Enticing visitors to take the trip

Tourism NZ says the new non-stop service linking Auckland and Chicago could help persuade more of the 34 million Americans considering coming here to make the trip. The US is an ‘‘incredibly important’’ market for our industry, with 226,000 holiday visitors each year contributing more than $850 million to the economy, says Tourism NZ’s chief executive, Stephen EnglandHall.

It’s estimated that more than 34 million Americans are actively considering New Zealand as a holiday destination.

When it was announced, the spinoff for tourism from the route’s 85,000 extra seats a year was put at $70m.

Air New Zealand and tourism groups have to work hard to persuade US visitors worried about the length of the flight and inconvenient transfers at airports. The non-stop service takes away one of those deterrents.

The lure of the Windy City is already attracting Kiwis, who got a taste of flights there in 2014.

Air New Zealand sent a charter flight to the city, via Los Angeles, carrying the All Blacks and fans for the test against the US Eagles. Flight Centre NZ’s managing director David Coombes says that since the service was announced in March, the travel firm has seen almost triple the number of tickets sold to the city compared to last year.

What is most appealing to customers are the connections to the northeast coast of the US, a gateway to places such as New York — under two hours flying away — and Boston.