Direct flights between Canberra and Wellington may have been cancelled, but the two capitals are still feeling the love, according to a new report.
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ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr is currently on a three-day trade mission to the New Zealand capital to celebrate two years since the sister-city relationship was forged.
The $11,000 trip includes visits to the Wellington Zoo and Botanic Garden, which have both signed partnership agreements with their Canberra counterparts in recent months, and meetings with the New Zealand Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Wellington mayor Justin Lester.
The connection between the capitals was struck up after after Singapore Airlines announced it would begin operating direct flights between Canberra, Wellington and Singapore in 2016.
Accordingly, tourism is one of the planks on which the effectiveness of the relationship for both cities has been assessed.
Direct flights did cause a bump in tourism for both Canberra and Wellington, with visitor spend increasing by $NZ93 million - three times greater than the rest of New Zealand.
New Zealand visitation to Canberra grew to 18 per cent in the last 12 months of the direct flights.
The number of ACT residents travelling to Wellington increased by 147 per cent in the year to April.
And while the direct flights were cancelled in January, New Zealand was still Canberra's fourth biggest source market for international visitors in the year to June, up 19 per cent on the previous year.
Other milestones include the collaboration of Canberra’s BentSpoke Brewery and Wellington’s Fork & Brewer on an Ale of Two Cities, a sister city beer which Wellingtonians were due to get their first taste of this week.
Officials from the ACT government and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa have also met to discuss exchanges and exhibitions, with proposals to be developed either late this year or early next year for some kind of collaboration.
The possibility of a joint bid for major events such as the Commonwealth Games, Invictus Games and Rugby League World Cup was investigated by Wellington officials, but quickly ruled out as too costly.
However officials are looking at whether the Capital Cup - a trophy awarded as part of the annual Super Rugby series matches between the Canberra Raiders and the Hurricanes - could be re-established.
There's also plans for a Canberra delegation to be involved in the Māori New Year festival, Matariki.
