Satisfied visitors but challenges revealed in latest survey

9 October 2012
For immediate release

Satisfied visitors but challenges revealed in latest survey data

Results from Tourism New Zealand’s annual Visitor Experience Monitor (VEM) show visitors to New Zealand remain highly satisfied with their experience, giving it an overall score of 8.9 out of 10.

However, Tourism New Zealand warns that there is no room for complacency and detailed analysis of the data highlights a number of challenges for the tourism industry.

The VEM is an annual survey of 4,500 international tourists who came to New Zealand for a holiday or to visit friends and family in the year 2011/2012. Visitors are asked to rate how satisfied they were with various aspects of their New Zealand holiday.

Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) Chief Executive Kevin Bowler says the information is used to identify trends in visitor behaviour and to determine which aspects of a visit have the greatest impact on overall satisfaction.

“This year’s satisfaction results remain strong with no change to overall satisfaction. “However, we are seeing a continued decline in the percentage of people ‘very likely’ to recommend New Zealand to others (9 or 10 on a 10 point scale). Over the past four years the percentage has dropped from 84 per cent to 79 per cent,” says Kevin.

The percentage of people ‘likely’ (7-10 on a 10 point scale) to recommend remains unchanged from last year at 96 per cent.

“From detailed analysis of the results, it is clear that the current strength of the New Zealand dollar is having an impact. While satisfaction scores around the quality of services have seen an improvement on last year, visitor satisfaction with the price of activities, food and beverage and accommodation has decreased,” says Kevin.

The past year has seen a continued fall in the average number of activities international visitors are participating in, down from 13.8 activities in 2010/11 to 12.9 activities in 2011/12. They may be doing less, but international visitors are still highly satisfied overall with activities.

“This decrease is consistent with spending trends as cost is a key consideration for visitors when determining the number of activities they will participate in during their holiday.”

New Zealand’s natural environment continues to receive the highest overall satisfaction rating of 9 out of 10, consistent with last year's results.

“Experiencing natural scenery remains a favourite for travellers, with activities involving natural scenery such as bush walks, mountain climbing and photography resulting in the highest levels of satisfaction.”

The growing use of mobile devices while in New Zealand and use of social media are trends of interest to Tourism New Zealand.

Kevin says: “Use of new forms of technology has increased significantly, particularly the use of Wi-Fi, laptops and tablets, Smart Phones and mobile phones with a New Zealand SIM card.

“There has also been a significant increase in the number of visitors engaging with social media to share their experiences in New Zealand, both during and post travel, with Facebook the most commonly used social media tool for sharing New Zealand holiday experiences.

“This illustrates the growing importance of digital technology within the travel industry. Tourism New Zealand has placed a large focus on developing our digital presence, undertaking extensive work on our consumer site newzealand.com to better meet visitor’s needs online,” says Kevin.

While overall safety scores have improved since last year and are high (8.8 out of 10, up from 8.7 in 2012/11) visitors are notably less satisfied with road safety which was rated 8.2 out of 10.

“This result suggests that different driving cultures and the unique experience that is driving on New Zealand roads, continues to impact visitor’s satisfaction with safety while in New Zealand,” says Kevin.

On average, visitors from the USA, UK and Germany are most satisfied with their New Zealand holiday experience, while Korean travellers are the least satisfied. Japanese travellers are significantly more satisfied this past year, than the year before.

Detailed results from the survey are being provided to the industry through TNZ’s corporate website tourismnewzealand.com

ENDS

Link: Visitor Experience Monitor 2011/12 - Tourism New Zealand

Visitor Experience Monitor summary

Visitors still satisfied in New Zealand

Overall satisfaction with a New Zealand holiday is unchanged at 8.9 out of 10. There has been a slight decrease of 1 per cent, to 79 per cent, in the proportion of visitors 'very likely' to recommend New Zealand; however the proportion of people 'likely' to recommend New Zealand has remained constant at 96 per cent.
Results for 2011/12 remain strong with only slight changes on last year's results. The results of this year's survey reflect significant travel trends as well as valuable insights for industry.

On average, visitors from the USA, UK and Germany are most satisfied with their New Zealand holiday experience, while Korean travellers are the least satisfied. Japanese travellers are significantly more satisfied this past year, than the year before

Digital technology increases in importance for travellers

Travellers use of new forms of technology increased significantly in 2011/2012, particularly the use of Wi-Fi (47 per cent of travellers), own laptops and iPads (44 per cent of travellers) Smart Phones (28 per cent of travellers) and mobile phones with a New Zealand SIM card (23 per cent of travellers).

There has also been a significant increase in the number of visitors engaging with social media to plan and share, both during and post travel. Facebook has emerged as the most commonly used social media tool for sharing New Zealand holiday experiences. Four in ten international tourists use Facebook while within New Zealand and the same number use it to share their experiences once they have returned home.

This reflects the continued importance of digital technology in the travel industry. Tourists are now engaging with digital media prior to and throughout the travel process. This demonstrates a growing opportunity for tourism operators to meet their visitors' needs online.

Natural environment a draw card for visitors that satisfies highly

Visitors were highly satisfied (9.0 out of 10) with New Zealand's natural environment during the period July 2011 to June 2012. This level of satisfaction is consistent with last year's results and the component of a New Zealand experience that receives the highest rating across all markets.
New Zealand also continues to deliver well in terms of visitors' perceptions of environmental practices. In 2011/12, 78 per cent of visitors believed New Zealand's environmental practices to be better than other countries, with only one per cent believing they are worse than other countries.

Experiencing natural scenery a favourite for travellers

This year's results have seen a continued decrease in the number of activities participated in while on holiday across all markets, except Germany, China and Japan.

The past year has seen a 6.5 per cent decrease in the average number of activities international visitors are participating in, from 16.0 in 2009/10, 13.8 activities in 2010/11 to 12.9 activities in 2011/12.

This year's results have also seen continued high levels of satisfaction with scenic and natural attractions such as bush walks, mountain climbing and photography. Urban-based activities such as restaurants, shopping and bars received lower levels of satisfaction when compared to those involving natural scenery however still generated relatively high scores overall.

Quality of services improving, but its price that's the problem

Results this year have shown a slight decrease in the overall level of satisfaction with accommodation and food and beverage. This is primarily driven by lower satisfaction with price, rather than quality. The accommodation and food and beverage categories are both rated as of high importance to visitors attributing to a combined 29 per cent of visitors overall satisfaction score.

Accommodation scored 8.3 out of 10, down from 8.4 in 2010/11. Price of accommodation was scored 7.8 out of 10, down from last year's 8.0.

Despite seeing an increase in satisfaction with the quality of services in 2011/12, satisfaction with Food and Beverage was down to 8.0 out of 10 from last year's 8.1. Price was identified as the main factor for the decrease with visitors scoring satisfaction with the price of food and beverage 7.1 out of 10.

New Zealand still seen as safe

Overall satisfaction with safety in New Zealand was high in 2011/12, with international visitors scoring it 8.8 out of a possible 10. This is an increase from 8.7 in 2012/11.

An area within safety where international visitors were not quite as satisfied was road safety which was rated 8.2 out of 10 in 2011/12 however this was an increase on last year's score of 8.1 out of 10.

Satisfaction with the safety and standard of activities remains high at 8.7 out of 10, consistent on last year's results.

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