershocks were smaller and heading out to sea.
More than 700 central business district buildings had been demolished and building was taking place, with a "world-class" convention centre a priority in the city plan.
The red zone had shrunk by 70% and would vanish by the end of the year.
Mr Hunter said there were still activities to do in the Garden City with the Project Restart pop-up mall, new rugby stadium and innovative developments in the suburbs.
Earthquakes had not affected the International Antarctic Centre, the TranzAlpine and Kaikoura train trips, the Air Force Museum and other attractions.
While Christchurch had 40% fewer beds than before the February 2011 earthquake, the city still had enough accommodation to cope with demand most of the time, he said.
While it was difficult to find beds at peak season, the rest of the time was "not too bad".
Trenz rated 'nothing short of fantastic'
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden says Trenz 2012 deserves to be acknowledged as a major success for organisers and participants.
"I have heard nothing but praise for Trenz and received constant feedback that the 1000 plus attendees rated the event as nothing short of fantastic," she said on Friday.
The mayor extended a huge vote of thanks to operators, suppliers and regional tourism operators, who all went the extra mile to ensure the Southern Lakes was superbly showcased.
"Our guys pulled out all stops to ensure that we were a fantastic host and a worthy venue to showcase 'destination New Zealand' to the world.
There is no doubt that those efforts will pay dividends for New Zealand tourism."
Auckland is the 2013 Trenz venue, but Queenstown would welcome the event back in a heartbeat, she said.
"We wish Auckland all the very best, but we would be there with welcome arms should the opportunity arise again."
