Tuesday, 22 February 2011

Despite a record number of tourists arriving in New Zealand in 2010, they spent 10 percent less than in the previous year, shows the latest International Visitor Survey by the Ministry of Economic Development.

International tourist numbers reached 2,525,000 in the year to December 2010 (up 67,000 or 2.7 percent) but spending declined NZ$619m to NZ$5.6b.

Roger Wigglesworth, Director of Tourism, Events and Consumer Affairs at the Ministry, said the lower spending could be attributed to global financial issues.

“The lower spend in 2010 appears to be the result of the high New Zealand dollar and tourists having less in their pocket because of the global recession,” Dr Wigglesworth said.

“Despite the financial situation, New Zealand saw a record number of tourists visiting its shores in 2010. The increase in international visitors was primarily due to higher numbers of Australian tourists. There was also a significant increase in Asian tourists, a trend we expect to continue.”

The share of Australians visiting New Zealand is at its highest level since 1985, accounting for 44.4 percent of all international visitors, although their spending decreased by 8.5 percent to $151m.

Tourists from South Korea and China appeared to be less perturbed by the exchange rate or the global financial crisis, however, with spending up $25m (12.9 percent) and $25m (7.4 percent) respectively.

Japanese tourism numbers continued to rise. However, a declining average length of stay and lower average spend per trip resulted in a 15.3 percent drop in spending compared to 2009.

Tourists from the UK and the USA spent significantly less, down $143m for the UK and $131m for the USA.

The International Visitor Survey is a biannual survey of visitors leaving New Zealand that is prepared by the Ministry of Economic Development. The full report is available on the Ministry’s tourism research website:
www.tourismresearch.govt.nz/ivs

ENDS

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