NZ Summer Off to a Slow Start, Picking Up Speed

New Zealand Summer Off to a Slow Start, But Picking Up Speed

A shift in the timing of Chinese New Year appears to have had an impact on international visitor arrivals to New Zealand in January.

This year the Chinese New Year fell in February, meaning visitors from key Asian markets were likely to delay travel until that time.

Overall, visitor numbers were down 1.5% on the same time last year, with New Zealand welcoming 3800 fewer visitors.

Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton says while the Chinese New Year had an impact, overall the tourism industry was reporting a strong summer.

“While some say there was a slightly flat period for international visitors around Xmas, most say bookings are very good for the rest of the season.

While the US market was down 3.6% for the month, there was a strong 12.7% increase in holiday arrivals from the Canadian market, indicating good opportunities for growth, particularly with Air New Zealand’s s new direct services to Vancouver.

The UK market is back in to strong growth with a rise of 7.6% over the same month last year, highlighting our recent wins in several British media polls as one of the most desirable destinations in the world to visit.

The Australian market was steady, with a slight drop of 0.8% following the surge in arrivals since the launch of the What’s On campaign, recently re-launched for autumn.

“With an extra NZ$1 million invested by the tourism industry to support the What’s On campaign, we are hoping to see good results for the autumn season from this market” said Mr Hickton.

Visitor Arrivals January 2007

Australia 74,676 down 0.8%
UK 45,668 up 7.6%
USA 22,624 down 3.6%
Canada 6,496 up 3.2%
China 9,576 up 9%
Korea 14,028 up 7.5%
Japan 12,236 down 19.1%

ENDS

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