Oceania > New Zealand > New Zealand Tourism Profile 2012

New Zealand: New Zealand Tourism Profile 2012

2012/02/06

 

 

Travel and Tourism in New Zealand

New Zealand, which consists of major islands - the North and the South - and a number of smaller islands, is known for its natural beauty, culture, rugby and ecotourism. The country’s marketing slogan, ‘100% Pure New Zealand’, has been in use for over 10 years. In the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015, the Pure New Zealand campaign promotes responsible tourism and refers to the Maori concept of kaitiakitanga, which means guardianship, care or protection in relation to the environment. There are a number of tourism businesses focusing on nature and green initiatives to protect the natural environment in New Zealand. Additional than 10% of New Zealand has been awarded World Heritage status by the UN Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO). The three major sites are Tongariro National Park; Te Wahipounamu, which contains national parks; and the Sub-Antarctic Islands.

The number of arrivals coming to New Zealand has been climbing steadily since 2001, apart from in 2008 and 2009 when there was no increase due to the world financial crisis and recession. In 2012, 2.68mn arrivals are estimate to visit the country, then grow by an average of 3% year-on-time(y-o-y) to reach 2.97mn in 2015. Given the fact that New Zealand is an island country in the Pacific Ocean, the majority popular way to travel to the country is by air. In 2012, 2.65mn of the estimate arrivals are expected to travel by plane, compared to just 28,000 arriving by sea.

Tourism is a relatively large contributor to New Zealand’s GDP compared to other nations. After peaking at 8.1% in 2009, it is expected to fall to 6.4% in 2011, then tourism spending’s contribution to GDP will grow steadily throughout the estimate period to reach 8.0% by 2015. For comparison, tourism in the UK is estimate to contribute about 2.13% to the GDP in 2012

The major regional source market for New Zealand tourism is the Asia Pacific region. In 2012, 1.74mn tourists from the region are estimate to visit New Zealand and this is expected to grow to 1.88mn by the end of the estimate period. The number of New Zealanders travelling abroad is as well estimate to rise through to 2015. Unsurprisingly, given its proximity, the majority of residents travel to the Asia Pacific region, mainly to Australia and Fiji. In second and third place are Europe and North America, with the UK and US the majority popular destinations in those regions.

Although the number of hotel beds in New Zealand is estimate to increase by approximately 11,000 between 2011 and 2015, there has not been a great transaction of new hotel construction in 2011.

Analyse of the sector 30/11/2010

New Zealanders remain put

The world recession made additional New Zealanders become careful with their spending. They as well became less confident about spending on travel when unemployment rose and their country’s export earnings dropped. As a result, they increasingly settled for either avoiding holidays, or opting to travel to familiar, rather than exotic destinations. Familiar trips such as staying in campsites, rented homes and campervans, used rail and bus services, visiting museums and days spas were the sectors which bucked the trend of slow performance, as despite additional careful spending, a lot of consumers learned to appreciate the attractions that their own country had to offer.

Swine flu hinders arrivals but Australian visitors come to the rescue

The swine flu scare and the world recession deterred a lot of high spending international visitors from visiting New Zealand. Major revenues were lost as bookings were cancelled in the UK, the US, Japan and South Korea. To compensate for the drop in visitor numbers from these nations, Tourism New Zealand advertised additional in Australia, and cheap airfares further ensured the campaign’s success. The rise in visitor numbers from Australia as a result of this helped a lot of operators to remain open during 2009.

India becomes a promising new market

The number of holiday makers from India grew in 2009, despite the in general drop in visitor numbers. The lack of convenient flight routes rather than the recession would be the only reasons why Indians would not visit New Zealand. Honeymooners and large families were drawn to New Zealand’s beautiful scenery. The professionalism displayed by adventure tour operators appealed to outdoor enthusiasts from India.

Last-minute bookings become the norm

The entry of low-cost carriers, coupled with their strategy of offering vastly discounted airfares at short notice, led to a rise in last-minute bookings, not only for the low-cost carriers, but as well for hotels and some tour operators across the country. Hotel, car rental and tour operators have seen a rise in guests who would book a room a few days before arrival. The introduction of on-line booking systems via mobile phones did not encourage forward planning part New Zealanders. Amount operators in the tourism industry learned to become additional flexible in 2009.

Optimism in anticipation of the Rugby World Cup in 2011

Additional operators in the tourism industry are optimistic about tourism increase during the Rugby World Cup in 2011. Hotel and accommodation operators are anticipating high occupancy rates. Tour operators are already receiving enquiries from fans of rugby teams in Europe. A lot of were operating during the Lions Tour in 2003 and the America’s Cup in 2000 and have the experience handling large number of guests and customers. Operators are hopeful that the success in these events will be replicated during the Rugby World Cup.

Tourism Report Q4 2010

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