New Zealand Tourism Board and Visa China have announced a "New Zealand Preferred Visa" service in China.

With this service, all Visa card holders in China can enjoy express passport visa service that is offered by the NZ Tourism Board and Visa China.

From November 1, 2006, all holders of Visa credit cards and credit platinum cards in China can buy FIT New Zealand trip at specified travel agencies and get their individual passport visas there. It only takes 2 days for consumers to get this individual visa, which previously took about 30 days.

Li Sheng, vice president of Visa International Service Association, said they hope to offer more convenience for outbound trip service for their growing pool of credit card holders through this cooperation with NZ Tourism Board. The express passport visa service will first be launched in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. There are 19 travel agencies in these 3 cities to offer this service.