New Zealand: they know you are coming before you get there.
A new initiative by NZ customs allows tracking of airline passengers and crew before arrival.
There's no point in buying an air ticket in one name and trying to arrive in New Zealand using another name: airlines are now co-operating with NZ Customs by passing over their passenger and crew lists in advance of the aircraft's arrival.
The supply of advance passenger information is a first step towards setting up the APP (Advance Passenger Processing) system, which will allow the New Zealand Immigration Service and Customs to analyse information before passengers board their flights to New Zealand - so now you know why you spend so long hanging around in airports for no apparent reason. It's not just to encourage you to shop.
The scale of the issue facing customs is shown in figures released recently: since early October, 572,223 passengers have been processed by Customs through Auckland International Airport, not including those arriving this week for Christmas or traditionally the busiest day of the year - Boxing Day - when up to 70,000 arrive. By the end of December 2002 (only a week away) Customs expects arrivals will well exceed the 633,200 processed during October to December last year.
Customs' latest figures also show a strong increase in the number of small craft arrivals this year, with numbers well up on the 407 vessels processed during October to December last year. In the same three months this year, small craft arrivals have already hit 518, with still a week to go before the end of the month. Apparently this can be partly attributed to overseas interest in the America's Cup. Also this summer (remember NZ is south of the Equator!), more than 3000 cruise ship passengers have already set foot in New Zealand and that number is expected to surge during January/February.
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