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Air New Zealand has released its latest safety video as it prepares to transport visitors to New Zealand as borders reopen post-pandemic.

The video shines the spotlight on the “Tiaki Promise”, which encourages tourists to care for New Zealand’s place, culture, and people. It does this by telling the story of a young man called Tiaki, who boards a waka rearrange (a flying canoe) and explores Aotearoa, the Māori-language name for New Zealand.

With the help of Air New Zealand and a character named Julie, Tiaki visits four Māori guardians including Papatūānuku (the land), Tangaroa (sea), Tāne Mahuta (forest), and Ranginui (sky). He seeks advice from these guardians on how better to look after them in the places he visits.

“As people start to return to Aotearoa, this safety video is an invitation to them to act like guardians while they’re here. “We want tourism to build back better than it was before and part of that is to share with our visitors a sense of kaitiaki – to encourage them to act as guardians of our country,” Leanne Geraghty, the chief customer and sales officer at Air New Zealand.

“Our safety videos are world-renowned and through them, we have an opportunity to educate and inspire ourselves, our customers, and Aotearoa on the importance of Tiaki and everything it stands for. It’s about being good hosts, and good visitors. Julie’s character in the safety video is there to show that caring for New Zealand isn’t something Tiaki can do alone. It requires all of us to follow the Promise and commit to protecting Aotearoa for future generations to come.”

She added: “I would like to thank Pou Tikanga and storyteller, Joe Harawira, New Zealand Māori Tourism, and the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute for guiding us, right from concept to the building of the waka, and the cultural formalities we followed throughout. The collaborative effort has helped us share this story and the principles of Tiaki authentically.”