Chinese And Australian Visitors Boost Record

Chinese And Australian Visitor Arrivals Boost Record February

New Zealand has hosted the largest ever number of visitors for the month of February and that growth looks set to continue.

February 2007 saw over 15 thousand more international visitors arriving than the same time the year before – an increase of 6%.

Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton says predictions of a strong summer are materialising with bookings suggesting an equally robust next few months.

“The tourism industry has worked extremely hard this summer with some parts of the industry, at times, booked to capacity. The flow on effect is some visitors who wished to travel in the peak season, now more likely to visit New Zealand in the shoulder season.”

Growth in the Chinese and Australian markets was the most significant source of the increase.

Chinese visitor arrivals for the month of February increased 76% on the previous year to almost 15,000 visitors. China is now New Zealand’s fifth largest source of visitor arrivals after Australia, UK, USA and Japan.

Mr Hickton says the introduction of Air New Zealand’s direct air services to Shanghai, increased marketing activity and the timing of Chinese New Year have contributed to the increase.

The Australian market has grown 5.6% on the back of Tourism New Zealand’s What’s On campaign. The campaign’s latest activity aims to sustain growth across the shoulder season.

Mr Hickton says industry reports of ‘phenomenal’ interest from the UK are supported by a growth of 4.2% from this market for the same month last year.

Visitor Arrivals February 2007

Australia 77,993 up 5.6%
UK 49,105 up 4.2%
USA 29,210 down 2.3%
Canada 7,245 up 4.9%
China 14,927 up 76.2%
Korea 8,510 down 12.7%
Japan 13,340 down 11.7%

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