Tourism NZ's role in tourism system supported by findings

Media release

30 September 2019

Tourism New Zealand’s role in tourism system strongly supported by Panel findings

Tourism New Zealand is a successful, well-performing agency, world leader in destination marketing, says a report commissioned by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

The report ‘Optimising Tourism New Zealand’s future role and contribution to New Zealand’ asked what role Tourism New Zealand should play in supporting tourism and how it was positioned to deliver on this role.

David Smol, Chairperson of the Panel who produced the report, said that Tourism New Zealand is widely respected and setting a benchmark in destination-marketing.

“We all know how important tourism is to New Zealand and how critical it is to our on-going success. A key part of that success is the role that Tourism New Zealand plays to make sure New Zealand is on people’s list to travel to,” said David Smol.

“The Panel agrees with feedback from stakeholders onshore and offshore that Tourism New Zealand is doing a great job and leading the world in the way it markets New Zealand as a destination.

“Tourism is a major export earner for New Zealand. International tourism delivers benefits for New Zealand communities across the country. Tourism directly or indirectly employs one in seven Kiwis.

“The role that Tourism New Zealand plays is vital, and will become more important to the success of tourism in New Zealand as we face some significant challenges including softening growth, fierce competition from other destinations in the world and increased focus on the sustainability of tourism.

“While Tourism New Zealand needs to continue to focus on its core marketing and insights role, there are opportunities to further leverage these capabilities, including to more fully inform decision-making by tourism businesses and destination development by regions. Additionally, building a picture of the preferences of domestic visitors would enable an enhanced understanding of all potential visitors to a region.

There is also an opportunity to fine-tune the approach to promoting regional dispersal so as to balance the support of regional economic development with maintaining the quality of the visitor experience and maximising tourism’s value-add at the national level.”

Iain Cossar, General Manager of Tourism at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment welcomed the report and supported the findings of the Panel.

“The Report was commissioned in part to make sure that Tourism New Zealand was well set up to support the implementation of the New Zealand Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy. The findings show that they are, but by better utilising their expertise we can make even more progress towards our goal of enriching New Zealand through sustainable tourism growth,” said Iain Cossar.

“We’re looking forward to continuing to work closely with Tourism New Zealand as we implement the recommendations of the Panel.”

The full report and findings of the ‘Optimising Tourism New Zealand’s future role and contribution to New Zealand’ report can be found on the MBIE website.

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