24 October 2012

Tourism job losses an indictment on Key

The loss of nearly 7,000 tourism jobs under the current government is a striking indictment of John Key’s failure as Minister of Tourism, Green Party tourism spokesperson David Clendon said today.

Data from the Tourism Satellite Account released today by Statistics New Zealand show that there were 6,800 fewer tourism jobs, equivalent to 4,500 FTEs, in the year to March 2012 than in the year to March 2009 when Mr Key gave himself the tourism portfolio. The fall comes despite the promised boost from the Rugby World Cup – over the past year there was a net loss of 1600 tourism jobs.

Twenty more tourism jobs losses were announced just today with the closure of five visitor information centres.

“While John Key is distracted by scandals and his obsession with assets sales, tourism is suffering under his watch and Kiwis are losing their jobs,” said Mr Clendon.

“The 6,800 job losses in tourism, like the 40,000 jobs lost in manufacturing during the same period, mean more Kiwi families going without and more people leaving for Australia.

“These job losses are a testament to the Key Government’s failure to protect Kiwi workers and confront the fundamental challenges to our economy,” said Mr Clendon.

Related data from the International Visitor Survey shows tourists are spending 31% less per visit on average than they were four years ago while the Visitor Experience Monitor Survey shows that tourists are becoming less likely to recommend others visit New Zealand and that cost is becoming a growing problem for international tourists visiting New Zealand.

“The high dollar is hurting tourism. Tourists are finding that the high exchange rate makes New Zealand too expensive,” said Mr Clendon.

“The result is that the income from tourism is falling and jobs are being lost.

“The Greens have presented a solid proposal to get the dollar down to its fair level. This would halt the decline in tourism and save Kiwi jobs.

“The Key Government has shown it has no solutions and no plan. New Zealanders deserve better,” said Mr Clendon.

Additional information:

Visitor Experience Monitor Survey

ENDS

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