Air New Zealand on Monday began flight services to South Korea to absorb growing travel demand from Asia's fourth-biggest economy.

On Nov. 23 (local time), Air New Zealand flight NZ75 departed Auckland International Airport for Seoul's Incheon International Airport for the first time in more than two decades, according to the airline.

Travel demand from South Korea to New Zealand has been growing significantly in recent years. Seoul, with a population of over 10 million residents, will be a popular destination for New Zealand travelers, Air New Zealand's acting chief executive Jeff McDowall said in a press conference held in Seoul.

The route will also serve as an important link for the 40,000 Koreans living in New Zealand, he said.

About 90,000 Koreans visit New Zealand annually, and the number is expected to grow in coming years as an increasing number of Korean students go to colleges in New Zealand, the airline's Chairman Dame Therese Walsh said.

Air New Zealand offers three flights a week -- on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays -- but it plans to increase the number to five depending on demand.

Korean tourists have traveled to New Zealand, often indirectly through Japan or Australia, due to the lack of direct flights.

Air New Zealand used to fly Auckland to Seoul in the mid-1990s but suspended the service as the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis sharply drove down demand. (Yonhap)