Big spenders spending time at holiday parks

28 February 2012

Big spenders spending time at holiday parks

So you think New Zealand’s biggest spending travellers stay at high end lodges and hotels? Think again.

New figures reveal that visitors overnighting at holiday parks and campgrounds contribute more to our economy than many other types of travellers.

The average holiday park visitor spends a total of $3693 on their New Zealand experience. This outlay puts them just behind the luxury travellers who prefer to stay at exclusive lodges ($3836) and well ahead of hotel guests ($3001).

And it is almost $1300 or 52.6% ahead of the overall average total expenditure of visitors to New Zealand ($2420).

Holiday Accommodation Parks Association of NZ (HAPNZ) Chief Executive Fergus Brown says the figures disprove the common perception that holiday parks attract low value visitors.

“In fact they have a very similar average total spend to guests staying in resorts and luxury lodges. Visitors staying in holiday parks stay in New Zealand longer and most importantly visit a wide range of locations throughout provincial New Zealand, often outside of the main tourism routes,” Mr Brown says.

“Our own research shows that our visitors spend money on an enormous range of goods and services, in addition to tourism activities and attractions. They shop locally, buying groceries, petrol and personal items, bringing extra income to local businesses.”

Mr Brown also notes that a large proportion (almost 70%) is spent after holiday park guests arrive in New Zealand, rather than being prepaid offshore.

To improve New Zealand’s net economic growth, the government has said it wants the tourism industry to focus on attracting high quality visitors.

“These figures demonstrate that holiday park visitors, whether travelling by campervan or car, are among our greatest value market segments. It’s crucial that we target them in our international marketing efforts. We will be working with Tourism New Zealand to ensure that this important sector isn’t overlooked,” Mr Brown says.

Accommodation Types Used Average Total Expenditure per Person YE Dec 11
$NZ
Total 2420.30
Hotels 3000.90
Motels 2947.30
Guest And Hosted 3537.20
Resorts, Luxury Lodges, Retreats 3836.50
Backpackers/Hostels 3522.80
Holiday Parks/Campgrounds 3693.10
Student Halls Of Residence 8308.80
Other Collective Establishments 2071.60
Owned Dwellings - Private 1821.60
Owned Dwellings - Rented 5938.00
DoC Site 3963.80
Other Tourism Accommodation 3670.70
Source: Ministry of Economic Development/ International Visitor Survey

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